Need BBB medical advice! Months long congestion from new dust allegry?

[dogmom]

Sorry, it sounds like you have a case of sinusitis that is verging on chronic, so it can last up to 3 months. It doesn’t necessarily mean there is a bacterial infection, it still could have all been triggered by a nasty virus, like a simple cold virus that just really struck you wrong and got all the sinus just passages inflamed. There isn’t much to “do” about it that keep doing what your are doing. A CT scan can show a bad case of it, but it’s not going to change the treatment unless they are going to go in surgically and open some stuff up. I had a case I got when I was 3 months pregnant with my daughter that didn’t clear until after I gave birth. You can try saline nasal rinses if you haven’t already. They is evidence showing they can help.

If it does seem to be a case of sinusitis you might want to try some mindfulness/mediation work. Unfortunately having dealt with chronic conditions myself there are periods of maximizing therapy and turning to these methods help one handle the symptoms better. It’s not a treatment for the underlying condition, just improves quality of life. I’m not saying it’s all in your head or ignore it. I’m just saying upon further exploration it may turn out you have something that it’s just going to have to take your body time to heal from and you need to maximize your healing the best you can.

[Smillow]

Look into tapping/lymphatic massage. It has helped me stay sinus infection free for a couple of years (including zyrtec/flonase regimen)... I had a completely blocked ear canal (the next step would have been tubes! At 50!) and it helped so much!

[almostmom]

Just looked it up online and did some, and I think it might have really helped! Thanks for the suggestion! Looking forward to doing more tonight.

[MSWR0319]

For sure do a CT scan! I went to the dr numerous times with symptoms similar to yours over a 6 months period. I was diagnosed with TMJ and all sorts of other randomness. Finally took myself to an ENT who did a CT scan and my entire left sinus was closed everywhere! It took 3 months worth of strong antibiotics and a round of steroids to clear me up. We found that my sinus passages are so small that the slightest irritant causes them to close and there's no going back. Right now I'm pretty sure my left sinus has been closed for months, but no one will give me a steroid to open it up. The only nose spray that works for me is not OTC and my insurance won't cover it. I need to go back to the ENT and see if they can help again.

[Globetrotter]

I have allergies and find the neti pot also makes a big difference with congestion and can prevent sinus issues for me. However, I get lazy so I tend to only do it when things get worse.

Keep your head elevated at night.

[#2ontheway]

Talk to your ENT about starting a regimen of irrigation with a Neil-Med, adding a tube of budesonide each time. You can also put a few tubes of mupirocin ointment in your distilled water gallon (and gently shake it so it dissolves) if you might have some infection. It's super goofy but after about a month of twice a day irrigation, I noticed a huge difference. Also consider singulair. You may only need to do these things for a relatively short time to get your inflammation under control, then manage with whatever OTC allergy med you like best plus flonase or similar. CTs are expensive. I'd hold off until you tried to kick it medically. Agree that a CT really makes sense if you are considering pursuing surgical treatment.

[Mommy_Mea]

When I had sinus issues, I did a sinus rinse with saline water and budesonide. It worked really well, but I wasn't great at keeping up with it. Eventually my sinus issues just went away, but it took quite a while! Once a year the ENT would use a dinner optic camera to look at my sinuses, I had polyps that were either causing the issue or were exacerbated by the issue.

Talk to your ENT about starting a regimen of irrigation with a Neil-Med, adding a tube of budesonide each time. You can also put a few tubes of mupirocin ointment in your distilled water gallon (and gently shake it so it dissolves) if you might have some infection. It's super goofy but after about a month of twice a day irrigation, I noticed a huge difference. Also consider singulair. You may only need to do these things for a relatively short time to get your inflammation under control, then manage with whatever OTC allergy med you like best plus flonase or similar. CTs are expensive. I'd hold off until you tried to kick it medically. Agree that a CT really makes sense if you are considering pursuing surgical treatment.