Question for those who live near the ocean...

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ReneeP

New member
Hi! I am just curious about the relationship between sinus problems and where one lives. I have heard that the best place to live for CFers is near the ocean. The salty air is supposed to be especially good for the sinuses. My daughter, Kacie, who is 7 had never had sinus problems before until we moved to South Texas where it is extremely humid. She had 4 sinus surgeries in a 6 month period and is having another one this coming Friday. She is so full of polyps that nasal washes are impossible. Nothing came come through the nose regardless of how much water we push in there. If we try to do a nasal wash the water just gushes out of her throat because it cannot get through the nose. She hasn't been able to blow her nose in months. Absolutely nothing will come out. Well, over the weekend we went to the beach for the day (about 1 1/2 hours away from where we live) and it was the craziest thing I have ever seen. Within half an hour of swimming in the ocean, Kacie had all sorts of gunk coming out of her nose (unvoluntarily)... her nose just started running like a faucet. It was unbelievable.

I am wondering, for those of you who live near or spend a lot of time at the beach, do you have sinus issues? I think I'll start taking her to the beach every weekend for a while and see if we can get her cleaned out that way :)

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
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thefrogprincess

New member
I live near the Puget Sound in Washington. It isn't exactly the ocean, but I think I actually get more sinus infections here than when I lived in a drier climate.
 
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anonymous

New member
For 23 years I lived in a particularly smoggy area in CA. When I got married, I moved south. I noticed an improvement in my overall health. We moved further south after a year to a place where we could see the ocean on a clear day. We just purchased our first home--we have a view of the harbor from our bedroom window!

The ocean air does have benefits for people with CF, however, salinity is not the only factor to consider. I am an air quality scientist and have experience studying the health effects as they pertain to patients with asthma and other conditions with supressed respiratory function.

For some people, moving is too much to handle and the stress of it can be worse than the problems you are hoping to leave behind. There are plenty of things that can be done in your own home to help with sinus problems. From the way you described you daughter's experience with being able to clear her sinuses at the beach, I'm inclined to think that it's not just the salt water that was the benefit, otherwise a saline rinse at home should have produced similar results.

I have had sinus surgeries (the most recent being just over a year ago) and I also have asthma, sinusitis and allergic rhinitis. If you would like some specific information about how to help your daughter find some relief, please let me know.

-lightNlife
 
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ReneeP

New member
Kacie did have allergy testing done within a couple of months of moving here. She pretty much instantly started having the problems. I give her allergy shots at home once a week. As far as her symptoms go, she seems to be doing better. However, everytime we go back to the dr they sigh and say "another surgery". She doesn't have the sinus infections like she used to but the polyps grow so fast we can't keep up. She is also on Singular now and that seems to have helped with her symptoms.

I would more than welcome any advice or info you have about keeping her healthy (or GETTING her healthy). Lung wise, she is perfect. She had never had a lung infection (of course she does breathing treatments and CPT twice a day to stay that way). It's only her sinuses and, like I said earlier, only since we moved here.

Thanks for the responses...and I welcome any more opinions!
 
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goingup

New member
hello, my brother lives in the high desert, and i live near the
ocean, when he visited last, we were at the beach and he commented
several times that he felt that his breathing was way
worse!!!<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"><img src="i/expressions/sun.gif" border="0">
 
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EnergyGal

New member
I lived on the ocean since 1989 until 1996. I did not go in the ocean all the time but when I did I felt great. Boy do I miss living on the ocean. I think the salt water has healing benefits and you mentioned she was swimming so that in itself can make the mucus flow more easily. Great combo. If you can take her to the beach more often, I say go for it! Swimming in the ocean- I am in the process of looking for a place to move to and I want to go back to the ocean but hubbie loves it out here. I think I will give him a brain transplant tonight when he is sleeping.

Enjoy the ocean and let us know how it goes.
 
