Sinus Troubles: S’not What You Think

Chronic Sinus Trouble
Do you wake up with a stuffy head and mucus in your throat or nose? Do you feel as if you always have a cold or that your last cold never left you? Do you have a chronic “postnasal drip”? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then you may be suffering from sinusitis – an inflammation of the sinuses. Your sinuses (Latin for “hollow”) can refer to any cavity or sac in your body. Here we are referring to eight spaces in the cranial bones of your forehead and around your nose. Sinuses help you to breathe, yet when they get inflamed and fill up with mucus it seems that healthy breathing is the one thing they prevent.

What is Mucus?
It’s the butt of jokes and may be considered one of our less pleasant secretions and yet mucus, that sticky, elastic, unappealing gel is nothing less than one of the greatest protections that we have against infection and poisoning. Your nose, throat and sinuses are line with mucus to help ensure that your air is moist, warm and free from dust, dirt and pollutants; without this filtering gel your lungs and kidneys, and even your blood, could fill with toxins.

Symptoms
There can be too much of a good thing. When too much mucus fills the sinus linings the condition is called sinusitis. When too much mucus only involves the nose or throat it’s called rhinitis and may mimic a cold.

Causes of Sinusitis & Rhinitis
Anything that irritates the sensitive mucus membranes can be a contributing factor to sinusitis (or rhinitis): dust, mold or pollen, fumes, viri or bacteria, and hot or dry air in buildings. Allergy sufferers often have sinus symptoms because of many allergens first irritate the nasal passages. Less common causes of sinusitis are bony growths, nasal polyps, deviated septum, facial injuries, tumors or diseases of the upper teeth.

Treatment for Chronic Sinus Troubles
Drugstores are filled with all kinds of sinus remedies. The standard medical
treatment for sinusitis and rhinitis are the promotion of drainage and treatment with decongestants, antibiotics and antihistamines. There are also other complimentary therapies that can help alleviate sinus troubles. Many of them include the use of a netti pot, breathing in moist air with essential oils, acupuncture, massage and chiropractic. Although some of the complimentary therapies like massage, nutritional counseling (removal of mucus producing foods), acupuncture

and chiropractic don’t treat the sinus trouble directly; they do bring relief for many people who suffer from chronic sinus problems! How do those therapies work?

They work by relieving stress on the nervous and structural systems, helping your body work more efficiently. Further, chiropractic care specifically ensures that the bones in the neck and upper cervical region move freely and ‘breathe’ permitting body fluids to drain without interference. Additionally much research has been done on the benefits of chiropractic adjustments for children suffering from chronic ear infections and sinus troubles, many times saving them from going through rounds of
antibiotics and having ear tubes placed in their head. Anyone suffering from sinusitis, rhinitis, chronic ear infections, or other respiratory problems should see a chiropractor for a check up where alternative therapy can be prescribed and combined with traditional therapy to get the best results possible!