If you’re suffering from sinus pain, you’re not the only one. In the United States, there are 28.9 million people with diagnosed sinusitis. That’s nearly 12% of the population.
Do you suffer from sinus pain? You need some help. Read on to learn how to fight back with these 6 home remedies for sinus pain relief.
What Causes Sinus Pain?
Sinus pain is felt around the nose, eyes, cheeks, and forehead. This is a pain that is associated with a blocked nose when you have a cold. The passages in your nose become blocked with mucus and feel constricted.
Generally, as your cold gets better over a few days, so does the pain in your sinuses. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the sinus pain does not abate as the other cold symptoms disappear.
When the mucus blocks the sinuses, bacteria can infect the sinuses causing inflammation of that area of the face. The bacterial infection may be treated by antibiotics prescribed by your doctor. Your doctor may also prescribe other medications to help you get over sinusitis.
Why Use Home Remedies for Sinus Pain Relief?
If the blockages of your sinuses pass with the passing of your cold and any bacterial infection can be treated by your doctor, why would you want to use home remedies for sinus pain?
Waiting for your cold symptoms to pass can take a few days. Treating bacterial infection with antibiotics can also take a few days to become effective too. The pain from blocked sinuses can be painful and you may want to relieve that suffering quickly.
Home remedies can be quickly administered. They can also give almost immediate relief from the pain and discomfort of sinus pain.
These home remedies are safe and drug-free. They are unlikely to have any side effects or interfere with the treatment given to you by your doctor. You can try any one of them or try them in combination.
1. Flush
Flushing the nasal passages using a saline solution helps to moisten the mucus membrane and clear mucus from the nose. You can use a small device called a neti pot to do this. It’s a small container with a spout available online.
Wash your hands thoroughly. Using sterile water, rather than water from the faucet, fill the neti pot.
Lean over a sink and turn your head to the side. Breathe through your mouth. Push the spout up your upper nostril gently and pour water so that it runs into the nostril and out of the other one.
Repeat the process with your head turned the other way. Inserting the spout of the neti pot into the other nostril. Pour water through your upper nostril and out of the other one.
This cleaning action will help to remove mucus as well as other contaminants in your nose. Your sinus pain may be worsened by allergens such as pollen. Cleaning your nasal passages helps to reduce these irritants.
2. Steam
Inhaling steam can help ease the blockages often associated with a cold. The warm vapor loosens the mucus and opens up your nasal passages letting the blockages release.
You will need some boiling water, a large bowl, and a towel. Pour boiling water into the large bowl. Make a tent with the towel over your head and bowl.
Keep your face directly over the steaming water. Take care that the boiling water does not touch your skin. Inhale gently through your nose, drawing the steam into your nasal passages and sinuses.
As the steam releases the mucus in your nose, gently blow your nose into a tissue. Repeat this process until you get some relief from the blockage.
3. Humidifier
Just as steam relieves your blocked nose and sinus pain so a humidifier can also bring some relief. Dry air is not good for your sinuses. It can compound the symptoms of your cold and encourage blocking and the associated pain.
Use a humidifier for sinus pain relief as well as creating a more pleasant indoor atmosphere. A humidifier counteracts the drying effect of heating or air-conditioning and helps you breathe more freely.
4. Warm Washcloth
Part of the relief that a steam bath for your face gives you is the warmth of the steam. You can intensify this by soaking a washcloth in warm water and using it as a compress.
After soaking the washcloth wring it out so that it retains some heat but isn’t dripping wet. Place the hot washcloth over your nose and cheeks. Let it rest there for a few minutes and let the warmth infuse into your face.
As the washcloth cools down, refresh it with more warm water. Ring it out and replacing the cloth on to your face. Repeat this until you feel some relief from the pain.
5. Drink Water
Cold and flu symptoms are relieved by maintaining hydration. Hydration is simply drinking water. It’s especially important to do so when you are unwell.
Increasing your hydration when you have sinus pain helps to keep the mucus membranes in good shape and will speed up your recovery and wellbeing.
6. Eucalyptus Oil
Natural herbal remedies can be used to ease the pain of blocked sinuses.
Add some eucalyptus oil to a tissue to make an effective decongestant. Inhale the vapor to help clear your nose and relieve stuffiness. Eucalyptus oil can even be added to bathwater and help create a steamy bathroom that packs a punch to combat sinus pain.
Pain Relief
Get professional medical treatment if your sinus pain persists or is very intense. Until the medical treatment works you can relieve the pain with homespun sinus pain relief. Start feeling better immediately.
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