VIDEO: Natural Treatments for Sinusitis

Host: Now, do people who typically have chronic sinusitis flare up with an acute case every now and again, or are they kind of the same? Are they always related, or can you just get a sinusitis and be done with it?

Dr. Stengler: All of the above. But people with chronic sinusitis certainly are more apt to develop acute sinusitis — they're more susceptible. That's why we want to deal with the chronic problems so they don't develop the acute sinusitis. If we get the chronic inflammation under control naturally, they shouldn't get the acute problems.

Host: So you're getting the inflammation under control with natural medicine. How about treating any infection? You mentioned fungal, but what if it was viral or bacterial with an acute situation?

Dr. Stengler: We have many things we can use. Quite often we'll use things like echinacea and goldenseal to treat sinusitis if it's viral or bacterial, which is helpful in fighting those organisms. We also use colloidal silver, both taken orally and nasally, which kills all types of organisms, from fungal to viral to bacterial. On rare occasions we use antibiotics, but it's not very often — I can't remember the last time we did that. If you were to just leave your chronic sinusitis alone, most people would continue to suffer, because if you don't treat the trigger of the problem, it'll go on and on, which is a big problem — when you have chronic sinusitis, you're more apt to develop polyps in your sinus passageways and then have more problems.

Host: Let's talk about some of these nasal sprays you can use for sinusitis, just for pressure relief. You mentioned the one for fungus — are there any others people can use naturally?

Dr. Stengler: The natural nasal sprays help with pressure relief because they help fight the infection which is triggering the inflammation and the pressure to begin with. There are also herbs you can get in the health food store which help decongest the sinus — a lot of the herbal teas for sinus have herbs in them which naturally decongest. There are some very good herbs in Chinese medicine, like magnolia, used to drain the sinus and relieve pressure.

Host: What about homeopathy, if someone is having problems with herbs and environmental sensitivities?

Dr. Stengler: Yes, we use homeopathic remedies, which are dilute amounts usually of plant or mineral substances. For sinusitis, they work very well for both acute and chronic, especially for people who are very sensitive to taking herbs or medications. If they can't take quercetin, another commonly used antioxidant is bromelain, a type of pineapple stem extract, which is a nice natural anti-inflammatory for the sinus. But if you take bromelain before your meal, it acts as a digestive enzyme and helps break down protein, so for sinusitis you'd have to take it between meals to get the anti-inflammatory effect.

Host: How long does it take for a patient with chronic sinusitis to find some relief?

Dr. Stengler: We can have these people feeling better within a matter of days with natural treatment. As far as not really having any symptoms at all, usually anywhere between four to eight weeks — the symptoms are quite limited with good natural treatment. Whether they have to continue taking the quercetin or pro-immune herbs depends on whether you're treating the root cause. If you treat the fungal problem, they may not need ongoing treatment after the protocol; if you treat the allergies properly, they don't necessarily need to keep taking things regularly. The thing with sinusitis is that, in my opinion, the regular treatment people get is not a good long-term treatment, because it usually involves taking medications orally which can have side effects like drowsiness, dizziness, and losing balance — and steroidal nasal sprays can cause fungal overgrowth in the sinus. While these things are sometimes used for really serious acute sinusitis, they're just not great long-term treatments — that's where the natural treatments really shine in comparison.

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