Natural Remedies for Sinusitis?

[ouyang]

Hey Everybody.

I've had chronic sinusitis for the past two years. I live in China and have little to no access to most medicines for sinusitis (other than having my family post from overseas).

My sinusitis basically renders me useless - draining me of energy, giving me serious headaches, heaviness and I become rather irritable.

I was wondering if any of you also have sinusitis and if so do you know of any natural remedies or foods I should/should not be eating?

Thanks so much in advance!

John

[HEROpureLOVE]

Did those issues start for you after you moved to China or did they only become present once there?

I used to have that problem when I lived in Taiwan. Now that I'm home no problems really to speak of. I still have no idea what the cause was... nor the cure.

[NexusOfCompletion]

I would suggest using a neti pot and getting some saline solution. It's very cheap and effective. You should also try drinking raw apple cider vinegar and water. Those two things have helped me greatly with dealing with chronic sinusitis.

[Rose of Cairo]

I had chronic sinusitis for most of my life which disappeared when I quit eating dairy and any milk in any form. When I slip up and eat some dairy I immediately get a runny nose. However, I don't think this will help you a lot. I thought people in China don't eat much dairy anyway, right?

[ouyang]

Originally Posted by Rose of Cairo

I had chronic sinusitis for most of my life which disappeared when I quit eating dairy and any milk in any form. When I slip up and eat some dairy I immediately get a runny nose. However, I don't think this will help you a lot. I thought people in China don't eat much dairy anyway, right?

You're right in saying that dairy isn't big in China. Although the dairy industry here is growing. What is the relationship between eating dairy and our sinuses?

[ouyang]

Originally Posted by NexusOfCompletion

I would suggest using a neti pot and getting some saline solution. It's very cheap and effective. You should also try drinking raw apple cider vinegar and water. Those two things have helped me greatly with dealing with chronic sinusitis.

Thanks for the advice! I will have a look around to see if I can find a neti pot (first I'll have to Google image it!). The raw apple cider vinegar and water is easily available here - I'll try that today.

[ouyang]

Originally Posted by HEROpureLOVE

Did those issues start for you after you moved to China or did they only become present once there?

I used to have that problem when I lived in Taiwan. Now that I'm home no problems really to speak of. I still have no idea what the cause was... nor the cure.

The problem started for me after living in China. I've been here for over three years now. It usually starts up out of the blue in the fall and spring of every year.

I was rather successful today in rinsing my nose with a low concentrate salt water solution. I was worried there for sometime as I know these things can (and have) result in sinus infections.

[HEROpureLOVE]

Stop drinking the baijiu 白酒. Stick to tea for a bit maybe a little pijiu. Not sure about the weather issue, I know Xiamen is in the same longitudinal area as Taipei and I used to get it it bad when the weather started getting colder. Also you might want to be mindful of the cooking utensils used to prepare the food, seems to be a lot of iron. Also If you consume a lot of seafood you might want to try cutting that out for awhile. There are tons of fruits and veggies available, try experimenting with those. Actually China is a great place for vegetarians as there's an ample supply and wide variety of plants to choose from. Oh and jogging always seemed to help me.

[Lamusa]

You can start today! Chunyi Lin demonstrates some of the exercises on the site. Try those and the free 15 minute meditation. I also highly reccomend getting the Level 1 course. I love this practice. In addition to healing your sinusits other issues you have can heal, too, since it foucses on bringing the body back into balance.

Spring Forest Qigong

[toasterwater]

Spring Forest Qigong

I hate to be negative... but that looks really dumb. Energy beams that come out of your fingers that you can scoop bad energy out of people with? I would like to see something like that proven to work scientifically, but I seriously doubt it's possible....

Don't get me wrong, I like to keep an open mind... but honestly... that's ridiculous.

[Lamusa]

I'm glad you like to keep an open mind...

[JSB]

Originally Posted by toasterwater

I hate to be negative... but that looks really dumb. Energy beams that come out of your fingers that you can scoop bad energy out of people with? I would like to see something like that proven to work scientifically, but I seriously doubt it's possible....

Don't get me wrong, I like to keep an open mind... but honestly... that's ridiculous.

No, it simply sounds ridiculous because it doesn't fit in with your current model of how the world works. However, the truly scientific minded will not let a preexisting model or theory interfere with experimental results --- he will experiment and let the results speak for themselves, regardless of how unexpected they may be.

I have received a qigong projection from an advanced practicioner, and the sensation is as dramatic as if someone were reaching inside your body and "shifting things around". Nor is it placebo -- my eyes were closed and I had no way of telling when I was being "worked on" until I felt it, nor were the sensations there when a less experienced person practiced on me.

