Hellobee Boards

I get a lot of sinus pressure and sinus headaches, but have never actually had a sinus infection that I know of. Having an infection for years doesn't sound good!

The one thing that kept my sinus headaches at bay for a long time was acupuncture- I had hardly anything like a year and a half and I still get them less frequently.

I had one year where I had 20 or so. After the first few I started seeing an ENT/Allergist. I started allergy therapy right away, but since they still kept up, the doctor started keeping track of them and did cat scans and saw my sinus pathways were tiny (which was causing allergy attacks to turn into infections because nothing could get out).

Using a saline rinse (like the neti pot, but I find the squeeze bottle helped a lot more) and daily allergy meds helped some. But the surgery helped a ton more. And honestly it was way less painful than an infection.

I still get occasional pressure when the weather changes and when allergens are at their peak, but overall, 5 years later, I think surgery is one of the best decisions I've made!

I used to get horrible, horrible sinus infections. I was on antibiotics for them 24 times in high school, and ended up with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection and emergency sinus surgery. Sinus surgery had always been a "we'll do it soon" thing, but became an emergency.

I will say that sinus surgery made a HUGE difference for me. I didn't have another sinus infection for over 10 years!! I also don't take antibiotics for them anymore, unless the doctor cultures the mucus and it tests positive for a bacterium. Most sinus infections are viral, so all the antibiotics do is increase your risk of a drug-resistant infection.

I have tried the neti pot, but it doesn't help me as much as it helps others. Steaming over a pot of water with a towel over my head or in the shower to loosen things up helps. Sudafed severe cold PE is the only OTC medication that has ever helped sinus pain for me.

For me, the sinus surgery was life changing. And that's not hyperbole. It truly made a HUGE difference in my quality of life.

I've had two in my lifetime: one about 10 years ago that cleared up on its own, and one earlier this year that needed antibiotics. I was so, so sick for two weeks, constantly running 102*+ temperatures, and because my immune system was so weak, I ended up getting a nasty eye infection too.