My big problem now is to tackle my rhinitis, which I am sure feeds my asthma! I've had it all my life, and just live with it. I am not so much concerned with the runny nose, that's a nusiance but not the end of the world and is not always a problem. These days though it's more the bubbly white treacle that runs down the back of my throat (sorry about the graphics), some of which firms up much deeper down and into the breathing pipes on the chest! I am sure the rest of it just gets swallowed, or coughed up and out. I thought I'd see if I can start a thread just on rhinitis becasue I am sure that if I could master it I wouldn't have such a problem with asthma!
Over the years I have tried a number of medications none of which have brought results, the last one was a steroid nose spray which made things even worse, but I can't remember the name - but it was over ten years ago, when I lost hope in treating this condition!
Have there been any new learning, develpoments or effective treatments on this subject that I could bring to the attention of my doctor?
Or, are there practical measures apart from the obvious ones to do with dust and mites that I can move forward with???
I am aware of many of the triggers for it and do my best to avoid them, but sometimes it seems to function as a condition just out of habit!
Very many thanks for reading this, and if you have the slightest suggestion I would be pleased to read it!
Twizzle
PS on 14th April I added 'Post-Nasal Drip' to the title due to finding out a new term which refers to mucus running down the back of the throat specifically, pointed out by my great buddy Ginny
I also have rhinitis. I have a very visible red line across my nose and I constantly have a runny nose regardless the time of year. Rhinitis definitely has a negative affect on my asthma. I have tried nose sprays and antihistamine tablets but they make my asthma worse. I try to rid my house of dust etc with anti allergy pillows and duvet etc etc and I have recently had my two cats re-homed, but to no avail.
I'm currently looking at my diet - cutting down on wheat and dairy and swapping cows milk for goats milk, to see if it will help.
I wish there was more advice out there for us poor rhinitis sufferers. My GP and asthma nurse have no advice for me on the subject apart from avoid anything that makes the symptoms worse. Impossible. I cant avoid everything!!
My 7 year old son is not asthmatic but I am pretty sure that he has rhinitis also. He shares many of my symptoms and I'm forever telling him to blow his nose carefully to prevent him getting a line across it too.
I keep checking on-line and reading up on the subject but haven't found any new studies. I'll keep looking though.
Wish I could be more helpful, but I do know how you feel.
Take care.
Natalie
Rhinitis
Hi,
i also have a long term problem with sinusitis/rhinitis it really feeds my asthma flare ups I have tried everything too, nasacort spray, flixonase at the moment,nasosal, sterimar last two are saline sprays.
I dont really know whats the answer
It was suggested that i have an operation on my sinuses but i decided not to go for it. My resp cons said not to go for it unless my sinuses were really really bad.
Sorry i cant be of any further help
Christina
..at last some replies, but no answers!
I always thought all asthma sufferers had to have rhinitis as this is 'the' cause of asthma I reasoned, but I now know this is just one of the causes or triggers. There are also asthmatics with far worse symptoms who don't trace a link to rhinitis.
Rhinits feeds mucus down, but now I know that mucus also comes up from the lungs as a way of clearing out debris etc, and asthmatics tend to have an over active working of this plus a narrowing of the airways at times when the immune system over zealously deems it wise to offer protection from undesirable atmospheric content! I fall into both of these scenarios, with the lattter clearable by medication which is good news, but as yet, at 50, despite enthusiastic trials of various drugs I still cannot name any reasonably useful medication (apart from if you have noticed a huge intake of sea air!).
For me sea air will clear the worst symptoms within minutes if not an hour, and if I have a day by the sea my body seems to store something to last a few days -or if I am very lucky it will turn off the rhinitis completely for a long time, weeks perhaps. Such a jackpot win is the exception to the rule however, but I suspect it happens on the rare occaisions when I very well positioned with other triggers when I return home. However, a busy life and adverse weather conditons do scupper many a planned 20 mile drive to my nearest coast though, which is Southend-On-Sea.
Hi christina, I too was offered an operation - this was to cut a bit of the inside of my left nostril away and thereby widen it to achieve better ventilation because it was far narrower than my righst-side one. This was in my twenties, and I decided to postpone it -then didn't bother -it would not have changed the alergy basis of mucus production anyway!