You may find that some things that appear outlandish or ridiculous at first exposure are much more interesting the deeper you go.

Horatio:
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!

Hamlet:
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, 159–167

[toasterwater]

the truly scientific minded will not let a preexisting model or theory interfere with experimental results --- he will experiment and let the results speak for themselves, regardless of how unexpected they may be.

Fair enough, but wouldn't you agree that it's naive to believe anything you hear or read on the internet? I could tell you that pissing in your cereal every morning builds immunity against disease, but I doubt you would experiment with that.

But to be fair, I'll keep an open mind.

So this technique is supposed to be able to cure real illnesses right? Just because you felt "as if someone were reaching inside your body and 'shifting things around'" doesn't really prove anything. Nor does your belief that there were no "placebo" or other psychological affects at work. Tell me about someone who was cured of a real illness this way. I think if evidence like that really existed it would be well known.

And I do apologize for calling it dumb. That wasn't very nice. Please provide some actual evidence that this works.

[ouyang]

Originally Posted by Lamusa

You can start today! Chunyi Lin demonstrates some of the exercises on the site. Try those and the free 15 minute meditation. I also highly reccomend getting the Level 1 course. I love this practice. In addition to healing your sinusits other issues you have can heal, too, since it foucses on bringing the body back into balance.

Spring Forest Qigong

I had honestly just assumed the above message was spam?

[ouyang]

Originally Posted by HEROpureLOVE

Stop drinking the baijiu 白酒. Stick to tea for a bit maybe a little pijiu. Not sure about the weather issue, I know Xiamen is in the same longitudinal area as Taipei and I used to get it it bad when the weather started getting colder. Also you might want to be mindful of the cooking utensils used to prepare the food, seems to be a lot of iron. Also If you consume a lot of seafood you might want to try cutting that out for awhile. There are tons of fruits and veggies available, try experimenting with those. Actually China is a great place for vegetarians as there's an ample supply and wide variety of plants to choose from. Oh and jogging always seemed to help me.

哈哈！No 白酒 eh? Whatever shall I do?!

Just kidding... 我不太喜欢喝白酒！Thanks for the note - seems we have a few things in common. I've just started my vegetarian 30 day program (on day 5), I'm into jogging/running (doing the Xiamen Marathon in January) and well we both lived very close to one another. What were you doing in Taiwan when you were there?

And my sinusitis also starts acting up as the weather gets colder. The condition has been a lot better in the past few days with my saline rinse routine though! Here's to clear breathing ：）

[Lamusa]

I've practiced Qigong for about 6 years now and can't say enough good things about it. Spring Forest Qigong is very simple to learn. Though I have never suffered from sinusitis, my most chronic issue was depression which it has helped me tremendously and overall I stay healthy. If I come down with something I know how to get rid of it pretty fast and I have tremendous energy. However, I encourage you to do more research. Lots of people are helped by it and Qigong is becoming more and more recognized by the medical industry. It is very similar to acupuncture (which you might want to look into as well) yet you don't use needles, which makes it difficult for people to accept. But it operates according to the energy systems of the body which aren't easy to see and therefore measure. As far as proof is concerned, I personally can't provide anything but anecdotal evidence. I am not a scientist and usually don't look to them to tell me what's good for my body. I trust myself enough to try what I feel naturally drawn to and Qigong 6 years ago felt right to me, and still very much does. And, besides, I am not into some of the side effects of medicines used to treat depression. Try Qigong for awhile and see if it helps you heal some of your sinusitis symptoms. What do you have to lose by imagining lights shooting out of your fingers or your illness turning into millions of little butterflies? You might feel a little silly at first but that passes once you immerse yourself in how good you feel. You don't have to spend any money, the two exercises he describes as well as that 15 meditation can help you tremendously. You can even try these exercises for a 30 day trial. So much of Qigong is based on the power of visualization which might appeal to many people on this forum. You must practice often, however. Once you heal yourself of sinusitis there are many other uses for this practice as well.

Qigong is a healing system based in Taoism and it teaches us to look at illnesses as blockages in our body. Some more serious than others. Once you open up the energy channels and release the blockages you can heal much faster. Taking medicine is a way of healing these blockages, however, lots of medicines contain toxic side effects that can lead to other problems. I recommend you do a Spring Forest Qigong search on You Tube. Many people talk about their experiences with it. Whatever approach you decide to use to heal your sinusitis, I wish you much success.

[toasterwater]

my most chronic issue was depression which it has helped me tremendously and overall I stay healthy.

I think it's great that this helped you with your depression. I would attribute that more to the psychological effects of this visualization exercise than "energy beams shooting out of your fingers"... but to each his own I suppose.