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coltsfan715

New member
I have lived in FL about 30-45 minutes from the ocean my whole life. I have A polyp that has been with me off and on for years now. I have never had surgery for my sinuses though.

I do know that my polyp tends to shrink when I am taking a steroid nasal spray. I don't if that would maybe be something that could help your daughter. Also I have read and been told that if you are able to use a mask when doing neb treatments that it can help to get the meds into your sinuses and clear some of that stuff out. A friend of mine uses a mask for her Hypertonic Saline and says it makes her nose run a lot, but it definitely cleans her sinuses out.

I know you said they rinses didn't work, but maybe that might be worth trying, if you haven't already.

Good Luck,
Lindsey
 
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kybert

New member
i live near the ocean and i have major sinus problems. i personally dont think the ocean air has much to do with cf. id say its more to do with swimming in the ocean and accidently getting water up your nose and generally being active because the beach is nearby. its nice to think living near the beach is like a hypertonic neb but it just isnt the same.
 
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65rosessamurai

Guest
Nasal Polyps actually have no relation to allergies. I had nasal polyps removed before I even started developing allergies. The nasal (and even rectal) polyps is synonymous with CF.
I had found out that using salt for a sinus wash helps cut down the swelling, the salt will actually reduce inflammation, but take the salt a little at a time, because it may burn until you get used to it. I also use ocean salt, instead of table salt.
Also, it seemed swimming in any water seemed to cause my nose to run, in a pool there are many chemicals, some of which might induce it, but the ocean is filled with salt, and I really think that is what may had helped.
My suggestion is trying a sinus wash with a little bit of salt and water to see how it affects your daughter. I personally would hold of on any steroid sinus sprays, and then ask the doctor about it, if something so natural as salt doesn't do the trick.
I've had less sinus trouble and allergies since coming to Japan, but I found the salt, or a particular gargle medicine for preventing colds, helps my nasal passage stay clear. However, I still have allergies, which is partly due to the change in scenery.
 
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nocode

New member
Hello. I live in Portugal,in the region of the Algarve. I have always lived 5min from the beach and i do feel very well and would like to keep it this way. I lived in Ireland for a year in 2004, also close to the ocean but my health got worse then so we should not consider the fact that the ocean is always good. The weather and humidity levels have a great importance in that matter. I feel that i'm very used to the weather in the Algarve and to the ocean etc and i think i would always feel worse if i moved. Sometimes when i'm nearer the beach, in a bar or something, i do feel that my nose gets blocked but i would never consider moving because the advantages of living near the sea outnumber the downsides.

Vera, 23
 
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anonymous

New member
I have to agree with Fred here. Polyps have no relation to where you live, climate or allergies...they just happen. Some people never have them, some get them and have them removed once and thats all, others are like your daughter and can never get rid of them. I dont know why we get polyps so badly though. I just know that climate doesnt do anything to them....it might make them more swollen maybe? Steriod sprays never really helped me with mine I always just had to have them removed. Now when I first had sinus surgery to remove them they grew back really fast. Then my head was clean and clear from them for a few years and then they grew back again. Again they were removed and again they havent showed up for a while. Hopefully as your daughter grows they will go away, or docs will find something to keep them smaller or from growing as fast. I do know this that since the polyps are blocking any kind of wash and preventing her from getting anything out, this is the perfect time for sinus infections and pressure. Sure the polyps maynot be caused by anything specific but they cause the mucus to stay up there which does react to allergies, and climate. So in a way the polyps do react to climate. It could be that your daughter had polyps for a long time before you moved but her sinuses never were a problem because she didnt have allergies where you lived before.....Then you move and she gets allergies and a humid climate and the mucus wants to move out and it cant so it devolps more bacteria....and bam she has sinus problems. Then you find out she has polyps.
I dunno but I feel for your daughter. Sinus surgeries no matter how many you have are just not that great.
Amanda
 
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anonymous

New member
I live in WPB fl, about a mile from the ocean. It is great! I go to the beach at least twice a week and it seems to help me clear our my lungs. I don't have sinus issues but I believe the salt water is great for CF.
 