Hi Tallythom, I will be very interested to know how you get on with cutting down on wheat and dairy and swapping cows milk for goats milk. I understand it may take a couple of months to have any results. I confess that I have tried this and rice milk but havn't had the discipline to hold on long enough. Perhaps I will try again. It might be easier with others like you in the background to correspond with.
Please keep in touch and add anything of interest to this thread.
Very many thanks,
Twizzle
I,m afraid I cant offer any medical answers but can I congratulate you on a pun I would be proud of -heh heh!!
..thanks, I just thought it would 'run better' with a pun!
All the best,
Twizzle
Report by Gert-Jan Braunstahl
It's not just the mucus being fed down!
I have just been reading a detailed scientific report by Gert-Jan Braunstahl that suggests that rhinitis will further complicate an asthmatic condtion by causing breathing to occur through the mouth instead of the nose.
A healthy nose helps to filter and humidify air before passing into the lungs. If air is mostly being breathed in through the mouth, the same allergens that affect the nose will also affect the areas inflammed by asthma (and more so when breathed through the mouth).
The report also alludes to a possible cellular osmosis between the two conditions, indirectly supplementing the very direct one of mucus being fed down that I am so concsious of..(!)
So it is of crucial importance to minimalise a rhinitis condition by whatever means possible as it appears to have a double-wammy way of causing or complicatiing asthma!
Twizzle
A couple of days ago I purchased some Sterimar Nasal Spray from the chemist. It is derived from sea water, and I spent some moments irrigating and puffing my nostrils during the day to get them clear.
24 hours later after an inahlation of my reliever Bricanyl at night, as per my usual I brought up a few small phlegms. This time they tasted very salty however. Um..If I had ever wanted physical evidence of an osmosis between the rhinitis condition and the asthmatic one I have it now!
Twizzle
I 'nose'!
Allergic rhinitis has become such a part of my life, that I don’t give it much thought any more! A few fellow sufferers have got together to chat off-forum about it too. We even set up a blog and a Yahoo group together!!
I remember being quite miserable as a youngster because I just couldn’t shake off the symptoms, and I sometimes felt that I couldn’t escape the itching eyes and streaming nose. My parents tried all sorts of things from nasal sprays, de-humidifiers, deionisers – but to be completely honest, the best thing that happened to me was finding effective drugs. I remember plunging my face into a sinkful of water sometimes, just to try and feel better for a few seconds, but it never really made a lot of difference. Piriton – really the only available antihistamine at the time knocked me out. I felt dazed and confused, and as a result missed most of a school trip because I was so out of it.
The lining of my nose is so super-sensitive that the steroid nasal sprays just made me worse, so I didn’t bother with them, and I didn’t have anti-allergen bedding, either (I still don’t!). We tried replacing my carpet with first lino, and then wood, but neither really made that much difference.
To this day I couldn’t really tell you what I’m allergic to – its been trial and error, really. I know that some things make me much worse, so I try to avoid them. Feathers, dust, pollen and polish are some of the obvious ones, but I’m convinced there are loads more, or I wouldn’t suffer with a runny nose every day. I’m worse in late summer, and in autumn when the pollen has stopped but the fungus spores are released. Some days are better than others, but I cope by having tissues to hand at all times (especially at mealtimes – my nose always runs when I eat), and by taking antihistamines regularly and decongestants as well when things are worse. I use Sudafed’s generic equivalent and Benadryl together to help me get relief from the bad spells. The decongestant works wonders – even when you don’t feel especially stuffy.
Overnight (even on a good night) my nose blocks up and I wake up needing to blow my nose, and clear my head. I’ve just got used to it.
I know I’m never going to be cured, I just need to make sure I can reduce the symptoms to a manageable level so I can get on with my life. I have a very poor sense of smell, but I don’t miss that because I’ve never really had it to miss!
Unlike you, though - it doesn't generally interfere with my asthma - and I'm grateful! Message me if you want more details.
Spaniel xx
Hi Spaniel...yes, I too use Benadryl and other types of over counter anti-histamines intermitently. The trouble is that they seem to just over dry or thicken up the sinuses, creating more of a blocked up sensation, with the rhinitis still working - perhaps slower though.
When my rhinitis was more of a runny nose situation I found that annoying but less of a worry, but these days it seems to have changed into running from the back of the nose down the throat, and I do feel quite strongly that this very much adding to my asthma!