Do you have any experience treating physical ailments with Qigong?

I suppose when I look at it from another way... from the aspect of a visualization exercise... I could see you influencing your body through the power of your mind... something kin to stress contributing to disease, and the lack of stress being somewhat of a deterrent. I suppose it just rubs me wrong that people seem to think there are actually energy beams shooting out of their finger tips... but I guess if that belief is what it takes to trigger the desired psychological effect, more power to you. I'm still skeptical as to it's effectiveness with more serious physical ailments though.

As far as looking up videos on the subject... I looked up a few videos on people claiming to harness qi (chi) to do some miraculous stuff... but for the most part, the videos just disproved the qi theory.

like this one:

YouTube - The Power of Chi - Exposed

Not saying any of these kinds of videos really disprove anything, but I've yet to find anything providing any solid evidence for the effectiveness of qi.

[vartann]

Ouyang: i have a natural herbal remedy for sinusitis
i am not God ok but it kept its promises with me - feel free to PM

Toasterwater: although i have been in the martial arts stuff for quite a long time, as an Occidental i mostly concentrated on the OUTER aspects of the practice - which undeniably brought along tremendous inner benefits as well, while not in the "realm" of distance-projection and stuff

i got into a Chinese inner style recently, somewhat doubtful about the practitioners - not about the Art itself though, mind you
in short, bending a steel-bladed spears from the small of your neck and all, i knew (?.) it to be possible but was certainly not expecting someone to prove it to me

the guy did it - i am a firsthand witness, no BS inner energy worked out just fine
so as regards distance projections and the like, why not... i ll keep you informed when i experience it firsthand

[toasterwater]

@vartann cool, sounds like fun!

can you reword this sentence?

bending a steel-bladed spears from the small of your neck and all, i knew (?.)

It doesn't make sense to me

thanks!

[vartann]

yep sure,
my point is just that i already HAD definite Faith in the possibility, although i was certainly not expecting to come across such a guy (i mean capable of performing this) merely "round the corner"
(i am Italian based in HaNoi, Vietnam and this young man was part of a chinese inner style School near my Karate school)

maybe i made it possible myself

cheers

[JSB]

Qigong isn't necessarily an "instant cure" for anything (though it can be in some cases). The idea is that it corrects imbalances or deficiencies in the body's energetic system, which then allows the body to heal itself. Now, there are many kinds of qigong and different forms for different purposes, but it goes back thousands of years in China and there are entire qigong hospitals in China based around these techniques.

There aren't going to be a lot of double-blind randomized trials out here because it is unorthodox enough to Western medicine that 1. it's going to be hard to get funding, and 2. even with great results, it's going to be hard to get published --- too many people assume it's rubbish from the outset and aren't open to looking at it.

As for healing, I have spoken to many people who have had personal health benefits from qigong ---yes, I know it's anecdotal, but you can only hear so many people recount the health benefits they felt before thinking there might be something to it. These health benefits range from something as small as having more energy in the morning to serious improvements in depression, to
stage 3 cancers simply disappearing (yes, really, and in more than one case). Will everyone have a "miracle healing"? No, but most people will feel an effect to some degree.

After I received the energy, my hay fever improved dramatically, my chronic lung issues improved radically, and my emotional state shifted, all within a few minutes --- I spent the next week feeling absolutely fantastic.

Someone else may have links to good experimental results for qigong. My experiments have been doing it and feeling the results in myself.

Yes, you are totally correct that there's no reason to believe everything you read on the internet.

Originally Posted by toasterwater

Fair enough, but wouldn't you agree that it's naive to believe anything you hear or read on the internet? I could tell you that pissing in your cereal every morning builds immunity against disease, but I doubt you would experiment with that.

But to be fair, I'll keep an open mind.

So this technique is supposed to be able to cure real illnesses right? Just because you felt "as if someone were reaching inside your body and 'shifting things around'" doesn't really prove anything. Nor does your belief that there were no "placebo" or other psychological affects at work. Tell me about someone who was cured of a real illness this way. I think if evidence like that really existed it would be well known.

And I do apologize for calling it dumb. That wasn't very nice. Please provide some actual evidence that this works.

[ouyang]

Wow - this conversation certainly has taken a turn! I'm happy to see the passion and curiousity directed at qigong.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by ouyang

What is the relationship between eating dairy and our sinuses?

I don't know why, but I have often noticed on both myself and other people a strong correlation between dairy consumption and problems with the
- skin
- sinuses
- throat
- nose
- tonsils
- vagina
as well as some very particular smell that milk consuming people have.

