I saw Amanda's intel on sinus infections and winced, because I feel for her and everyone who's gone through these wretched things. It took me over six months to beat a sinus infection last year brought on by the ash in the air from California fires, and I nearly came down with one again this year, except that I've learned a few tricks by trial and error that help fend them off.
First thing is, yes, SEE A DOCTOR. Don't mess around. You don't want to get the infection really settled in; you want to fight back as soon as you're sure that's what it is.
Antibiotics DO help, and sometimes they'll beat the infection without any problem. But a) they can hurt your stomach and intestinal flora, which can make you sick or even be seriously harmful if you manage to kill off most of them, and b) sometimes, if antibiotics don't kill off ALL the buggies, the ones they leave behind -- the survivors -- will be the tough ones that are semi-immune to antibiotics! So you might breed a superbug, if you're not careful.
That doesn't happen too often, luckily, but it's the reason that doctors no longer prescribe antibiotics unless they're really sure you need them.
If you do take antibiotics, I recommend getting a Probiotic Complex from your drug store, home remedy store, or Trader Joe's. This will replenish your stomach/intestinal flora.
Okay, now here's my Sinus Infection Triage, which I start now as soon as I feel any suspicious symptoms:
1. Hot shower morning and night. I hate wasting water, but this is a medical emergency! Have it as hot as you can stand it. Stand with your face/sinuses right under the shower head and cook the dickens out of the whole area. High temperatures kill bacteria -- that's why we cook our food, and that's why our body fights infections with fever.
2. While in the hot shower -- yuck -- blow your nose if you can, and then snort/inhale hot water up your nose. Work on one nostril at a time, closing one and snorting with the other. If you're washing your hair, fill up with hot water, let it cook in there, and then after you've rinsed, blow your nose.
The goal here is a) to flush out the gook and b) again, to cook the sinuses and kill those buggies. As usual, be careful not to burn yourself in the process.
Even when you're totally clogged up, #2 will usually clear you out, at least for a few hours.
3. After the shower, use a saline solution nasal spray. That's weak saltwater; salt tends to kill germs. Again... yuck. I resisted that for a while, but paid for it later, and now I don't mind it anymore.
4. Start taking Vitamin C, echinacea, zinc. According to my doctor, who follows research on the effectiveness of home remedies, some studies suggest that echinacea is effective for the first 24 hours or so of an infection/cold, whereas vitamin C continues to boost the immune system throughout. Zinc also has staying power, but it also tends to irritate the stomach, so stop zinc if that starts bothering you.
5. Non-prescription decongestant. I recommend drixorol, although you'll have to ask the pharmacist and sign for it, due to idiots figuring out a way to make meth out of it.
Those are my Big Five, and they're pretty effective. Sometimes I also use the following:
6. There's a kind of Vick's Vapo-Rub tablet that you can put in the shower to release menthol vapors which help clear the sinuses. Your eyes may sting.
7. Or use Vick's the old-fashioned way; put it on your chest and inhale. [One of my anonymous comments said "use just before you go to bed," good sense since one tends to stop up while asleep.]
8. Zicam swabs (available in pharmacies) may help.
9. You can rest in bed with your face on a heating pad: same idea as the hot water.
10. If you like sushi, have some wasabi! It opens those nasal passages.