Like you I have constantly tried things, and each time you get a % improvement. It may be a case of keeping trying until all these little %'s add up! My best time ever though was a time when I was pushing weights in a gym, that really did seem to help - so I intend to build up the fitness to be able to do that again. I think I am multi triggered, but the feel good enzigms and pumped-upness seem to shield me from the cold & damp trigger at least.
I do wonder sometimes if whether, having cycled for many years during my 20's in connection with work I may have breathed in an ecsessive amount of exhaust fumes, as I can remember the rhinitis coming often after much cycling in urban areas. Luckily I am not troubled by the pollen!!!
I will keep in touch with you to compare notes and find out about your group.
Thanks for your reply Spaniel,
Twizzle
Hi there. I live in Australia, and until last year suffered from Post Nasal Drip (or as I called it Post Nasal Depression!!!), where all the gunk ran down the back of my throat. I had tried nasal sprays from doctor, until she recommended a Nasal Rinse, at first I thought it would sting but it doesn't. It is a sachet added to water in a special bottle and you squeeze it gently up each nostril, then blow your nose clear. If really bad some of the gunk flushes out. Its called Neilmed Sinus Rinse and the website has testimonials (unimedprod.com/). According to the website Asthma organisations recommend it. I used it twice a day but I don't use it everyday anymore, just when I feel a sore throat or cold coming on. And they disappear quicker than ever. I have even purchased the Pediatric kit for my 5 year old asthma sufferer. And the difference it has made to her is amazing. Hope this helps you.
Neilmed Sinus Rinse
I am very grateful for your reply aussie.
A quick look at the website shows that this is widely available in the US at places such as Walmart.
The site shows a huge amount of sinus help type products, no doubt all variations and add-ons to do with the same thing and will have to study it to work all out!
I wonder therefore if any of my previous repliers have come across and tried Neilmed Sinus Rinse?
Very many thanks for what could be a breakthrough in my left nostril!
Twizzle
NeilMed Sinus Rinse
Hi
I have just ordered the Sinus Rinse from my Pharmacy, will let you !Nose! how i get on. Sinuses are bad to-day would be great if this Sinus Rinse works
Christina
NeilMed Sinus Rinse
Hi christina,
Now that's a good idea
...and in that case perhaps I will too and we can compare nose...!
Twizzle
I recently bought a similar-looking product to the one discussed called SinuCleanse Squeeze - also an American product, but available in the UK online (type ""sinucleanse squeeze + UK"" into Google and the first non-sponsored result is where I bought mine).
I've found it to be extremely good at cleaning up my sinuses and nasal passages and the amount of gunk in my nose/throat has lessened significantly. I also find it's helped unblock my eustachian tubes and so I've been able to stop taking nasty decongestant pills.
I've already recommended it to my sister and a friend - it IS a strange sensation the first few times you squirt lukewarm salty water up your nose and it pours out the other side, but the benefits certainly have been worth it, for me. (It's worth taking note of the small extra bit of paper I got in my kit that tells you to tip your head completely upside-down after doing the wash, as it enables the sinuses under your eyes to drain out properly).
SinuCleanse Squeeze v's Neilmed Sinus Rinse
Many thanks for that amszephyr.
So it's SinuCleanse Squeeze v's Neilmed Sinus Rinse.
But, Which one is best?
There is only one way to find out:
FIGHT!
Twizzle
PS (Sorry I am a Harrry Hill fan!) Seriously. Very many thanks for that amszephyr!
neilmed
Hi Twizzle
Just to let you know the Neilmed sinus rinse should be available at Boots Pharmacy according to the website. You start with the sinus rinse regular kit containing the bottle and 50 sachets, then just buy the refill pack of 100 sachets. That is all I have ever had to use. It is available widely in our chemists for just over $A20 here in Aus but interestingly not all gp's know about it. We go to a family practice here and my gp recommended it to me, and when my husband saw another doctor in practice with bad head cold, he asked the gp if he should use it and this gp hadn't heard of it!!!! My gp uses it hense she recommended it to me.
You can't use it if your sinus is blocked it will hurt your ears, however in bad cases I use just a saline nasal spray to clear them, then use rinse. Also don't use about an hour before bed, as some of rinse can remain in passages, and when you lie down or bend over sometimes a small amount will drain out.
