Snot factory = sinus infection?

[Threadbearer]

I had a really bad head cold for full week. Most symptoms finally abated after 8 or 9 days, but now, 12 days after the initial onset of symptoms, I've got post-nasal drip so bad that I can't sleep because I feel like I'm drowning. It's even worse now than it was when I had the cold. I'm also a little nauseated, probably b/c I'm swallowing a big gob of mucus every 10 or 15 seconds.

I'm thinking that I may have picked up a sinus infection while I had the cold. I'm going to try to get in to see my doctor tomorrow right after work, but I'm wondering if anyone here has any advice for what I can do between now and then. Will Mucinex work for something like this, or is that more for breaking up mucous that's down deep in your chest?

I need relief!

 

[Orsini]

You need to see your Ent. If it is chronic, you might need surgery -- I had four and the situation is vastly improved. Rinsing out with saline solution is also helpful when you have an infection going. Here a a few websites I found helpful: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/sinus...article_em.htm http://www.sinusinfectionhelp.com/ http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/sinus-infection

 

[Threadbearer]

Thanks for the good advice, Orsini. The condition isn't chronic -- at least not yet -- but I do need to see a doctor about it. And I'm way ahead of you on the nasal irrigation. I've been using my neti pot at least twice a day since I caught the cold. I also ran out and got some Musinex this evening, but so far it doesn't seem to have had much effect. We'll see what the doc says.

 

[Orsini]

Originally Posted by Threadbearer

Thanks for the good advice, Orsini. The condition isn't chronic -- at least not yet -- but I do need to see a doctor about it. And I'm way ahead of you on the nasal irrigation. I've been using my neti pot at least twice a day since I caught the cold. I also ran out and got some Musinex this evening, but so far it doesn't seem to have had much effect. We'll see what the doc says.
Good luck.

 

[BPT]

As suggested before, rinsing with saline solution is your best bet. I had the same problem a couple of years ago and snorting some of that stuff greatly improved the situation

 

[michaeljkrell]

If you have chronic sinusitis the best things are nasal irrigators. They are about $100, but blow a neti pot out of the water and really help. I wish I would have had this thing a couple of years ago. Yeah, it is pricey, but $100 is what it costs to see a doctor and a 10 day prescription of antibiotics. http://www.amazon.com/SinuPulse-Elit...5401257&sr=8-2

 

[Coldsnap]

that machine looks scary, but if it works...

I have mild sinus problems, from Feb - October sometimes I will wake up with the worst sinuses. I will have crazy itchy eyes and be sneezing and blowing my nose every minute for the rest of the day; then I wake up the next day and feel fine besides a beat up nostril from blowing my nose. It only happens like once every month or two so I don't bother to see the doctor. It sucks though because that one day I'm out of commission.

 

[oceans11]

Originally Posted by Coldsnap

that machine looks scary, but if it works...

I have mild sinus problems, from Feb - October sometimes I will wake up with the worst sinuses. I will have crazy itchy eyes and be sneezing and blowing my nose every minute for the rest of the day; then I wake up the next day and feel fine besides a beat up nostril from blowing my nose. It only happens like once every month or two so I don't bother to see the doctor. It sucks though because that one day I'm out of commission.


It feels weird but it's not scary at all. It actually works very well but don't ever make the mistake of just trying to flush the sinus with straight water! Ouch! You need the saline or just add some salt to soften the water a bit otherwise it's comparable to being dragged in a lake.....face first with the water shooting up your nose.

 

[globetrotter]

OP, poke yourself firmly in the forehead. if it doen'st hurt, you probrably don't have a sinus infection. if it hurts, good chance you do.

 

[Threadbearer]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

OP, poke yourself firmly in the forehead. if it doen'st hurt, you probrably don't have a sinus infection. if it hurts, good chance you do.
You, my friend, are hereby fired from my medical advisory staff. Doc says it's a sinus infection, but when I poked my forehead with a polo mallet it didn't hurt at all.

For the record, he says what happened to me is pretty common. Bad cold triggers sinus infection, but the symptoms of the sinus infection don't ramp up until right about the time the cold is going away.

I'm taking some time off work!

 

[Davidko19]

Originally Posted by Threadbearer

It's even worse now than it was when I had the cold. I'm also a little nauseated, probably b/c I'm swallowing a big gob of mucus every 10 or 15 seconds.

 

[michaeljkrell]

I also read a study recently from a university, Purdue maybe, that said fatigue is as just as much a symptom of sinusitis as a stuffed up nose or pressure is. I know in my case, I am usually not too stuffed up and don't have too much sinus pressure, but I am really tired.

The last time I went to see a doctor about a sinus infection (just been treating/preventing them myself since) was about 2 years ago and the residents checked me out and had no idea what was wrong with me because I complained of being lethargic with very mild sinus pressure. They checked me all over and couldn't see anything wrong, so they were going to test me for amnesia and HIV! My regular doctor came in, looked in my nose, saw a little inflammation, said I had a sinus infection (which I knew all along), gave me a prescription and sent me on my way.

FYI... Another thing you can add to a neti pot is a drop or two of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE). Don't put more than two in or otherwise the back of your throat will be burning for several hours. The GSE does a great job of breaking up the mucous.

 

[Bam!ChairDance]

MJK-- I've been using one of those "NeilMed Sinus Rinse" plastic squirt bottles to irrigate my nostrils. How does that one-benjamin device improve on the divine gush of water that my squirt bottle already delivers through my head plumming? Amazon says it offers multiple forms of streams, but I'm still not convinced the difference is that drastic.

 

[Celotil]

Easiest way to tell if you have a sinus infection is colour.

Healthy mucus should always be clear. When I have a cold it tends to go a cloudy and thick green, and when I have a flu it tends towards an iridiscent yellow or amber, both indicating the presence of a virus or bacteria.

I think cloudy white means there's a tiny infection of the common variety, but it's already fought off by the body.

Of course, like with any medical advice, check this with your doctor.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Threadbearer

You, my friend, are hereby fired from my medical advisory staff. Doc says it's a sinus infection, but when I poked my forehead with a polo mallet it didn't hurt at all.

!
sorry, the time I had a sinus infection, the doctor did about 20 tests on me to see if I had had a stroke or a heart attack or something major, then after all that she poked me in the forhead and I yellped. glad your doctor found it, and I guess I will stop practicing medicine on the web as a sideline.