I Stopped a Sinus Infection in its tracks!

It’s wintertime. I had a sore throat, cough, runny nose and maybe a low-grade fever. A cold was creeping up on me and I would have nothing of it! That is because I always get a sinus infection at the end of a cold. This has been happening for years. But I did something different this time. I stopped the sinus infection with the use of a nebulizer. What is a nebulizer?  Continue reading!

Why do people “catch colds” in winter? In the winter, our vitamin D levels go down. The sun is lower in the sky, and levels of UV radiation are much more reduced than in summer. This has a direct effect on how much vitamin D our bodies make. This leaves us vulnerable to becoming sick (info here and here).

Another reason we “catch a cold” might be that when the weather gets cold, we are crowded into small indoor spaces, with the windows closed, and “cold viruses” are passed around (see my post on viruses).

But the ancient Chinese believed something different. According to The Acupressure Stress Management Book (on acupuncture) traditional Chinese medicine believes that the change in weather triggers the body to cleanse itself of toxins. Hence the cough and runny nose. There is no mention of “viruses” in Chinese Medicine, that is a Western concept). For another fascinating take on “contagion” see this book- The Truth About Contagion by Tom Cowan MD and Sally Fallon Morell.

Can you tell the difference between a cold and the flu?  A cold comes on relatively slowly, such as having a slightly scratchy throat for several days. Then the runny nose starts, and then the cough. Sometimes you have a low-grade fever and sometimes not. But the flu is different. It hits you like a freight train- in just a couple of hours you start to feel miserable. I will not talk about the flu today, only colds and sinus infections.

Whatever causes cold symptoms, a cold is relatively minor. You have a few days of discomfort, sore throat, cough, runny nose. You can’t sleep very well because you are “stuffed up.” You just have to wait until it “runs its course.” But, for some of us, the end of a cold is not the end of misery, but the beginning of more misery as we move into a sinus infection.

Years ago, my ear nose & throat doctor told me I would “always” get a sinus infection after every cold because my sinuses are very narrow, and they trap bacteria. And he was correct. For years every cold I got turned into a sinus infection. A sinus infection is really a bacterial infection. It is not a virus. The only way to treat my sinus infections was the use of antibiotics. I don’t like taking antibiotics so I try to avoid them.

After years of this routine, I had a brilliant idea- what if I could just stop a cold right as it starts!  If a cold never progresses, then it would never end up in a sinus infection. Logical, right?  

So, I tried to kill oncoming colds in various ways. Once I tried taking thousands of mg of vitamin C a day as the cold was coming on. It did not work. I got the cold anyway. The next time, I tried taking “immune defense” supplements (such as zinc, elderberry and vitamin D). These things made the cold less intense, but they did not stop it completely. I still had the cold and the accompanying sinus infection.

I have concluded that it is near impossible to stop a cold completely. A cold is not going to go away. It will come on whether you like it or not.

OK. If I can’t stop the cold, maybe I can stop the resulting sinus infection. I tried saline sinus washes. I would do these several times a day. Surely if you flush your sinuses out with salt water, that will kill any bacteria. None of it worked. I would always come down with the predictable sinus infection.

And then I had another idea-

What about a nebulizer? You may ask, what the heck is a nebulizer??? A nebulizer is a device that simply vaporizes (aerosolizes) a medicated liquid and sends it to a mask so you can breathe in the vapor. You inhale the vapor into your sinuses and deep into the lungs. I decided to buy one. I put a hydrogen peroxide solution in my nebulizer and used it four times a day during my last cold. It worked! No sinus infection. (No prescriptions were required, and no doctors were required either.)

The nebulizer I purchased is made by Phillips. (This brand is no longer being manufactured but it is still available at this website and possibly other sites.) There are other brands out there, but most seem to require a prescription for purchase. At the time I bought mine, no prescription was required.

This Phillips brand was recommended by Dr Joseph Mercola some time ago. Mercola suggested that an electric, tabletop “jet” nebulizer is best. He states that the battery driven or handheld ones are not very effective. (The “jet” just means it pressures up a flow of air and sends it into the liquid to vaporize it.)

So, how did I make the “medicated liquid” that I put in my nebulizer? It is simply 3% hydrogen peroxide (food grade) and salt water. All ingredients were purchased over the counter or on-line. The process of preparing the liquid is detailed in this article (scroll down to “How to Properly Dilute the Hydrogen Peroxide.”) But here is the short version on how I did it-

HOW TO MAKE THE SOLUTION

Ingredients-

   3% Food Grade Hydrogen peroxide (don’t use the kind for cuts)

   Distilled water (Walgreens or pharmacy)

   Celtic Sea salt (high quality with no extra ingredients) find at supermarket

Directions- 

   Measure out 2 cups of the distilled water

   Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt (measure with a measuring spoon not an eating spoon)

   Add 1 Tablespoon hydrogen peroxide.

   Mix well, store in fridge. 

Use the above mixture in the nebulizer (1 teaspoon or whatever your nebulizer requires). Breath the mist for about 5 min or until the 1 teaspoon is mostly gone. I did this four times a day during the cold. I got a slight burning feeling in my nose from the salty water, but not too bad. For more info go here.

Other physicians (besides Dr Mercola) have found the use of nebulized hydrogen peroxide very safe-

“Using small amounts of peroxide, [in the] nebulizer, only has a good clinical effect. I do not see negative effects with it.” ~ Dr. David Brownstein

It is suggested that nebulizing can be done every day for preventative purposes during the cold and flu season. It can be started immediately as soon as you feel a respiratory infection coming on. Hydrogen peroxide is found naturally in the body. It has been shown to kill many pathogens.

Now that I have a method to avoid sinus infections, I feel much less fearful of getting sick. I now have a tool that I can use to stay well. It only took me 20 years to find this out. I proved my ear nose and throat doctor wrong. A cold does not have to lead to a sinus infection.

In the words of Oliver Cromwell in 1653, this is what I have to say to my next sinus infection-

“Depart I say and let us be done with you! In the name of God, go!” (I love this quote).

Always talk to your health professional before starting anything new.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any condition and is intended only for entertainment. I welcome your comments (scroll down).