But it doesn't sting, its just like warm water flowing out of your nose. My 5 year old enjoys it, when she is sick!!!??? My local chemist has many happy customers from it. Before I started using sinsus rinse my gp was talking about an ENT specialist, thankfully I never needed one.
hope this helps you some more.
Aussie
Neilmed
Hi aussie,
In that case I will hot foot it to my Boots Pharmacy as soon as possible.
But I am still interested in the outcome of SinuCleanse Squeeze v's Neilmed Sinus Rinse contest!
Can you tell me is Neilmed salty like the SinuCleanse Squeeze described by amszephyr or is it something else entirely?
I have tried Sterimar recently, which is derived from sea water and so very salty. It seemed to offer a modest help, but without shifting any real quantity from the deeper caverns of my nostrils and sinuses!
Many thanks aussie once again,
Twizzle
From what I can see from the posts and the link posted, twizzle50, they're very similar products in that they both comprise a plastic bottle which you use to squirt the saline solution up your nostrils. I can't see there'd be much difference in how they work, although obviously I'm not familiar with the design of the other product. Both come with sachets of powder to mix with water to make the saline solution.
From my own experience, the Sterimar can offers little in the way of positive pressure, whereas with one of these plastic bottles, you squeeze them yourself, thus allowing you to shoot the saline solution with as much force as you like/are able.
neilmed.ca/uk/index.php appears to be the UK site for the NeilMed company - there's a link for a free sample at the bottom you might want to try.
Even match!
Thanks amszephyr,
We'll call it a draw then, both being saline products applied with a cetain amount of positive pressure into the bunged up regions!
But perhaps NeilMed has the edge with the free sample! Apart from that price and ease of purcahse seem to be the only considerations.
Thanks again
Twizzle
PS I have just ordered the NeilMed free sample!
neilmed
Hi Twizzle
No I wouldn't say that Neilmed was really salty at all. I hardly notice anything when I use it. My GP recommended slightly sniffing after you squirt it up so it goes further into your sinus cavities (more for those with post nasal drip) , and you may get a small amount at the back of your throat, but again a very little salty taste. Certainly no after taste. It is just like water running out of your nostril but without that horrid sting. My 5 year old used it this morning and she doesn't think it is salty, she says it is just water. The bottle allows you to gently squirt it up at a pressure that suits you, and it contains a moisturiser to sooth the nasal passages also.
Hope this is of more help
aussie
Thanks aussie,
I am looking forward to using it!
Best Wishes,
Twizzle
You can make up your own sinus irrigation solution, which should be as effective as the ones you can buy, and a lot cheaper.
Make up a saline solution with a pint of boiled, cooled tap water and a teaspoon of salt.
Blow your nose first to remove as much mucus as you can.
Take 5 - 10ml up into a syringe and squirt into one nostril - you should feel it run down the back of your throat (you can buy a syringe from any pharmacy or pick one up from your GP or hospital).
Repeat a couple of times for each nostril.
This can be repeated 2 - 3 times a day.
After irrigation, use your steroid nasal spray or decongestant spray if you have one - it will be more effective when you have just cleared your sinuses.
This method helps to remove some of the thick sticky mucus that rhinosinusitis can produce, and also helps to flush out allergens like pollen particles. If you are prone to getting secondary bacterial sinus infections, as I am, it can also help with this as removing the thick mucus removes the site for infection to develop.
I have used the Sterimar salt water spray in the past too, and find it quite useful - especially if you are away from home where making up a salt solution is often not very convenient.
Otherwise, for rhinosinustis, I take regular antihistamines (at the moment, cetirizine twice a day and also hydroxyzine, an older sedating one, at night), montelukast (which I don't believe helps my asthma much, but does help my sinusitis), a steroid nasal spray (Flixonase) and very occasionally a decongestant nasal spray (I don't take oral decongestants like pseudoephedrine because I get episodes of palpitations and pseudoephedrine can make these worse). I also use sodium chromoglycate drops for the itchy eyes that often go with allergic rhinitis. I find that I am significantly less bothered by sinusitis symptoms when I am on high dose pred for my asthma, and the symptoms recur when the pred comes down - but I would not want to take pred purely for sinusitis!
