A Peaceful Place

Alternative Medicine Cabinet�?/FONT>

End Sinusitis Naturally

By Sara Altshul

If you’ve got chronic sinusitis, you’ve probably bounced from doctor to doctor, trying countless antibiotics, enduring hellish sinus drainage—maybe even undergoing surgery. And more than likely, your headaches, congestion, and exhaustion haven’t improved. Fortunately, a number of alternative therapies can help you hop off the sinus-treatment merry-go-round.

Sinusitis is an infection in the passages behind your cheeks, nose, and eyes that often follows a cold or crops up during allergy season. Symptoms may include a green or yellow nasal discharge, postnasal drip, headache, or facial tenderness. A toothache, fever, or exhaustion can also signal an attack of sinusitis. So can decreased sense of smell. An infection can last a week, a month—even years.

The good news? You can cure sinusitis yourself, no matter how long you’ve had the condition—if you address its multiple causes. So asserts Robert S. Ivker, DO, assistant clinical professor in the departments of family medicine and otolaryngology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and author of Sinus Survival (Tarcher/Putnam, 2000). Other healers, such as Roberta Roberts Mittman, LAc, a licensed acupuncturist and founder of the Park Avenue Center for Well Being in New York City, agree. In Mittman’s experience, natural approaches, including diet, acupuncture, herbs, and supplements can keep you free of sinus problems permanently.

Ivker blames air pollution for the rising number of sinusitis cases. "Most major cities are significantly polluted, and the problem is worsening," he says. "Since our nose and sinuses are our primary air filters, every breath in a polluted environment introduces irritants that can cause inflammation, swelling, and increased mucus production."

Additionally, says Ivker, when your immune system is sluggish, either from general neglect or frequent courses of antibiotics, fungi such as candida and yeast can overwhelm the body and trigger chronic sinusitis. "Stress can reduce our immune system’s ability to fight off infection," adds Betsy Blazek-O’Neill, MD, medical director of the Integrated Medicine Program at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. "Stress management efforts are key to preventing sinusitis—and everything else that afflicts us."

Acupuncture to the rescue

"Many of my patients have chronic sinusitis, and have tried other treatments first," says Mittman, who combines acupuncture with diet, herbs, and supplements to blunt allergies. "There’s no one-size-fits-all treatment for sinusitis," she says. "I use an eclectic approach to help the body heal itself." Depending on their condition, Mittman’s patients generally start feeling better after three to five acupuncture treatments—or sooner.

"I’ve had sinus problems on and off for years, mostly due to seasonal allergies," says Anne Shaner, a 33-year-old New Yorker who works in television production. "Last year, I had bronchitis in addition to sinusitis, and I was in a lot of pain." Once she began acupuncture treatments with Mittman, she began to feel better. "My headaches definitely disappeared and my sinuses unclogged almost instantly," she says. "Acupuncture is a one-stop treatment for me. It also helps me with overall stress by making me feel balanced, calm, and centered."

"Every day, I see how well acupuncture helps patients with sinusitis—sometimes after one treatment," agrees Edna Røssberg, an acupuncturist at the Balder-Klinikken in Oslo, Norway. Røssberg, author of a recent study comparing acupuncture and conventional treatment for chronic sinusitis, says that acupuncture activates the immune system and acts as a painkiller by releasing endorphins—which can ease sinus headaches. Acupuncture proved to be as effective a treatment as steroids, antibiotics, and decongestants in Røssberg’s study.

Herbal sinus support

An herbalist’s advice may surprise you, says Eric Yarnell, ND, RH, AHG, a naturopath who specializes in men’s health at the Seattle Healing Arts Center. When someone with sinusitis comes into his office, he notes, "I do what I always do—try to identify the causes. There’s usually an allergic undercurrent, and I mean gut-related allergies, not pollen-related, though those are also often present. So I spend a lot of time talking about digestion, much to the patient’s confusion, and often recommend an elimination diet to identify allergies." When you’re suffering from acute sinus infections, however, you need to address the immediate problem before tackling diet issues. The following three herbs strengthen the immune system and help fight infection:

�?Echinacea eases the symptoms and shortens the duration of respiratory illnesses, according to numerous studies, and in higher doses, it fights sinus infections. Use a tincture of Echinacea angust folia in a 1:2, 50 percent alcohol preparation. Take 60 to 90 drops four to six times a day, recommends David Winston, AHG, an herbalist and herbal educator from Broadway, New Jersey, in his book, Herbal Therapy and Supplements (Lippincott, 2001).

�?Oregon Grape and Barberry (Berberis aquifolium and B. vulgaris) contain berberine, an antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal compound. Dose, according to Winston: Tincture, 1:5 concentration, 20 to 30 drops three times per day.

Help from homeopathy

Because homeopathy works by delivering minute doses of remedies that in full strength would cause the very symptoms you’re attempting to cure, try homeopathic remedies with "symptom profiles" that match the ones you have, suggest Wayne Jonas, MD, and Jennifer Jacobs, MD, in their book, Healing with Homeopathy, (Warner Books, 1996). Three common choices for sinusitis are:

�?Kali bichromicum Thick, ropey, yellowish-green discharge; may be mixed with blood. Frequently, headache over the eyebrows, between the eyes, or behind one eye; symptoms are worse in the morning.

�?Pulsatilla Yellowish-green discharge, worse in the morning, with soreness over facial bones and a tendency toward weepiness; desire for open air. You may also have a headache that improves when you apply cold compresses.

�?Hepar sulphuris calcareum Thick white or yellow offensive nasal discharge, which can become chronic after a cold or other illness; facial bones are painful to the touch. May have sharp shooting pains on the right side of face.

Steam and inhalers ease sinus infections

Steam inhalation helps to thin out thick, infected mucus, says Ivker. Add a few drops of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) or eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) essential oils to the steaming water—both are antimicrobial and antifungal, says Jane Buckle, PhD, RN, an aromatherapist and complementary and alternative medicine research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. For traveling, she suggests easing a sinus headache or preventing an infection with pocket-sized sinus inhalers that contain essential oils blended for sinus problems.

http://www.alternativemedicine.com/common/news/store_news.asp?task=store_news&SID_store_news=56&storeID=02AD61F001A74B5887D3BD11F6C28169

Important Announcement The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
A Peaceful Place	[email protected]