Sinusitis FAQ

Swollen Turbinates / not sinusitis – what do I do?

Question:

2 CT scans reveal that my sinuses are completely clean and the cause of my problems are swollen turbinates (inferior turbinate specifically).  The symptoms mirror sinusitis (most ENT’s just diagnosed me with sinusitis anyway).  Had turbinate cautery 2 months ago and felt great until last week. 1- Woke up with minor sore throat. 2- Sore throat remained for 1 day and then the nose got completely blocked and I have a constant post nasal drip ever since.  My nose is no longer completely blocked but I still feel like crap because of the post nasal drip and an infection that sill seems to be present. 3- The mucous is discolored (slightly yellow/brown), mostly in the AM and then seems to clear during the day. 4- Dr. said she was 99.9% sure this is a viral infection (culture taken). I am no stranger to these types of infections as they have been hounding me for the past 10 years.  The big difference that I notice now is that my symptoms are NOT as severe as they were before the turbinate cautery but they are still present. How do I treat this?  Do I just follow the sinusitis regiment of nasal irrigation, plenty of warm liquids, saline spray etc…?  Should I irrigate 3+ times a day until I feel better or is there any such thing as too much irrigation.  I would like to avoid any sudafed or nasal sprays if possible…my nose is dry enough as it is and my best relief seems to come from moisturizing the nose with saline spray or other nasal gels. Thanks very much. -Charles

Response:

To me, a sore throat signifies a viral involvement (cold or ?)  I think that too many irrigations can cause problems, probably twice a day is enuf.  Good luck on getting well soon. charles39…@yahoo.com  (Charles Stanton) wrote: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->2 CT scans reveal that my sinuses are completely clean and the cause >of my problems are swollen turbinates (inferior turbinate >specifically).  The symptoms mirror sinusitis (most ENT’s just >diagnosed me with sinusitis anyway).  Had turbinate cautery 2 months >ago and felt great until last week. >1- Woke up with minor sore throat. >2- Sore throat remained for 1 day and then the nose got completely >blocked and I have a constant post nasal drip ever since.  My nose is >no longer completely blocked but I still feel like crap because of the >post nasal drip and an infection that sill seems to be present. >3- The mucous is discolored (slightly yellow/brown), mostly in the AM >and then seems to clear during the day. >4- Dr. said she was 99.9% sure this is a viral infection (culture >taken). >I am no stranger to these types of infections as they have been >hounding me for the past 10 years.  The big difference that I notice >now is that my symptoms are NOT as severe as they were before the >turbinate cautery but they are still present. >How do I treat this?  Do I just follow the sinusitis regiment of nasal >irrigation, plenty of warm liquids, saline spray etc…?  Should I >irrigate 3+ times a day until I feel better or is there any such thing >as too much irrigation.  I would like to avoid any sudafed or nasal >sprays if possible…my nose is dry enough as it is and my best relief >seems to come from moisturizing the nose with saline spray or other >nasal gels. >Thanks very much. >-Charles

Sue M.

Response:

Charles wrote: > Should I > irrigate 3+ times a day until I feel better or is there any such thing > as too much irrigation.

I have the same question. I received my HydroPulse device two weeks ago and I like it very much. The children were pretty much all sick then and I since caught their bug. I am in my 6th day of acute infection and I wonder how many times a day should/can I irrigate. I must say that when I do irrigate, it feels awfully good. I wish I had known about the device before. Jean LaRoche Montreal, QC

Response:

Irrigating 3x a day may remove some important enzymes such as Lysozyme, etc. Unless your are getting huge amounts of pus out with the Hydro Pulse irrigation, try to stick to 2x a day. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com http://www.TinnitusRelief.net http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic516.htm

Response:

[NAME] at [ADDRESS] wrote on 2/14/03 22:01: > Irrigating 3x a day may remove some important enzymes such as Lysozyme, etc. > Unless your are getting huge amounts of pus out with the Hydro Pulse > irrigation, try to stick to 2x a day.

Ok thanks. Good info. Jean LaRoche Montreal

Response:

You might consider the possibility that you (like myself & many others) may have a hidden allergy to NON-SAUTEED onions/garlic. (By "hidden" I mean a non-instant reaction). Examples: Oniony hamburger, Garlicky pickles, onions in salads, even soup cooked with non-sauteed onions/garlic. I have suffered for years, until finally discovering my allergy. See, I desperately chewed raw garlic in the hope of helping my condition. Of course, it only worsened it, whereupon the light dawned. There are many testimonials on About.Com by people allergic to onions in various ways (some get migraines, others throat’s burn, etc. I get a combo of terrible sore throat, nasal drip & headachy.) If you have the patience to browse through *all* the testimonials, you might find a few very informative ones among them. P.S. I have other allergies too, for example, citrus causes me stomach inflammation "adult acne". I seem to have an out-of-whack immune system. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -charles39…@yahoo.com (Charles Stanton) wrote in message <news:42482564.0302140704.566d5b27@posting.google.com>… > 2 CT scans reveal that my sinuses are completely clean and the cause > of my problems are swollen turbinates (inferior turbinate > specifically).  The symptoms mirror sinusitis (most ENT’s just > diagnosed me with sinusitis anyway).  Had turbinate cautery 2 months > ago and felt great until last week. > 1- Woke up with minor sore throat. > 2- Sore throat remained for 1 day and then the nose got completely > blocked and I have a constant post nasal drip ever since.  My nose is > no longer completely blocked but I still feel like crap because of the > post nasal drip and an infection that sill seems to be present. > 3- The mucous is discolored (slightly yellow/brown), mostly in the AM > and then seems to clear during the day. > 4- Dr. said she was 99.9% sure this is a viral infection (culture > taken). > I am no stranger to these types of infections as they have been > hounding me for the past 10 years.  The big difference that I notice > now is that my symptoms are NOT as severe as they were before the > turbinate cautery but they are still present. > How do I treat this?  Do I just follow the sinusitis regiment of nasal > irrigation, plenty of warm liquids, saline spray etc…?  Should I > irrigate 3+ times a day until I feel better or is there any such thing > as too much irrigation.  I would like to avoid any sudafed or nasal > sprays if possible…my nose is dry enough as it is and my best relief > seems to come from moisturizing the nose with saline spray or other > nasal gels. > Thanks very much. > -Charles

Response:

Filed under: Sinusitis Symptoms

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