Sinusitis- How I Beat It- You Can
Too
ByWalt Ballenberger
After two painful sinus operations, I was
still coming down with infections. I had to
find some real remedy to my sinusitis problem,
as I was tired of taking antibiotics and especially
tired of the dull, deep headaches every time
I had an attack.
Sinus Operations- Try to Avoid
The operations were no fun. After the
first one my nose was "packed". This means
that in order to stop the bleeding, the
ENT specialist/surgeon put a large amount
of gauze in my nose, which means that
one can only breathe through the mouth
for the week or so of recovery time. In
other words, swallowing and breathing
cannot occur at the same time. This is
a good way to lose weight, as one cannot
eat much, but it is not a great way to
live. At the end of this period, before
pulling out the gauze, the doctor said
"this will feel like I’m pulling your
brains out through your nose". This was
the most accurate statement he ever made
to me. Pulling what seemed like 6 feet
of moist, sticky gauze out of my nose
was an almost surrealistically painful
sensation. But I thought, "if my deviated
septum is now fixed, at least I can look
forward to no sinus infections in the
future, or at least a lot fewer of them.
I was wrong again, as they started coming
back after a few months. I changed ENT
specialists since the first one put me
through tons of pain for no gain. After
a couple of years of treatment with this
new doctor, I decided to take his advice
and try another operation. Among other
therapies, I had allergy shots during
that time, even though I only tested positive
for minor allergies to a couple of things.
My nose was not "packed" this time, but
there was still plenty of pain. Again
my hopes for an infection-free future
were dashed when they started up again
after a few months. So after two operations
by two different ENT specialists, I said
"enough is enough". For those considering
sinus operations to fix things like a
deviated septum, here’s my considered
advice: don’t do it. At least try the
nasal irrigation recommended by Dr. Murray
Grossan which is explained below before
you do. One hears about people who have
had 5 or 6 sinus operations, and these
either don’t work, or if they do cause
improvement, it doesn’t last very long.
Some people have told me that a sinus
operation "fixed" their problems, but
I am skeptical.
Tried Various Approaches for Years
Throughout my years with significant
sinus problems, I had read a number of
books and tried different products and
approaches. One author I read early-on
was not very encouraging. He said that
certain things aggravated sinus problems,
and one should simply stop eating chocolate,
cheese and other dairy products. Also,
he said that in order to be cured there
could simply be no drinking of alcoholic
beverages either. Sorry, he said, but
that’s the way it has to be. For a person
who lived in France and who has come to
enjoy the excellent wine and numerous
cheese varieties, this was awful. What
kind of a life would I have without drinking
wine and eating cheese? At that point
I did have to stop drinking, as even one
glass of wine could be enough to trigger
an infection almost every time. After
six months of this I got sick of drinking
soda and non-alcoholic beer, which tastes
pretty bad. In fact I was ridiculed in
a restaurant in France when I ordered
a Buckler’s , which is Heineken’s nonalcoholic
beer. The French owner asked my why I
would order such a ridiculous beverage
with his excellent meal, and I explained
I had sinus problems. He replied that
he bad sinus problems too, and he got
headaches every day, but nothing would
stop him from drinking red wine! I actually
admired his attitude, but the headaches
were too painful, and I felt like I was
on the search for "Lorenzo’s oil", like
the father in the movie of the same title
that needed a certain rare oil to cure
his son. It was also through this author,
an ENT specialist, that I first heard
about nasal irrigation, but the system
suggested did not work well. He sold a
saline solution, but it was too strong
and caused a burning sensation in my nose.
He suggested a sort of long-nosed pot
called a Neti pot to use to pour the solution
into each nostril. This approach did not
work nearly as well as the system suggested
by Dr. Grossan (see below), and I was
wrongly convinced that nasal irrigation
was not effective. It makes a big difference
how the irrigation is done and with what
kind of equipment and saline solution.
Dr. Murray Grossan to the Rescue
I thus started doing more research on
other books and approaches, and in the
course of this I came across a book by
Dr. Murray Grossan called "The Sinus Cure-
7 Simple Steps". In a nutshell, Dr. Grossan’s
system worked. His book contains many
technical explanations about sinusitis
and how to deal with it. He clearly explains
the reasons for the problem and suggests
numerous remedies including diet considerations,
home environmental improvements like duct
cleaning and humidity control, and the
most important aspect of the program:
pulsating nasal irrigation with a saline
solution.
Use a WaterPik and Adaptor
When I first started following Dr. Grossan’s
advice he suggested using a WaterPik machine,
and these have been sold for years as
devices to improve gum and dental health.
