Sinus infection and constant head pressure

Posted by pack12 @pack12, Jun 12, 2021

Hello, I am a 19 year old college student from Alberta, Canada. I attend a school in The Southeastern United States and it was my first spring that I spent down there where the pollen is more severe than the Alberta Prairies. I suffered from allergies starting at the start of April of this year. I started blowing my nose extra hard to clear the congestion but it kept getting worse. Then I used a Neti Pot squeeze bottle to clear it up a couple weeks later and I used tap water. I felt very sick the next day and had a fever and felt disoriented for a week. A week later I went to see a doctor and he said it was a sinus infection so I was put on antibiotics but it did not get much better and for the past two months my head felt super heavy with constant pressure in my head. Also, sinus pressure comes and goes, I was wondering if there could be something dangerous in the Neti Pot? Or is it allergies or the infection that still has not gone away? Thank y’all!

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@klickman0226

I developed a sinus infection about 2 1/2 months ago. I have gone to my primary care doctor, an ENT, gotten a CAT scan of my sinuses, and receive 2 rounds of antibiotics. No one seems to be able to determine what is causing the infection or how to treat it. I use a Netti pot 2 to 3 times a day, take decongestants to help relieve the pressure in my head, and blow my nose about once every 2 minutes. Every time yellow mucus comes out. Im sure I have expelled gallons of the stuf. I was directed to an allergy clinic, but the appointment is 2 months from now. Who would be the most likely to be able to diagnose this problem?

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@klickman0226

Do you normally have allergies? You may be referred to an allergist to help determine the best way to control them. Call and ask if they can either work you in or you can get on a call list when someone cancels their appointment.

Have they taken a sample to determine if the cause is bacteria or fungi? That can determine what medication they use to treat you.

Are you using distilled water (which is recommended) in your netti pot? Are you cleaning your netti pot as per directions that came with it? If you use a nasal spray are you cleaning the nozzle tips after usage? Do you use a cpap machine for sleep apnea?

Here is a link about Chronic Sinusitis: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-sinusitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351661

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@klickman0226

I developed a sinus infection about 2 1/2 months ago. I have gone to my primary care doctor, an ENT, gotten a CAT scan of my sinuses, and receive 2 rounds of antibiotics. No one seems to be able to determine what is causing the infection or how to treat it. I use a Netti pot 2 to 3 times a day, take decongestants to help relieve the pressure in my head, and blow my nose about once every 2 minutes. Every time yellow mucus comes out. Im sure I have expelled gallons of the stuf. I was directed to an allergy clinic, but the appointment is 2 months from now. Who would be the most likely to be able to diagnose this problem?

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Hi @klickman0226
I also have had wicked sinus infections, they increased when I moved away from the coast. Life was miserable. Stock should have been bought for companies that make tissues. My allergy list takes pages, I lived in the desert and was even allergic to tumbleweed, the live version. I still have issues but I have reduced them by: medications, saline spray, Flonase and no outdoor clothing in my bedroom, washing my pillow and or drying it monthly, drying and freezing my pillow cases, I take a shower if I have been outside, so no pollen gets on my pillow to breathe it in. I also do not put on allergy mattress or pillow covers for the same reason . These are not cures but if you eliminate some causes of annoyance to your sinuses it is a small win. Less misery, for me. I still get sinus infections, I usually need medication for 3 weeks. I hope some of this helps, I have felt like you and battled the infections for 6+ months once. Medications 2 weeks at a time, until a doctor gave me one for a month yahoo!

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@fourof5zs

@klickman0226

Do you normally have allergies? You may be referred to an allergist to help determine the best way to control them. Call and ask if they can either work you in or you can get on a call list when someone cancels their appointment.

Have they taken a sample to determine if the cause is bacteria or fungi? That can determine what medication they use to treat you.

Are you using distilled water (which is recommended) in your netti pot? Are you cleaning your netti pot as per directions that came with it? If you use a nasal spray are you cleaning the nozzle tips after usage? Do you use a cpap machine for sleep apnea?

Here is a link about Chronic Sinusitis: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-sinusitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351661

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I have tried all your suggestion except the sample to determine bacteria or fungus. Thank you.

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@jfn

Hi @klickman0226
I also have had wicked sinus infections, they increased when I moved away from the coast. Life was miserable. Stock should have been bought for companies that make tissues. My allergy list takes pages, I lived in the desert and was even allergic to tumbleweed, the live version. I still have issues but I have reduced them by: medications, saline spray, Flonase and no outdoor clothing in my bedroom, washing my pillow and or drying it monthly, drying and freezing my pillow cases, I take a shower if I have been outside, so no pollen gets on my pillow to breathe it in. I also do not put on allergy mattress or pillow covers for the same reason . These are not cures but if you eliminate some causes of annoyance to your sinuses it is a small win. Less misery, for me. I still get sinus infections, I usually need medication for 3 weeks. I hope some of this helps, I have felt like you and battled the infections for 6+ months once. Medications 2 weeks at a time, until a doctor gave me one for a month yahoo!

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Thank you for your input. I really haven’t had nearly the trouble you have until this came along. I suspect a connection to a couple of bad teeth.

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@klickman0226

I have tried all your suggestion except the sample to determine bacteria or fungus. Thank you.

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@klickman0226

I am having horrible allergies right now. Grass pollen. and some kind of weed are the culprits. I inherited my mom's mini-poodle and even though I brush him off before he comes in the house he seems to bring the pollen with him. .. he has nappy hair that acts like velcro. When he comes in the chair with me it is sneeze city. I wear a hat and over-shirt with sleeves when I go outside and take them off before entering the main house .. leaving them in the sun room. I rinse off any exposed skin.