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anonymous

New member
We live on the NJ shore, about 2 minutes from the ocean. Aidan, almost 2 spends most of his summer there and loves the water. He did have severe sinus issues last winter which needed a month long PICC and surgery. Since then we have been using salt water saline rinses followed by Flonase daily. He has had only 1 sinus issue since which was relieved by oral antibiotics. The ocean is good for CFers. We are actually putting in a salt water pool that will hopefully benefit our little guy.

Megan
 
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Rokiss12

New member
idk about polyups themselves having to do with your location, but living closer to the ocean definitly helps with your sinus'. a while back my mom read about a study they did with comparing the average american CFer and the average australian CFer, and supposedly (long story short) their conclusions were that the australiens sinus'/body was better in the end due to the fact everyone there is much closer to the ocean then most of us are. hope this helps!
 
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ReneeP

New member
Thanks everyone for all the responses. It's really good to have input from all different angles as it gives me so much more to consider. Knowledge is power, or so they say.

Kacie is on Rhinocort twice a day and the singular once a day. Plus her allergy shots. We did the salt water nasal washes for a long time, though honestly I stopped then a while back because it was torture for her. As I said earlier, they were not helpful because the water couldn't get through. I will be starting them again tomorrow.

And update on her now...she had her surgery today. This is a different ENT than the one who did the previous surgeries. This one is 5 hours away but has several CF patients so he is more familiar with the CF related sinus problems. He has commented several times since he has been seeing her that she has by far the worst sinus problems he has ever seen in a child of her age, CF or not. I remember the first time we saw him he asked me how she was doing compared to before her previous surgery and I said she was much better. His response was "she must have been pretty freakin bad then because she looks terrible right now". Here I was thinking she was way improved.

As for today, the dr came out after surgery and was almost jumping up and down. He said, "I still have to go back and wrap things up but I had to tell you how pumped I am. This is the kind of surgery that makes my job so rewarding. Every sinus pocket she has was completely full of mucus. She had pockets of mucus in places I've never seen."... He said that she should feel like a different person by tomorrow. He just kept saying over and over how excited he was because he knows she is going to feel so much better. He compared it to fishing...he said he just kept reeling it in and it just kept coming out like there was no end to it.

She threw up on the way home (a bunch of blood mixed with mucus) and her nose is still bleeding of course, but other than that she is doing very well. He also removed her adnoids so he said to expect her to have pain from that, but so far she hasn't complained.

Just thought I'd update. Hopefully we can go for at least a year without having to do this again. I'm just waiting to see what she cultures from the sample he took today. It will be interesting to see what's in there.

Thanks again for all the responses.
 
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EnergyGal

New member
GREAT NEWS! I am so happy for the both of you.

I know they do sinus surgeries differently now. I had one surgery after my transplant and it went well.

I know this is not for everyone (I am the only one that does this) I lay on my massage table and drain when I feel my sinuses are congested. I also fall asleep on this table as I find it very relaxing on ocassion.

When I would get a massage years ago, afterward I felt a great amount of drainage and realized how great that was so I bought a table.
 
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ReneeP

New member
Risa,

When you say the massage would help with drainage, is that a specific type of massage or just a regular massage? I had no idea massage could help with that kind of problem. That's very interesting.
 
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EnergyGal

New member
I am sorry, I meant I would lay down face down on the massage table and my head would be in the head rest and I would fall asleep. After I woke up, all the mucus that was in my sinuses worked its way down and out. I would irrigate with saline and it was amazing. Just like CF therapy but a different type of drainage lol. I had a lot more sinus problems with my first transplant because i was on more drugs. This time around, I am doing really well and should do the drain thing more often.

When you do not feel like you are congested it still can be up there.

Massage in general is great for CF. Look it up on the web.
 
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