Dr. Grossan simply sold an adaptor and
a saline solution, although one can use
table salt. Although much more expensive
than salt, I find that this saline solution
is convenient, works well, and has no
preservatives. I usually purchase a dozen
containers at a time, and these will last
up to a year with one application per
day. One simply puts a spoonful of saline
solution into the WaterPik tank and then
about 16 oz. of warm water to dissolve
the powder. Then the nasal adaptor is
put into one nostril and the machine will
gently propel half the liquid through
one’s nasal canal, and it will drain out
the other side. One then puts the adaptor
in the other nostril and repeats the procedure
on that side. This procedure is done while
leaning over a sink. I then normally put
more water into the tank and use the WaterPik
on my teeth as it was originally intended,
and I’ve helped my gum and dental health
as well. My dental hygienist has made
several comments about how much better
my gums and teeth are when I go in for
cleanings. The whole effort only takes
about 5 minutes or so, including wiping
everything dry. I normally do the irrigation
once a day about an hour before bed, but
if I happen to wake up with more than
the usual congestion in the morning, I’ll
do it then as well.
The Easiest Way to Start
In the past couple of years Dr. Grossan
has come up with his own machine for nasal
irrigation. It is called the Hydro Pulse®
Nasal Irrigation System. For about $89
plus shipping one receives the Hydro Pulse
Nasal/Sinus Irrigator®, 2 Original Sinus
Irrigator Tips ®, 2 Original Throat Irrigator
Tips®, Breathe-ease® XL Nasal Moisturizer
(this is the saline solution), and excerpts
from,"The Sinus Cure" by Dr.
Grossan.
This is the easiest way to start, as
you have everything needed. If the system
works well and you want to continue to
do nasal irrigation on a daily basis,
I would suggest purchase of a pack of
one dozen saline solution boxes, as the
price is lower per box and there is only
one shipping charge to pay. Of course
one could still purchase a WaterPik at
a retail store and buy the Dr. Grossan’s
adaptor and saline solution to work with
it. For information about how to purchase
these items, and also how to download
a free ebook written by Dr. Grossan, follow
the links at the end of this article..
Other Medications
For many people the nasal irrigation
system will be enough to control your
sinus problems. Those of us with particularly
significant sinusitis may need to supplement
this with medications, and I use Flonase
before going to bed each night as well.
If I feel like I’m on the verge of a sinus
infection I might take some zyrtec (an
antihistimine) or if an infection seems
imminent, I have my silver bullet, which
is prednisone. I don’t use much of the
latter, however, as there can be side
affects with this steroid. My doctor usually
prescribes 10 pills of 20 mg each, and
these last for about a year. I never take
a whole pill and usually take 5 mg or
10 mg maximum at a time for a day or two.
I’m told this is a reasonable amount and
nothing to worry about. Speaking of bad
side effects, prior to discovering Dr.
Grossan’s system, sometimes desperate
for relief, I used an over-the-counter
spray called afrin. The warnings on the
label say to use this product for only
4 days or less. This medication can damage
the cilia in one’s sinuses and cause permanent
damage if used too much. As frequent users
know, there is also an effect called rebound
congestion, so after using it you might
end up just as congested as when you started.
Thus, people are tempted to continue using
it, and it is said to become addictive.
Dr. Grossan simply recommends that you
throw your afrin into the garbage and
stay away from it. I have not used it
for years now and am glad to be rid of
it.
I haven’t eliminated sinus infections
entirely, and I might come down with perhaps
one per year. I’m more susceptible when
very tired, or after long flights, as
we often go back and forth to Europe for
our tour business. When flying anywhere
I make sure to take some kind of decongestant,
normally the Flonase. I can enjoy wine,
cheese, chocolate, and I really don’t
need to avoid any particular foods. Dr.
Grossan’s system has worked for me, and
I certainly don’t miss the deep, painful
sinus infection headaches that used to
be all too familiar. Dr. Grossan has lots
of other advice in his book as well, and
I definitely recommend that anyone with
sinusitis read it.
Best of luck to all sinusitis sufferers.
I hope this information will help improve
your lives as much as it has helped me.
Please don’t hesitate to forward this
article to friends and family who suffer
from sinusitis.
About The Author
Walt Ballenberger is founder of Beaux
Voyages, Inc. http://www.beauxvoyages.com
which offers tours in France. For a free
86 page ebook by Dr. Grossan entitled
"How to Be Free of Sinus Disease Naturally",
follow this link: http://www.beauxvoyages.com/SinusInfo.html
