Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

(Reluctant to be an expert, that is, not reluctant to help!)

Sorry you're having a rough time. First of all, call your doctor. He/she needs to be aware that you finished your course of antibiotics and are still infected. You might have to go on a stronger antibiotic.
Beyond that, here is what has worked for me. Saline spray is essential. My favorite is Simply Saline, available at most drugstores and at www.drugstore.com. It's in a compressed-air can, and will deliver a continuous spray for as long as you hold the button down. I prefer this to the Ocean brand I used to use, because with that one you had to keep squeezing over and over, and I always worried about releasing it while it was still in my nose, because it can suck the germs in. The Simply Saline has a one-way valve so you can't get your infectious juices inside. Sorry to be graphic. If you can't get to a drug store, there's another thing you can do. Boil some water and let it cool to body temperature, or slightly warmer if you can handle it. Mix in enough salt that it forms a suspension -- you don't want too much undissolved salt in there. Now, if you have a baby nose-ear irrigator, that's ideal. Put the water into a bowl and bring it to the bathroom. Fill the irrigator with some of the warm salt water, lean over the sink, and squirt as much as you can up one nostril. Do this over and over, blowing your nose into a strong paper towel or just out into the sink. Then do the other nostril. As you do each nostril, try experimenting by squirting it up, squeezing your nose shut, and bending all the way forward with your head between your knees, or from side to side (like hip bends at the gym). I try to visualize the water going into all of my sinus cavities. Warning: hours later you might bend down to tie your shoe, and have a flood of water flow from your nose! If you don't have the nose-ear irrigator, there is another method that works but is not as great. Wash your hands thoroughly with water and mild soap and rinse them really well. Then cup your hand, scoop up some of the warm salt water, and just stick your nose in and sniff it up as much as you can.

Spicy foods, especially pepper spicy (Mexican), work really well. Mustard spicy (like wasabi) works for a second but doesn't last as long. Hot and sour soup also works really well for decongesting.

OTC decongestants can be really good. I personally can't tolerate them during the day, but maybe you can. Dayquil / Nyquil are both pretty good. I usually take Tylenol Cold PM or Nyquil at night, and then nothing during the day. Instead, during the day, I use Afrin 12-hour moisturizing nasal spray. You can only use this for three days and then must put it away in your medicine cabinet and forget about it. Otherwise you can become addicted. So, use the Simply Saline or other method right when you get up, and then do the Afrin. Same thing at bedtime. Of course, you can do the Simply Saline as often as you like, since it is just saline. You can use it every day for the rest of your life, so don't worry at all about that. The only thing I try to keep in mind is that I don't want to rinse out any of the Afrin, so that's why I do the Saline first .
Steam can work really well. You can drape a wet towel over your head, and lean over a bowl of hot water. You can also add some Vicks vapor rub, but be careful because it is oily and can splatter. An easier method is to just bring a tub of Vicks into the shower and open it up, and just let the hot water run on you. Put a mentholated cough drop in your mouth too, and breathe in the steam.
That's about all I can think of. I used to suffer from chronic sinus infections, basically all through childhood and adolesence. I had sinus surgery when I was not quite 15, which is generally considered really young, but it was my only option. I had been on antibiotics almost constantly for 3 years, adn the infections weren't going away. I was resistant to every oral anti-biotic, and the next step would have been IV antibiotics in the hospital. If you are ever considering the surgery, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. 8 years later, I get about one to two sinus infections per year, which is pretty "normal" for people who don't have sinus problems. Instead of every cold or allergy attack turning into an infection, I am able to fend things off with OTC decongestants, and I feel a lot better not being on antibiotics anymore.
Feel better, and feel free to ask me any more questions.
Oh, warm compresses on the face are nice too!
Best,
Panda

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Amanda

I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin

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