Hi everyone,
I just started doing nasal irrigation a few days ago, and it's not helping me at all. It does remove the icky mucous from my nose, but my nasal passages are sooooo swollen inside that I still cannot smell anything or breathe out of my nose at all. I swear with every fiber of my being that I have NOT AT ALL been able to smell ANYTHING for at least a year. A skunk could spray on my foot and I wouldn't even notice! I have always had severe allergies, but in the past year I developed food allergies to all the most common foods as well. Also, I believe I suffer from systemic Candidiasis, so that might also be the problem, but should I give the nasal irrigation more time? I do have a prescription for Nasonex or Flonase, I'm not sure which one, but have heard that steroidal medications are terrible for people with Candida, and that I should generally stay away from steroids of any kind in general. Is this true?
Thanks,
Katalina :angel:

Hi everyone,
I just started doing nasal irrigation a few days ago, and it's not helping me at all. It does remove the icky mucous from my nose, but my nasal passages are sooooo swollen inside that I still cannot smell anything or breathe out of my nose at all. I swear with every fiber of my being that I have NOT AT ALL been able to smell ANYTHING for at least a year. A skunk could spray on my foot and I wouldn't even notice! I have always had severe allergies, but in the past year I developed food allergies to all the most common foods as well. Also, I believe I suffer from systemic Candidiasis, so that might also be the problem, but should I give the nasal irrigation more time? I do have a prescription for Nasonex or Flonase, I'm not sure which one, but have heard that steroidal medications are terrible for people with Candida, and that I should generally stay away from steroids of any kind in general. Is this true?
Thanks,
Katalina :angel:

Hi everyone,
I just started doing nasal irrigation a few days ago, and it's not helping me at all. It does remove the icky mucous from my nose, but my nasal passages are sooooo swollen inside that I still cannot smell anything or breathe out of my nose at all. I swear with every fiber of my being that I have NOT AT ALL been able to smell ANYTHING for at least a year. A skunk could spray on my foot and I wouldn't even notice! I have always had severe allergies, but in the past year I developed food allergies to all the most common foods as well. Also, I believe I suffer from systemic Candidiasis, so that might also be the problem, but should I give the nasal irrigation more time? I do have a prescription for Nasonex or Flonase, I'm not sure which one, but have heard that steroidal medications are terrible for people with Candida, and that I should generally stay away from steroids of any kind in general. Is this true?
Thanks,
Katalina :angel:


**** SO SORRY, DUPLICATE MESSAGE, HIT THE WRONG KEY. .... TOMPOK

Irrigation will cause the sinuses to swell a little. You should fill the prescription to your nosespray. It will help shrink the nasal tissue, and open up your airways to help you breath better. It will also help the irrigation get further up in your sinuses and flush even more gunk out.

I've never heard about steriods contributing to Candida problems. I've heard that about antibiotics though. Very little of the steroid from the spray gets in your bloodstream. One study had people use 8 squirts a day (4x the usual dose) and they still did not show an increase in blood cortisol levels.

sneezydiva,
That convinces me to get my nasal spray prescription filled, then. 4x the usual dose and no rise in blood cortisol levels? That's great. My plan is to use my nasal spray for a week then, so it starts working, and then start back up with nasal irrigation. Thanks for the really informative response:)
~Katalina

Hi,

Actually, those nasal anti-inflammatory sprays can cause thrush at the back of the mouth....make sure you rinse/gargle (but don't swallow).

I hope you feel better soon!!

quincy

Quincy,
Good tip, I will rinse/gargle. I didn't even think about thrush. I'm still going to do the nasal spray and irrigation, but luckily, my nasal allergies are a LITTLE bit better because I started taking Singulair again along with my Zyrtec. It's funny, though, because you would think I would be practically allergy-free taking both of those, but I still sneeze and rub my nose all day and become asthmatic even with taking those meds. They just keep me from getting REALLY sick from allergies and literally, being bedridden.
~Katalina

What irrigation technique are you using? Spray bottle? Machine?

When I first started doing it, I didn't notice a change. This was because I was doing a few things wrong

1. Putting in too much salt
2. using tap water
3. using warm water

Here is what you need to do. Get an irrigation machine (I use the Grossan Hydropulse). Also go for the Zyletol, which is a lot less irritating than kosher salt. I swear by this stuff -it is simply the best medicine for chronic sinus problems I've ever used. Use this solution

480ml of COOL water -not warm. Warm will increase inflammation. We put ice on swelling, not a heat pad!
1 Tablespoon of Zyletol
10ml of Alkalol, a mucus solvent you can order online or through the pharmacy.

If you have an active infection, add 3ml of hydrogen peroxide to the mix for 3 days.

use this 3 times a day until you see results. If it doesn't work, you might have a bad infection, or a structural problem that needs to be corrected.

You are so welcome, I'm glad I could help. Like others said gargling is important. But also your technique when you use the spray makes a difference. My doc instructed me to keep my chin down, close to my chest and look down at my feet. When you spray it in your nose aim it towards you ear. Keep your chin down about 30 secs-1min. This will help prevent it from going down the back of your throat. Also, if your instructions tell you to spray it twice wait at least a minute after the first one before you spray the second one. This gives the first squirt time to work so that the second squirt makes it deeper into your nose.

chiggins,
Well, I am using kosher salt, but I AM using tap water, warm tap water at that, which makes sense not to use. I will buy the Zyletol and use purified water instead. About how much does a machine cost? I doubt I can afford one right now, but I will change everything that I'm doing incorrectly and hopefully also see great results. Also, thanks for those measurements.:)
~Katalina