I didn't need to spend a third winter in a row suffering from a several-month-long sinus infection.
-- Neti pot and hot shower 2xday, check
-- Mucinex 2xday, flonase and decongestant, check
-- Vitamin C, echinacea and zinc, check
-- Probiotic mix, gaviscon and Pepcid AC to keep my GI from going into massive meltdown, check
-- Grape seed extract and grapefruit seed extract which may perhaps help sinitis, check
-- stock of chicken soup and underwear washed in case I have to spend most of my days in bed, check
AUGH.
I need to do my @#%$@!$ dissertation, not have pounding head, runny nose, and foggy thoughts.
No love.
-- Neti pot and hot shower 2xday, check
-- Mucinex 2xday, flonase and decongestant, check
-- Vitamin C, echinacea and zinc, check
-- Probiotic mix, gaviscon and Pepcid AC to keep my GI from going into massive meltdown, check
-- Grape seed extract and grapefruit seed extract which may perhaps help sinitis, check
-- stock of chicken soup and underwear washed in case I have to spend most of my days in bed, check
AUGH.
I need to do my @#%$@!$ dissertation, not have pounding head, runny nose, and foggy thoughts.
No love.
Comments
Hoping you got something more out of it than mucus!
One- that Blistex stuff in the white squeezie tube works miracles for decongestion when smeared under your nose, esp when it just ain't practical to go walkin' around smelling like eucalyptus.
Two- whiskey and honey are magic. Work some hillbilly medicine and down a hot toddy or two. Sucking on lemon slices helps too. (though now it seems like I'm tending bar again)
Hope you feel better!
The trouble is, while I can clear the frontal nasal passages very effectively using the above methods (especially neti pot, aid for a saline rinse), I'll get the infection way up in my ear channels and forehead passages that even the menthol doesn't reach. Then I wind up on antibiotics to kill it off.
Last year they failed...I'd get it 90% knocked out, then it'd come back. I was breeding a goddamn super-bug using Darwinian selection. I finally had my first experience with prednisone (wheee!) to help clear out the infection. And by that time my immune system was so weak that I picked up something really rare that took a while to diagnose -- herpes simplex on the CORNEA. I'm still having to manage that to keep it from flaring up...once you get it, you're stuck with it. :P
Actually, at this point, I think you'd be better off snorting a cocktail of Clorox, Pine-Sol, and Pop-Rocks. Sounds like that's the only thing on the PLANET that could kill an infection like that.
On your freaking cornea?!?!?! God, I'm so sorry!
(and when the world is destroyed in a Ray Bradbury-everyone-is-stuck-on-Mars-becau
Take a look at the prescribing info for your meds; grapefruit anything can affect hepatic metabolism and affect the speed of metabolism of some meds.
The good thing is that I'm getting better at recognizing the very first signs, and I smacked it with Flonase almost instantly. I've kept the frontal sinuses almost clear from the beginning this time, instead of having to fight to get my nose back from the mucus monster. So I've got a head start. Hopefully the flonase can reach farther than it usually does.
My flist now includes an emergency room worker and someone in the pharmaceutical industry -- talk about unpaid expert advice! Thanks.
And you actually understand why I was SO not wanting that "take antibiotic for 10 days, and on the 14th day start a new batch to kill what the first batch missed." I really do not wish to be a petri dish for drug-resistant bacteria.
Oh. And. My doctor notes Cipro is off the list of antibiotics recommended for sinus infections now. Apparently I'm not the only one for whom it no longer does the job.