Natural Remedies for Sinus Inflammation
Sinus inflammation can really debilitate you. When we feel that pressure build up on our temples and cheeks, all we want to do is lie down and go to sleep. At its worse, sinus inflammation and pain can also make us feel nauseas, disoriented, and dizzy.
Store bought products not only include chemicals whose side effects may not be immediately evident but will also add to your monthly expenses. One need not trust biochemical corporations with your body’s health and well-being, however. There are natural methods of both avoiding and treating sinus inflammation.
Avoid Contact with Allergens
Allergies are one of the main causes of sinus pain and inflammation. If you tend to get your worse sinus symptoms during spring and summer, it is likely that you have a pollen allergy. Once you know this then you can take some precautions to reduce your exposure. Avoid going out in the middle of the early morning and the middle of the day. Shut your windows early in the morning and turn on the air conditioner.
If you do have to go out, take your car, leave the windows rolled up and run the air conditioner. Be sure to rinse off your windshield as pollen will often collect on your car and since many of the vents have entrances there, you will tend to get pollen into your car right from the windshield. If possible, try to get someone to rinse off you car in the morning so as much pollen is washed off your car as possible.
Some people have also found it useful to wear surgical masks in areas near farms where various allergy producing pollens and pesticides are blown over them during heavy harvesting periods in the summer.
Another good idea is to consider the weather. When it is rainy, you will tend to get fewer pollen related allergens. Conversely, on sunny, windy days or days just after rains, pollens will often be at their worst. Try to stay in on those days and on the first warm days of spring when most of the plant kingdom starts to bloom.
Water Treatments
There is much to be said for the curative powers of simple H2O. If you get sinuses because of allergies, washing your face off whenever you come in from outside can help clear many of the allergens from your skin and thus limit your exposure to the causes of your sinus inflammation. Furthermore, just the act of washing your face can help to relax the muscles of your face and diffuse much of the tension that adds to sinus pain. A warm bath can achieve similar effects.
Heat Treatments
Similar to water treatments, heat can help to break up the build-up that causes sinus pain. Just place a cloth in warm water and apply it to your sinuses.
Pressure combined with heat and water proves often to be to most effective remedy for some. If you take a shower and set the shower spray to massage your forehead with a steady hot beat, you will often find that if you stand with it striking your head for several minutes not only will much of the pain dissipate, but your may get a general drainage of your sinuses from the heat.
Diet
Finally, let’s not forget that what we ingest can often be the cause of your sinus problems. If you eat a lot of dairy products, you might find that they add to your sinus problems by increasing the amount of mucus in your nasal cavities and your sinuses. Try to reduce your dairy intake, or if you have to drink milk, try to drink low fat or non-fat milk.
If these remedies don’t work, you may, of course, end up having to make a trip to the drug store, but these certainly are worth a try beforehand or on days when you can’t quite get a hold of any medication.