@phxbarb
I am assuming you had surgery to increase the holes in sinuses that allow sinuses to drain.

I had this surgery back in 2002. It takes a while as surgery will cause those very sensitive sinuses tissues to swell. That takes time but I can tell you for me it did and has made all the world differences in my having good sinus drainage and stopped me getting sinus infection every other week as sinuses were blocked.

The irrigation is going to remove old blood etc. Water stained with blood will come out unti sinus heals. Did your surgeon mentioned using a ice pack on sinuses to help with pain and inflamation? If not asked about doing that as I did that routine and really helped me.

If your surgeon did a good job you should be able to breathe better. Just remember it is going to take some time for those sinuses to go back to normal as they are swollen and inflamed right now.

It was several weeks for me and even then it was a slow process.