From time to time I do get secondary (bacterial?) sinusitis infections - generally characterised by cold symptoms, green mucus from my nose (sorry), facial pain, headache and 'pressure' feeling, and heat and redness of my face over my sinuses. Unpleasant enough in itself, but also seems to lay me open to chest infections, presumably because the infected mucus can trickle down the back of the throat and infect the lungs. When this starts to happen, I start/step up the sinus irrigation (usually to 2 - 3 times a day) and carry on using my usual treatments. I do find that this helps. I don't often take antibiotics purely for sinus infections (they tend to penetrate poorly into the sinuses anyway, so they're often not that effective) but I do have some on standby to take at the first sign of any chest symptoms.
Other treatments for rhinosinusitis:
Allergen immunotherapy (desensitisation therapy) may be an option if your rhinitis is caused by one or two specific allergens (this isn't the case for most of us - most people with allergic rhinitis are atopic and will react to a whole range of allergens). The treatment involves giving tiny doses of the allergen over a period of time to try to enable the body to build up some tolerance to it. The most common allergies treated this way are to house dust mite, animal dander (cat or dog), grass and tree pollens, and bee and wasp venom. The treatment is normally given only for reactions to bee and wasp venom and seasonal allergic rhinitis that has not responded to medication. There is a danger of anaphylactic reactions with this treatment and doctors are usually very cautious about using it in people with a history of asthma or severe allergic reactions, so its use is limited. These treatments are usually given by subcutaneous injection, and have to be given in a hospital with resusitation equipment. There is a new form of immunotherapy, Grazax, which contains grass pollen and is given sublingually (under the tongue) - it is thought to be safer than the older injectible treatments but is still given in hospital.
Omalizumab (Xolair), the newish monoclonal anti-IgE therapy, could also be predicted to have very beneficial effects on allergic rhinitis, but currently it is only licensed for asthma, and only has NICE approval for people with proven IgE-mediated allergy to a perennial allergen and severe asthma requiring two or more hospital admissions in the past year. It is a relatively new treatment with some significant side effects, and it is also very costly, so it would not be realistic to expect any doctor to prescribe it for rhinitis as an unlicensed indiction. It's worth bearing in mind, though, for those who do meet the criteria for getting Xolair for their asthma, that it may well be of use for rhinitis as well.
If you have significant problems with rhinosinusitis and you haven't been seen by ENT in the past, it may be worth asking your GP if a referral is appropriate - sometimes there is a physical obstruction like nasal polyps or a deviated septum that can be fixed, making the accumulation of mucus less likely.
Allergen avoidance is another area which can be useful - allergy testing can be done by blood tests or skin prick tests, or you may be aware from personal experience what you are allergic to. Obviously, the ease of avoidance depends on what you are allergic to - the most common allergen, the house dust mite, is difficult to avoid. Methods like reducing the number of carpets, curtains and soft furnishings are expensive and don't always help.
As noted, rhinosinusitis and post-nasal drip can certainly contribute to making your asthma worse, so it is worth taking them seriously and getting them treated.
Hope everyone is not too wheezy and sneezy as the summer allergens begin to kick in!
Take care all
Em H
Thanks Emily
I am so grateful for that reply Emily.
I can now see why a steroid nasal spray was rendered useless in the past due to the blockade in the way!
Cleaning out the nose seems to be advantageous, not just with diverting mucus from running down the throat but in getting rid of stored allergens etc which could be one source of the trouble.
There many other points which will take time to digest.
Very many thanks once again
Twizzle
NeilMed first impressions
..well, my sample box arrived yesterday morning complete with bottle, 5 small packets of the Sinus Rinse and leaflet and info.
The box and leaflet are impressively highly decorated items packed with colourful US style selling points, but the box still has a small space devoted to the comforting Boots Pharmacy logo. The leaflet is forwarded by a Ketan C. Mehta, MD and details his journey in the deveolpment of the product. It is titled 'Educational Material' and has much information about the use of NeilMed and about nasal & sinus disease even showing graphic endoscopic pictures of the nose in various clinical condtions (not ideal reading before breakfast!) but the mind is soon put at ease by a NeilMed products Comparison chart!
An accompanying sheet warns against making home-made saline solutions due to incorrect concentrations or possible impurites in table salt or baking soda as they are not pharmaceutical grade compounds. To a cynic this may seem to be self interest and that perhaps Neil is not just a medicine man but a marketing man too! I say this as I do not wish to detract from Emily's proceedure which clearly works.
Nevertheless it is clear that much researh has gone into the product and I found it a great pleasure to use. It seems to be slightly less salty than Sterimar, but does seem to irrigate the nasal passages very well.
