Told not to use Clarinex & Can Clorox irritate sinuses? - Sinus Problems Message Board

tessa60 · 08-04-2004, 01:49 PM

I had been to one allergist in June. At that time I mostly had watery, itchy eyes, plugged ears and severe crusty oozie eczema on my eyelids. He prescribed Clarinex, Flonase, Nasal Irrigation, Elidel &a eye drop. These seemed to work and cleared up my eyes and eyelids. Then in July I stated getting more & more nasal congestion and stomach pains, etc. It has been so bad the last 2 weeks I made another appt. with another allergist that comes to our area two times a month. He does a more thorough type of testing.

He said my ears were both pretty plugged and nostrils 50% plugged. Here I have been taking Clarinex as prescribed by the first allergist and today this allergist told me that Clarinex is not a good choice to take when my sinuses are so flared up. He said it only dries them out more. I had to ask him what to use. He said just some Sudafed. So I went to the store to buy some. Is that true - that Clarinex dries up the sinuses more?

So far I have test high on molds - mites - oranges - I go back in 2 weeks for the rest of the testing.

Also - another question. A couple of weeks ago I was cleaning out the garage floor in the humid afternoon. with a ½ - ½ mixture of water and Clorox beach with laundry detergent added to the solution. I had both overhead doors open. It wasn’t as hot Friday as it had been but about the time I was done scrubbing the wind became very still. I started scrubbing about 1:30 and was done at 2:30. I took a little rest then went out to the patio to sweep. The air was very still back there and I thought I was going to pass out. I took a shower about 5 p.m. and from then on I couldn’t think straight, my left side of my face and arm was tingly. (Some could have been from anxiety – because it scared me)

Gastritis type symptoms (Severe abdominal pain that radiated to my chest, slight fever, weakness, swollen abdomen, mild nausea, belching, gas, loss of appetite) Anxiety type feeling, swollen glands, dizziness, plugged sinuses, tingling in arms & hands, irregular heart beat.

I went to my regular doctor the next week - he just said from what I told him that I suffered from heat exhaustion. Still not feeling well, I went to another doctor and she said the same thing along with maybe some gastritis from inhaling the fumes.

This allergist today said that maybe the Clorox mixture irritated my sinuses - anyone ever heard of that? I now I felt terrible for 1 1/2 weeks afterwards. And my sinuses have been the fullest they ever have been.

chigs489 · 08-04-2004, 02:29 PM

Tessa,

I would recommend getting an endoscopy done to rule out a sinus infection. These can be awful, causing all sorts of problems (take it from me).

The fumes could certainly make you sick and inflame your sinuses. The tingling may be from one of the medications -a side effect. Might be anxiety as well.

I'm at my wit's end with allergy meds. They don't work, and they only make me tired. I've tried all of them.

I take Mucinex at night, and I use Sinus Buster and Sinofresh during the day. I also irrigate, sometimes with Alkalol to get the mucus moving.

The pills and steroids are a waste of time. Only Prednisone helps, but it has awful side-effects.

chigs489 · 08-04-2004, 02:32 PM

I forgot to add....

the eyelid problem sounds like Blepharitis. I have this -it happens when the oil-producing glands of the eyes don't function properly.

Just get some Ocufresh lid scrubs, and use them twice a day.

sneezydiva · 08-04-2004, 04:46 PM

Tessa,

It is true that antihistimines can dry out the sinuses, making the mucus thicker and difficult to drain. But if you are severely allergic, usually the benefit of taking it outweighs the negative, because your allergies are what is causing the congestion in the first place. But on the other hand, if the flonase is enough to keep your allergies symptoms under control, he is right, you don't need the Clarinex.

It sounds to me your incident in the gararage was heat exhustion, plus the inhalation of the fumes made you feel very ill. I also agree, you should find out if you have a sinus infection.

Murphy · 08-05-2004, 10:23 AM

Tessa: Please don't try cleaning w/ Clorox again w/o `total' ventalation. The fumes R
toxic. My mom almost died cleaning the bathtub too long & breathed the fumes too
long. I found her in time passed out. Emergency room said her lungs were swelled frm
fumes & it blocked air absorbtion. Corneas were also injured & later sinuses blistered.
A cup to a bucket should be enough. I also get worse w/ antihistamines. If U cut a
strong onion, those fumes will drain the sinuses.