I would never have guessed it myself. As a teenager I permanently had chronic problems with my skin, tonsils and sinuses. I tried all kinds of medicine and treatments, all failed. Until one doctor prescribed ... two months without any milk in any form. I was outraged, because I thought milk is so healthy, but I was so desperate that I followed his advice, and after two months all symptoms were gone! That's how I found out.

Since then I have seen this confirmed on many, many other people. (Some people seem to do fine with milk though.)

Sounds like it's an allergy or something in your case, though. I would definitely advise quitting milk for two months and observing if it helps. But you could address the allergy too. I've heard that some things can help, like acupuncture, energy healing, EFT, and of course a more mineral dense and more raw diet.

Good luck.

[rei]

i used to have sinus problems and allergies which have cleared up in the last few years. i think the suggestion of using a neti pot is good, and eastern practices to promote balance may also help. i've never heard of a connection between milk and sinus problems, but i find that fascinating.

if the main issue is clogged sinuses (since you mentioned headaches i think maybe that is part of it), there is a simple solution - eat spicy food. granted, this is only temporary at relieving clogged sinuses, but sometimes if there is enough pressure in the sinuses we don't mind a temporary solution.

it really doesn't take much spice either. so there is no need to jump to the spiciest food imaginable if you don't eat much spicy food as it is. start with something mildly spicy in that case, and see how that works.

[ouyang]

Hey Rose, thanks for the informative reply. Right now as part of my 30 day of trying vegetarian project I've also decided to try drinking soy milk over milk. As for ice cream and cheese, I may consider giving those up in the future.

Are there soy or or varients of cheese and ice cream available to vegans? Do they taste simliar?

And Rei, thanks for the suggestion. My wife is from Sichuan province in China so our diet is already HUGE in spicy food. I'm nearly at the point where I can't eat anything that doesn't have some spice. Said, in Chinese medicine doctors frown upon eating a lot of spice as it contributes to the internal fire. I've been told the opposite by my doctors here - that I should in fact cut out spice from my diet.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to believe. Where did you get your information from? Has this worked for you in the past?

As for the Neti pot that will be next on the list of things to try if my symptoms return. For the moment I'm breathing clearly and getting excited for my first marathon in two months from now.

[rei]

hmm... interesting that doctors said to cut all spice. was that a suggestion related to the sinus issues or related to the potential increase with the internal fire?

i actually got the info through researching for solutions during the last time i had stuffed up sinuses. i decided to try it out and my nose started running a couple minutes into the meal (which brought relief), but that could be because i am not big on spicy food.

oh... do you live in an area where there is considerable pollution? if you are training outside, that may be connected? if it is possible to try training indoors for a few days, that would tell you whether the outside air is playing a role (through pollution or pollen). if you could find a gym you might be able to keep changing the settings on a treadmill or use an indoor track as some universities have. this may not work for you, and if there is nothing blooming and no pollution it may not be the issue anyway.

i do know if we are allergy prone, living in a different place can make it worse at first while the body builds up immunity to the local pollen-producing plants. (of course the theories about allergies are sometimes controversial.)

[Rose of Cairo]

Hi John,

I don't know about vegan ice-cream or cheese. I guess it must exist somewhere, but I don't eat any. I know there is soy yogurt to replace milk yogurt, and tofu to replace cheese in some occasions (like on pizza). But I'm no specialist for vegan milk replacement products. You probably can find a lot of info online though.

I have heard that spices actually irritate the mucous membranes present in the nose and sinuses. But I guess there is a difference between spices like pepper or chili (irritating) and mustard, wasabi or horseradish (freeing). I don't know.

I thought about pollution too. That could be a reason, but doesn't explain why it's getting worse in fall and spring.


PS: About the milk products: I doubt you'll feel any difference unless you completely quit all of them for at least two months.

[funchy]

If you can't get to a doctor, you may have to do some troubleshooting of your own. Is it a sinus infection? Congestion? Problems related to allergies? A reaction to pollution? Until you know the source of the discomfort, you'll only be treating the symptoms.

Neti pot is a great thing to flush the sinuses.

I also think you may want to try cutting out the dairy. Go 2-3 weeks with zero dairy (including cheese, ice creams, etc) just for fun and see if it helps. Some believe there is a link between milk and mucus production.

Take a closer look at your indoor air quality. If it's too dry, a humidifier may help. If it's dusty or polluted, a good air cleaner may help.

[koneall]

Living in China, why haven't you tried acupuncture? I've had training in it and have seen how well it works for sinus conditions.

[ouyang]

Originally Posted by koneall

Living in China, why haven't you tried acupuncture? I've had training in it and have seen how well it works for sinus conditions.

I've tried acupuncture before for a few things but am still sceptical about it's effectiveness.