My sinuses are not infected yet, but are very irritated. Today I am going to add a little bit of distilled white vinegar (it is a good anti-bacteria product) to my saline rinse. I don't measure it .. maybe half teaspoon at most as a guess. It usually helps. Some people add peroxide, but I have not.

I would have thought with your ENT would have taken a sample to determine what kind of infection since yours is so persistent.

Did they test you for Covid? I have heard some people say they only had a very stuffy nose for a few weeks with it.

I cannot think of any other things that might help. Adding an antihistamine that works for me to my other meds puts my brain in a bit of a fog.

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@jfn

Hi @klickman0226
I also have had wicked sinus infections, they increased when I moved away from the coast. Life was miserable. Stock should have been bought for companies that make tissues. My allergy list takes pages, I lived in the desert and was even allergic to tumbleweed, the live version. I still have issues but I have reduced them by: medications, saline spray, Flonase and no outdoor clothing in my bedroom, washing my pillow and or drying it monthly, drying and freezing my pillow cases, I take a shower if I have been outside, so no pollen gets on my pillow to breathe it in. I also do not put on allergy mattress or pillow covers for the same reason . These are not cures but if you eliminate some causes of annoyance to your sinuses it is a small win. Less misery, for me. I still get sinus infections, I usually need medication for 3 weeks. I hope some of this helps, I have felt like you and battled the infections for 6+ months once. Medications 2 weeks at a time, until a doctor gave me one for a month yahoo!

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Hi,
Mine was the opposite, among other things, I am allergic to cold. Like the cold we lived in, in Alaska. Had to literally move down and out of cold weather. Have pages of chemical allergies, but seasonal (pollen etc) ones too. It's not just chronic sinusitis, it's ear infections and a week ago, cellulitis of my left eye socket that began to spread to my right one. I do have good Opthamologists now for that. Other health conditions complicate some of this stuff. CT says I have a turbinate that needs trimming. I didn't even know I had one! You have some tactics I've never even thought to try before. Freezing your pillow cases? And why not allergy covers for your pillow cases and mattress? I thought that was the point of them. The move hit us hard, so right now I live in an "efficiency" apt, which means (if that's a new word for you, it was for me) the bedroom and living room are all one room. My biggest problem has been getting this areas doctors to even do antibiotics. I've ended up with a neuralgia, a new one, in my ear becauses of it. I already have some in my walking parts.

REPLY

Hi,
To me the pollen etc... is on you, so if you put your head down on the pillow: the good, the bad and the ugly fall onto your pillow. If there is a non-permeable surface below your pillow case, the stuff just sits there, waiting to be inhaled ( or in your eyes). So, I air dry my pillow and wash and then freeze the pillow cases so that everything dies. On occasion when it is below 40° I put my pillow out in a laundry basket and then air dry it. I wash it, just not weekly.
As for my mattress, I vacuum it with the stair attachment.
Have your immune system tested when you can. If you call your previous pharmacy they should be able to send a printout to you. This also helps the discussion with your doctor.
I am so sorry you had to leave Alaska, and now how live in an efficiency (less to clean.) Hopefully you will feel better with the warmth, and your turbinoids will shrink! I hope that you find competent doctors.
If I smell isopropyl alcohol I pass out, Purrell is everywhere now, I needed another challenge!

REPLY
@thenazareneshul

Hi,
Mine was the opposite, among other things, I am allergic to cold. Like the cold we lived in, in Alaska. Had to literally move down and out of cold weather. Have pages of chemical allergies, but seasonal (pollen etc) ones too. It's not just chronic sinusitis, it's ear infections and a week ago, cellulitis of my left eye socket that began to spread to my right one. I do have good Opthamologists now for that. Other health conditions complicate some of this stuff. CT says I have a turbinate that needs trimming. I didn't even know I had one! You have some tactics I've never even thought to try before. Freezing your pillow cases? And why not allergy covers for your pillow cases and mattress? I thought that was the point of them. The move hit us hard, so right now I live in an "efficiency" apt, which means (if that's a new word for you, it was for me) the bedroom and living room are all one room. My biggest problem has been getting this areas doctors to even do antibiotics. I've ended up with a neuralgia, a new one, in my ear becauses of it. I already have some in my walking parts.

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@thenazareneshul-

Regarding the part where you mentioned your turbinate.

I recommend you educate yourself on this.

Every person has 6 turbinates. 3 on each side of the lateral wall of the nose. They are very important structures of the nasal cavity. They provide moisture, humidification, and movement of air, dust and particles through the nose.

Before you have an ENT say they want to do a little trimming I would really understand what these organ structures are and how the ENT would be “trimming” this tissue/bone.

REPLY

@thenazareneshul-

Just make sure you educate yourself on the pros and cons of having an ENT reduce your turbinate tissue.

There are many different techniques. Some more harmful than others.
Make sure your ENT is educating you and answering your questions about the type of procedure/surgery.

Ask for details.

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@nrd1

@thenazareneshul-

Just make sure you educate yourself on the pros and cons of having an ENT reduce your turbinate tissue.

There are many different techniques. Some more harmful than others.
Make sure your ENT is educating you and answering your questions about the type of procedure/surgery.

Ask for details.

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Well, since I fired the one that found it, because she kept the results of the CT with contrast that found problems, I really don't know what you are talking about. I now must find me totally new ENT. Perhaps you could provide me with some medical information that addresses what you are trying to warn me about?

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