Stuffy nose and sinus issues

I often have my nasal pathways blocked up for no reason (probably due to a slight deviated septum, which I’m planning to get a surgery for). Using medications like Flonase for long periods of time can be harmful, so I use a 0.9% Sodium Chloride solution (in other words, saltwater) that I brought from my home country which helps clearing up the blocked sinuses.

So my inventory is almost out, so any recommendations for something like this here? I don’t want to use medications so just flushing out sinuses would be enough I guess.

12 comments
  1. The contact lens solution at CREATE is 0.9% sodium chloride in sterile distilled water. Less than ¥200 for a 500ml bottle.

  2. A lot of people make their own since the neti pot / sterile solutions cost can add up. The key thing is to make sure to use very sterile solutions with accurate saline content. (I can’t stress sterile enough here).

    You can look up methods online, but generally you want to sterilize a glass jar and its lid. Weigh out your calculated salt to your water volume. Boil the water (like, boil the crap out of it for 20+ min), hot pour into your sterile jar to a measured volume, add in salt / mix, and use when cooled. Make fresh every time.

    It’s simple, but I would still recommend buying pre-made saline solutions for nasal irrigation cause the danger of putting liquids up your nose is pretty bad if you’re unlucky.

  3. Check your local drug store. Nasal rinses are quite common here, and come in a variety of different types.

  4. Steam baby! Boil a pot of water, then get your head over it with a towel (not too close to the pot or you’ll burn your sinuses), then inhale and exhale through your nose and after a few meanings it’ll all come dripping out. Also if you can pop some menthol in there (I use vix), that’ll really shift it!

  5. My sinuses go crazy when humidity is 60%, I have meters in every room and dehumidifiers. Have you tried this?

    I used to think I was catching weak colds all the time but it was just this. I use a Dretek that draws a sad face when the balance of temperature/humidity balance is no bueno

  6. Just also factor in that our noses naturally alternate air flow from one nostril to the other. It’s called nasal cycling and it is controlled by turbinates. If your tissues are overly inflamed or reactive to external things like pollen, you can try something like Nasonex but needs to be taken consistantly. Interestingly, I struggled for years with my sinuses but eventually it resolved itself (Huge reduction in dairy and gluten may have had something to do with it). I had surgery for a broken nose which led to the lining of the nose taking decades to fully recover and stop bleeding easily when blowing my nose etc. So I would avoid surgery if possible.

  7. Get a neti pot (or squeeze bottle), a jug of distilled water, and some saline packets (or kosher salt, not table salt). You can buy the Neilmed sinus rinse kits in Japan, they come with a squeeze bottle and salt packets.

  8. If you don’t want to rely on medications then I recommend finding a nutritionist to check for nutritional deficiencies, Candida growth etc… as these could cause nasal congestion

  9. Can’t say I cured my sinusitis, but it has improved quite a bit. Using neti pot every day helped a lot. Consistency is important even if you feel better one day, keep rinsing. I make my own mixture, half a teaspoon sea salt, half a teaspoon xylitol and half a teaspoon baking soda, it gave me best results that way.

    Blow your nose very gently, blowing hard just makes it worse. Also zero picking your nose! I used to get a lot of mucous built up, so would pick it off, that worsened my condition. Whenever I have a lot of mucous I use the neti pot. Diet also changed to follow candida diet, not sure how much it helped, but might have also contributed.

    Don’t take the pills or sprays the doctor give you, it makes things worse in the long run.

    I also have a deviated septum, and also got my nose blocked up for apparently no reason, however after following above procedures it has improved a lot. I was also recommend surgery, but I opted to try the natural way first, just have to take it seriously and be persistent (talking about months). Its hard but seems to work.

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