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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 sinusitis and be done with it?
Dr. Stengler: All of the above, actually. But people with chronic sinusitis are certainly more apt to develop acute sinusitis — they are more susceptible. So that's exactly why we want to address the chronic problems, so they don't develop 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. What about treating any infection? You mentioned fungal — but what if it's viral or bacterial, in 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 are helpful in fighting those organisms. We also use colloidal silver — taken orally, and you can also take it nasally — to kill all types of organisms, from fungal to viral to bacterial. So we have the tools to do that. And on rare occasions we do use antibiotics, but it's not very often. I can't remember the last time we did that.
Host: If you were to just leave your sinusitis alone, would your body eventually be able to get out of it on its own if you had chronic sinusitis, or would you just keep suffering?
Dr. Stengler: Most people would continue to suffer. With chronic sinusitis, if you don't treat the offending trigger of the problem, it'll go on and on — which is a big problem, because remember, with chronic sinusitis you're more likely to develop polyps in your sinus passageways, and then you have even more problems.
Host: So let's step back a little and talk about some of the nasal sprays that can be used for sinusitis, just for pressure relief. You mentioned one for fungus — are there any other nasal sprays people can use naturally for some relief?
Dr. Stengler: I wouldn't say the natural nasal sprays are great for pressure relief specifically — they help with pressure relief because they help fight the infection that's triggering the inflammation and pressure to begin with. There are herbs you can take from the health food store that do help to decongest the sinuses. A lot of the herbal teas for sinus have herbs in them that naturally decongest. There are also some very good herbs in Chinese medicine, like poria, used to drain the sinuses and relieve pressure. So there are things we can use for that.
Host: Now let's back up a little to homeopathy. If someone is having problems — environmental, or they don't want to take herbs — can they use homeopathy?
Dr. Stengler: Yes, we do use homeopathic remedies, which are dilute amounts usually of plant or mineral substances. For sinusitis they work very well for both acute and chronic cases. We use those a lot, especially for people who are very sensitive to taking herbs or medications.
Host: Now, if they can't take quercetin, is there another antioxidant that can help with inflammation?
Dr. Stengler: Yes, another one that's commonly used is bromelain extract, which is a type of pineapple stem extract. It's a nice natural anti-inflammatory for the sinuses. One thing to note — if you take bromelain before a meal, it acts as a digestive enzyme and helps break down protein. So for sinusitis, you'd need to take the bromelain between meals to get that anti-inflammatory effect.
Host: And typically, how long does it take when you see a patient suffering from chronic sinusitis to find some relief?
Dr. Stengler: We can have people feeling better within a matter of days with natural treatment. As far as being essentially symptom-free, usually anywhere between four to eight weeks. The symptoms can be quite limited with good natural treatment, and you can certainly help patients find relief from their chronic sinusitis within just a few days.
Host: And then do they have to continue taking things like quercetin or immune-supporting herbs to help their body?
Dr. Stengler: It just depends on whether you're treating the root cause of the problem. If you treat the fungal problem, they may not need ongoing treatment after completing that protocol. If you treat the allergies properly, they don't necessarily need to keep taking things on a regular basis. So it just depends on how effectively you treat the root cause.
Host: So with an acute sinusitis case, you can get them over the infection and then treat the cause of why they keep being susceptible?
Dr. Stengler: Exactly. And that works for children as well.
Host: That's excellent news. Any other tidbits you'd like to give our audience about sinusitis?
Dr. Stengler: Just that, in my opinion, the conventional treatment people typically receive is not a good long-term solution. It usually involves taking medications orally, which can always have side effects — things like drowsiness, dizziness, or loss of balance, even with over-the-counter antihistamines and allergy medicines. Nasal sprays, as I mentioned, can have side effects like fungal overgrowth in the sinuses. While these things are sometimes appropriate for really serious acute sinusitis, they're just not great long-term treatments. That's where natural treatments really shine in comparison.
A sinus infection (sinusitis) is no fun - symptoms usually include painfully swollen or inflamed nasal tissue, fever, runny nose, cough, and other cold-like symptoms. People with chronic sinusitis are indeed more likely to develop acute sinusitis -- occasional flare-ups from a variety of sources. We use natural treatments to fight all sorts of organisms - fungus, virus, etc. Natural nasal sprays can help fight infection, though they don't really relieve pressure, so we usually use a variety of natural substances to help our patients. In this video, we go over a lot of how we treat sinusitis. We can usually get people feeling better in a matter of days, with real results within four to eight weeks. As always, we treat the root cause of the problem, not just the symptoms. If you or your children suffer chronic sinusitis, give us a call at the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine and make an appointment!
