Sinusitis is a very disturbing ailment. It is very similar to the common cold and can be cured using some home remedies.
The symptoms of sinusitis are only for less than 10 days. But chronic sinusitis can disturb you even for more than 12 weeks or even longer.
The sinus infections can get eradicated from your body by itself, just like the common cold. But we must know the difference in time between common cold and sinusitis.
If you get caught by sinusitis by a viral infection or secondhand smoke then it cannot be cured by antibiotics. But you can do a few home remedies that can speed up the curing process.
Home Remedies for Sinus Infection
There are many effective home remedies, from chicken soup to compresses, that you can use to alleviate the pain and discomfort of sinus issues. Let’s see them in detail.
1. Drink more water
Drinking more water is very helpful for the whole body. It helps your system flus the virus out and will keep you hydrated. You must drink at least 8 ounces of water for every 2 hours.
2. Eat Healthy Food
Since sinusitis is caused by a virus, you will have to consume healthy food to fight it. Add food that contains more garlic, onions, and ginger.
You must consume at least 2 to 5 grams of garlic every day. Or, you can even consume it in the form of an extract of around 1 gram per day.
You can take ginger in the form of ginger tea. You must add raw honey to our food content. Honey has many medicinal values and can be a good antibacterial and antifungal agent.
3. Add Moisture
Your sinus may often get dehydrated and filled with pressure. You can hydrate your sinus by the following procedures:
- Keep a humidifier in your bedroom so that nose blocking at night time can be avoided.
- You can prefer nasal saline drops to clear out your nose during day time and before going to bed. You can get is from a normal medical shop and this will avoid nasal congestion.
- You can try steaming your sinus. You must be careful to avoid the virus from entering by taking hot showers. You can do annihilation at home by boiling water and inhaling the steam directly by covering yourself fully. Do this for just 10 minutes and you will feel afresh.
4. Try Essential oils
There are some medicinal oils that you can apply to relieve yourself from sinus. Eucalyptus oil is very good for this purpose and can get rid of sinusitis in no time.
Eucalyptus is full of cineole, oil, etc that helped people with acute sinusitis. You must be careful to use very good essential oils. Rub a few drops of any oil of your choice just above the mouth and drink some water.
5. Use a Neti Pot
Another important method to be devoid of sinusitis is nasal irrigation. Recent research shows that a neti pot with saline solution is good for sinusitis and can get rid of it in no time. Here are a few tips on having a neti pot.
- Get a pot and fill it with saline solution.
- Go near a sink and incline yourself at an angle of 45 degrees.
- Now put the spout of the pot inside the nostril and let the saline solution pour inside it.
- Do the same with the other nostril too.
Sterilize the saline pot very often with distilled water. If you wash it with water from the sink, then the bacteria or parasites might contaminate the pot.
6. Use a Warm Compress
Sinusitis can bring pain to your face. You can apply warm water over your face to soothe the pain. Place a warm-water-dipped towel over the face touching your nose, cheeks, and chin and applying pressure. It clears out the nasal passage.
7. Over the Counter Medications
If your sinus troubles you more and doesn’t disappear while using home remedies, you can very well go to your pharmacist and ask for OTC treatment.
Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine would relieve you from sinus by narrowing the blood vessels, reducing the swelling or inflammation. Your running nose can also be stopped using these medications.
Pressure gets built in the nose and mouth area and that can be eased using some of the following remedies:
- aspirin
- acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
But before using these things, always get an idea from the pharmacists as to how to use it and how to use it. You can also go for alternate suggestions too.
8. Get a Prescription
Please never go for antibiotics without a prescription from the doctor. Your doctor might not have prescribed the antibiotic since you would not have had a serious infection.
First, your doctor would test and analyze the cause for the infection, whether it is due to bacteria or viruses. They will
- Ask in detail about the symptoms that you have encountered.
- Do a physical check-up
- Put a swab inside the nose.
- If you have acute sinus trouble then the doctor might prescribe amoxicillin. It is very effective for sinusitis caused by bacteria. Even if you take antibiotics, it would take some weeks for the sinusitis to get cured. You must take the antibiotics without fail, until the complete course is over.
9. Be at Ease
Whatever treatments you make, it takes plenty of time for sinusitis to cure. So, keep calm and wait so that your body gets adequate rest and peace.
Causes of Sinusitis
Sinus trouble can be caused by swelling up of the sinuses tissue. This leads to pain, building up of mucus resulting in irritation.
The air-filled pockets available in the facial bones forming the top portion of the respiratory tract are called the sinuses.
These connect the nose to the throat. If the sinuses do not drain, then the sinus infection is caused. Following are some of the reasons:
- the common cold
- hay fever
- exposure to allergens
- nonallergic rhinitis
- changes in air pressure
To reduce the risk of sinus infection, the following precautions can be made:
- Frequently wash your hands, especially when you are out in a crowd and using public places and transportation.
- Immunize yourself often.
- Be careful not to expose yourself to people with cold or respiratory ailments.
- Avoid smoking and do not stand on the premises where people are smoking.
- Use a humidifier to keep the air moist.
- Take good rest and sleep well so that it reduces the cold and lessens the sinusitis.
