Sinusitis can be treated with natural remedies and prevent it from recurrence by taking preventive measures that strengthen the defenses and prevent the accumulation of mucus.
- Sinusitis: symptoms
- Sinusitis: home remedies
- Sinusitis: prevention
With bad weather often come annoying sinusitis, which congest the entire area of the nose, eyes and forehead. With sinusitis not only does you breathe worse, but sometimes you can feel a lot of pressure in the upper part of the head, even pain.
The natural treatment of this respiratory condition involves addressing its causes, favoring the expulsion of mucus, strengthening the defenses and the use of home remedies that relieve symptoms.
SINUSITIS: SYMPTOMS
Sinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses, four air-filled cavities that communicate with the nasal cavity.
These cavities produce mucus to keep the nose moist and free of foreign substances such as dust or pathogenic microorganisms. However, for various reasons it can happen that the production of mucus is excessive or that there is difficulty in draining the mucus.
When mucus builds up in the sinuses, the discharge tends to thicken and can obstruct and congest the area, making breathing difficult, and making sinusitis or infection easier.
SINUSITIS RESULTS IN SYMPTOMS SUCH AS:
- Thick, yellow or dark mucus
- Pain and tenderness around the eyes, cheeks, nose, and forehead, the places where the sinuses are located.
SINUSITIS: MOST FREQUENT CAUSES
The most common cause of sinusitis is excess mucus.
From the point of view of naturopathic medicine, excessive mucus production is related to a diet rich in sugars and refined flours, especially white sugar and pastries, and also to the consumption of dairy products in general. That is why making certain changes in diet is one of the bases of the natural treatment of sinusitis.
SINUSITIS: HOME REMEDIES
To treat sinusitis, natural medicine focuses on addressing the causes and factors that favor its appearance or intensity. Feeding and caring for nasal and paranasal mucous membranes with techniques such as nasal washes or mists with medicinal plants are some of the most important measures.
FEEDING
It is recommended to reduce to the maximum, for a prudential time of four to five months, the foods that favor the increase of mucus that we have mentioned: sugars and refined flours and dairy products. While sinusitis is active, the ideal is even to eliminate them completely.
Instead, it is recommended to consume whole grain products and, above all, abundant raw fruits and vegetables.
Vegetable smoothies and natural sweeteners such as honey or cane honey can be taken without problems. A well-hydrated diet protects the nasal mucosa.
LEARNING TO SOUND GOOD
Apart from feeding, it is important to know how to eliminate mucus correctly. Many times, due to misuse of the handkerchief, we can start a sinusitis.
We should never, when making the force to expel the nasal secretions, cover at the same time the two nostrils, since then the pressure increases and, not having its natural outlet, the mucus recedes and accumulates in the sinuses. Always, when getting wet, you have to keep an open hole.
AVOID ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS
Of course, being exposed to environmental pollutants, and especially smoking, dries out the mucosa and thickens the mucus, also favoring sinusitis.
To prevent its onset or improve it once developed, it is important to quit smoking and reduce your exposure to these substances in general.
NASAL CLEANSING
Irrigation or nasal cleaning drags and eliminates foreign or toxic substances from the nasal mucosa and sinuses, which helps to recover the normal functioning of this first defensive barrier, and prevents the stagnation of physiological mucus.
In our culture we do not have a tradition of nasal hygiene, but it is advisable to incorporate this habit regularly, especially if you have a tendency to suffer from upper respiratory problems.
But it is very important to do nasal washes correctly, so that the liquid that is introduced through one nostril is eliminated through the other, or through the pharynx, but does not stagnate in the sinuses.
Logically, doing the washes, without eliminating the production of mucus by addressing its causes, is not enough to solve this problem.
NASAL FOG
The classic thyme mists, covering the head with a towel and inhaling the steam for about ten or fifteen minutes are very indicated in sinusitis, on a daily basis, or occasionally in its prevention.
SINUSITIS: PREVENTION
To avoid recurrent sinusitis, in addition to taking into account everything mentioned that keeps the immune system healthy, you can also help the defenses by taking seasons, in autumn or winter, preparations of propolis, echinacea or thyme, among other plants and remedies that fight infections and strengthen the immune system thanks to its antiseptic and immunostimulant properties.