The active ingredients are Sodium Chloride & Sodium Bicarbonate in each sachet, and makes an isotonic, ph balanced solution. A sachet is dropped into a soft bottle full of warm previously boiled water. The bottle is then gently squeezed to propel the solution through a nozzel into each nostril.
I will now use this in advance of my new Steroid Nasal spray that I have just been prescribed, for possible chronic sinusitis!
Thank you twizzle for letting us know your impressions of this product, it will be interesting to see how you get along with it.
Just a note about making up your own saline solutions - I think you have hit the nail on the head when you say there is a bit of marketing strategy going on in discouraging people to do this! Making up your own solution for nasal/sinus irrigation or for salt water gargling is perfectly safe, provided reasonable hygiene precautions are followed.The British Association of Otorhinolaryngologists (ENT surgeons) has been quoted as supporting the use of homemade saline washes, and many ENT surgeons recommend their use to their patients.
The concentration of the salt solution is not critical - some people find that a roughly isotonic solution works best (the same concentration as body fluid), and some people find that a stronger hypertonic solution is best (be careful not to swallow too much of a hypertonic solution, though, because it will make you sick). The advantage of making up your own solutions at home (apart from the fact that it is much cheaper) is that you can adjust the salt level to see what works best for you. Sterility and impurities are not as much of a concern as you would imagine - the sinuses are not a sterile area anyway, and are covered with skin-like mucosa to form a barrier against bacteria. As long as the water is clean and good hygiene is maintained, it shouldn't be a problem.
By contrast, you should NEVER use homemade saline solutions in your eyes, nebulised or intravenously - these are areas where the small amount of bacteria found in tap water can be very damaging, and where the concentration has to be precise.
Hope this helps, as I said, twizzle, do let us know how you get on with the wash.
Em H
All Ears!
I wasn't going to mention this, but such is the rich tapestry of my rhinitic life I thought perhaps it might be useful to.
I have had a very silly side effect to the Sinus Rinse, in that my ears starting popping, not that this is unusual for me, but it continued for most of the day, yesterday. This would be after blowing the nose or swollowing etc
I have always had a slight congestion in the ears that I probably ignore due to it being ongoing, and it just crops up as an issue from time to time. I used to get popping ears after swimming or landing after a flight causes terrible pain in them. Then they start popping etc.
I have noticed in the leaflet not to use the product if it causes pressure in the ears, although by the evening they felt fine. I think I will have to proceed with caution though, maybe just occaisional use to begin with until my ears don't have a reaction. The leaflet also warns not to rinse if the nasal passage is completely blocked or if you have an ear infection or blocked ears.
My situation is perhaps a grey area, so as I will seeing an ENT specialist in due course and will mention this, as I would like to feel free to use it.
Apart from that I thought it was pleasant, and I do feel the benefit in the nose if not the ears!
So for the moment it's back to quick shot of Sterimar without irrigating, prior to the steroid nasal spray!
Twizzle
..just an update, I can't believe it has taken me nearly a month to pluck up the courage to use the NeilMed sinus rinse again, but I have been encouraged by an ENT consultant after a hearing test showed minor pressure on the ears due to the infected sinuses. She said to brave the squelching and knocking sounds in the ears and if it concerns me switch to Sterimar for a few days and then return to NeilMed.
So yesterday and today I have had the pleasure of rinsing my sinuses once again with Neilmed but this time with no ear problems, just the occaisional faint popping, so I am feeling very positive now. Indeed, so positive that I popped into Boots yesterday and promptly ordered a box of NeilMed packets to last a few months! I am feeling very pleased to be able to wash out the sinuses before my new upgraded nasal drops, and do feel now that I have the beating of my sinusitis problem.
...and to top it all, whilst browsing I came across some Anti-dust mite spray bottles reduced from £6.59 to £3.00 to clear, so I bought all four on the shelf. I can only apologise for my greed to other sufferers in Brentwood!
Twizzle
PS Please note that I am not trying to promote NeilMed, but do think that cleansing the sinuses is of major importance and may adopt other means detailed in this thread, but for the moment NeilMed does the job nicely...
Medinose Phototherapy Unit
Well, I am now a happy sinus bather and back on the rhinitis trail, and have come across something new to investigate.
