Forum Index
»
Health and Medicine
Horrible sinus pain - help.
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I've got a sinus infection and just got antibiotics today, but my face hurts so much. Advil's not working. Any other tips? |
Anonymous
| Afrin nasal spray will reduce the congestion, which will help equalize the pressure you're feeling. Don't use it for more than three days, though! |
Anonymous
|
Warm compresses (heat a small heat pack and wrap it in a warm, moist washcloth).
Humidifier to keep the air moist. Hot shower -- let very warm (but not uncomfortably so) hit your face and breathe in the steam. I just got over sinusitis while pregnant (imagine only being able to take tylenol for it!). The above REALLY helped. Took 3 days total to clear up without antibiotics (most cases of sinusitis are not bacterial, so the antibiotics will likely do nothing). Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Take some warm water with enough cayenne pepper in it to make your eyes water. It helps sinuses. I like to take Sodium Naproxine (or is it naproxine sodium...) for sinus headaches. It is Aleve. Good luck. |
Anonymous
OP here. Thanks for the tips. I hope it's bacterial -- I've been fighting a cold and bronchitis that won't go away. I've done everything possible on the OTC and home remedy side for almost a month and now this. The antibiotic is my last hope to kick this thing in the butt for good. 
|
Anonymous
| Get a neti pot. Best thing ever! |
Anonymous
| I second the neti pot but it might not help you if you've already got a full blown infection. I had an awful sinus infection last year and my doc gave me a steroid shot and the pain was gone within a couple of hours. I then had to follow up with antibiotics. Anyway, I recommend going back to the doc and asking for the steroid shot. |
Anonymous
|
head over a pot of steaming water....
|
Anonymous
|
I had something like this last winter... sinus pain that lasted and lasted, through every OTC remedy and through one course of antibiotics. After a month, I finally saw an ENT, and she said that we have a particular strain in this area that doesn't respond to the normal first-line treatments, and requires a much stronger antibiotic. I forget which one it was, but it was the only one I've ever taken that gave me tummy troubles. It became a toss-up... would I rather suffer the sinus pain, or ten days of queasiness and diarrhea? Ugh. Hope yours goes better.
Oh, and cayenne pepper in your nose? I can't decide if that poster is cruel or deluded. "Well it hurts like a bitch, so it MUST be helping!" |
Anonymous
Not in your NOSE!! Good grief -- you drink it. |
Anonymous
| I second the head over steam water or you can even purchase a steam inhaler mask thing from Vicks. That has helped me a lot. |
Anonymous
| If you have access to one, go sit in a steam room. Then take a nasal decongestant every four hours (or whatever the recommended time is) for at least 24 hours. That should take care of it. |
Anonymous
| OP, here. I'm on the mend. So I don't know if it's the antibiotic or coincidence, but I'm eternally grateful. I think I'll look into a neti pot for regular use. Maybe that will prevent this in the future. I'm a complete wuss when it comes to pain in my head or face. |
Anonymous
FYI, I know a lot of people swear by neti pots but I developed sinus problems after using one for congestion. I am the cayenne poster -- swallowing cayenne makes your eyes water, your nose run and clears your sinuses. It is some relief. Horseradish does the same thing. |
Anonymous
I had horseradish as a garnish for dinner last night, and yes, it cleared everything.  Good to know about the neti pot.
|