I am not a medical doctor. What follows is my personal story dealing with sinusitis and what I have found that helps me. Please, always consult your doctor before trying anything I write about.
I am a sniffer. I have always sniffed because my nose has always been stuffed. When I think back to my earliest memories they are filled with me sniffing. It used to drive my mother crazy. I remember a time my brother was talking to one of my girlfriends and he asking her, ‘How can you stand his constant sniffing?’
I never looked into curing my sniffing because it was something that had plagued me all of my life. I didn’t know that there was any other way to handle it. If it was such a bother to everyone, how come my folks never took me to see a doctor about it? I felt like it was my fault, like a birth defect and not a medical issue. It really is a wonder that I ever had girlfriends or even got married.
A couple of years ago at my wife’s request, I went to see a doctor for my sniffing. I was quickly refereed to an allergist who did several allergy tests on me. All of which came back negative. The doctor ended up diagnosing me with chronic sinusitis and put me on a three month supply of a nasal steroid.
After a few days of snorting this steroid, I could breathe through my nose like a normal person! It was weird too! I have spent most of my life sniffing that now, with nothing blocking my air way, every breath I took required a fraction of the energy it used to. Breathing became effortless for the first time in my life. This changed everything.
After three months, I ran out of the steroid. A month after that I started sniffing again. Not a lot at first, but eventually I went back to sniffing all the time. I went back to my doctor who this time sent me to an ear, nose and throat doctor. I was told by this new doctor that what the allergist did the right thing by putting me on the steroid nasal spray. The only thing wrong was that the allergist should have told me I was going to require the steroid for the rest of my life.
I gave the ear, nose and throat doctor a dumb founded look. One that said you expect me to snort a steroid into my head for the rest of my life? The doctor could see the concern on my face and said, “I have the same thing you have and I have been taking this steroid for the last six years. It is perfectly safe.”
“Uh Huh.” I responded doubtfully. You would have too if you had seen this guy.
He wrote me a prescription for the nasal steroid and as he was doing so he said, “There is also surgery. We can go in there and clean out you sinuses. But I can’t promise you that it wont come back. Most patients relapse.”
That option did not sound good to me either. The doctor had no other options for me and didn’t think there was anyone else in town I could speak with about this. He actually seemed insulted that I would question his course of treatment. I left his office feeling disappointed and threw away the prescription before I even exited the building.
The next day, I called my mother to tell her what had happened. After she heard the story she asked me to give her some time to research some herb options. After a couple of days she called back and told me to start taking Echinacea and Goldenseal along with Sage. The Echinacea with Goldenseal is supposed to fight off the infection in my sinuses and the Sage is supposed to clear out my sinuses so that the Echinacea can do it’s job better.
So I gave it a shot. After a couple of days I could breath again! Just as good, if not better, as when I was on the nasal steroid. I was thrilled and I have been on these herbs ever since.
From what I have discovered it is possible that this herb combination could cure my sinusitis after a long while. I don’t know if I am going to be that lucky. For now I am just happy that I no longer sniff and I don’t have to take any steroids.