Is anyone using the 'Medinose' gadget for relief of rhinits and hay fever symptoms? This is a pronged fork-like instrument that is inserted into the nostrils. It projects a red light into the nose.....and thereby desensitises the nasal membrane, but how exactly is a mystery.
It isn't cheap at £80, but I imagine it will last a long time....
Any takers?
If so how do you rate it?
Twizzle
Hi Twizzle,
I tried something like this, but got it from Lloyd's chemist and it was much less than £80 - more like 15 quid. It's a bit strange to use, makes your nose glow red like Rudolph - easy enough to use and not painful just causes much hilarity with family. I did think it was doing some good, but hard to tell (esp now I know there have been other medical things going on).
I'd definitely search out a cheaper version if you are going to try it.
ali
Thanks ali, I will see if I can locate the cheaper version -but it's not always necessary to have a device to create the Rudolph effect!!
Twizzle
Any more comments on other versions?
Bumping up this thread for Kathy.
Thanks Emily, and all you lovely people for sharing your experiences. I will be getting a free sample from the website mentioned.
Kathyx
bump 4 gm
Thanks woody. xx
..a reflective visit to this thread!
As this thread has been bumped up I thought it worth a reflective visit myself, as it's nearly two years old!!
At the time I started the thread I was in a rhinitis > sinusitis > asthma loop.
I had been visiting the doctor re asthma and as I had always had rhinitis I never really considered tackling this because previous attempts had all failed. My rhinitis was worse than usual though; in fact I had a chronic infection in the sinuses -for which I was getting tack-on antibiotics whilst I complained to the doctor about asthma. My asthma was getting quite aggravated. I was routinely waking up early with breathing difficulties, finding myself short of breath after a walk to the shops –getting minor little attacks in all sorts of situations –but this was in conjunction a chronic sinusitis.
As these antibiotics were not working I came to the conclusion that I needed far greater help so I asked my GP if she could refer me to the Ear Nose and Throat hospital to really sort me out. I told her that I was used to asthma and had been dealing with it all my life but the key to me being in more control of my asthma now was to sort out the sinuses. She absolutely agreed with me and within a couple of weeks I had an appointment, and before long was on some pretty heavy duty antibiotics and nasal sprays.
In the meantime I had been searching for alternative remedies, many of which I discussed with others on this site. This led me to NeilMed sinus rinse, as the most beneficial of these. The first time I used it I had noises in my ears and horrible sensations in them for a day or too, but I was encouraged to carry on using the rinse by my specialist at the hospital -and after a few ginger attempts with days missed in between I eventually got into a twice daily routine.
The medication and sinus rinse actually took a few months to bring the sinusitis down, and now I am off the nasal rinse completely and my asthma -though not 100% controlled like others aim for it is very much at the level I have been used to before the extra mucus congestion became an issue.
I still have a very slight rhinitis. I regard this as a warning system to alert me that something near to me may cause my asthma to flair up. The thing is I will never allow my rhinitis to become a deep seated sinusitis again. The moment I suspect this is happening I know what to do!! If my rhinitis starts I try work out the cause and take that out. Sometimes a quick wash or bath and change of clothes does the trick.
The rhinitis > sinusitis > asthma loop is the thing to break. Rhinitis is nothing more than a mild nuisance when that’s all it is, when in isolated events. It is just a reaction to dust or pollen etc. It’s actually useful to an asthmatic, as it alerts to potential problems to avoid such as triggers that are near.
The problem comes when the causes of it are more regular, such as dust and pollen etc, and a perhaps a cold comes along. Then the rhinitis can turn to sinusitis and with lots of extra mucus being produced which ultimately runs down the throat mixing with what may already be in the throat and the airways. Not good for someone with an asthma condition, especially when the sinusitis condition becomes chronic!
The good thing about this for mild asthmatics is that it is not the heightened asthma that is chronic, but the sinusitis. If that can be turned into an acute episode then so too can the heightened asthma.
My sinusitis problem lasted about 6 months in all, and eventually the antibiotics worked but I continued with the sinus rinse for a good year or so...
These days I believe that the outdoor trading I do goes a long way to keeping the rhinitis from becoming more sinister. I am a great believer also in getting as much sea air as possible. This seems to have a drying out effect on all of my airways from the nose right through to the lungs….
I can sympathise with anyone who has a rhinitis condition (let’s not call it a problem!) not to mention an asthma one too and I hope that this thread helps in some way.
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