Has anyone found a specific medication helpful for sinus congestion. This is for my 8 year old daughter w/cf and is having sinus issues. I know not every med will work the same with her but all suggestions are welcome so we can look into them. She currently uses Nasarel (flunisolide) nasal spray and occasional we give her otc cold med w/ Pseudoephedrine in it (I don't like giving that to her too often). Sometimes it seems that these meds don't do much and we are waisting our time and money with them. Has anyone had better luck reducing their nasal congestion?
Sinus problems
- Thread starter anonymous
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I
IG
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The occasional nasel clean out for me. I have it done every few years but it's a last resort when polyps get too bad.
Other than that I'm on a steroid nasal spray [rhinocort]. And a half and half mix of regular ocean spray [you can buy it at any drug store] and 10% hypertonic saline which I get from my clinic. There's no trials that say that it works in the nose but I notice my nose seems to do better with it.
When I'm feeling really icky with a lot of sinus pressure I'll take sudafed which helps.
Other than that I'm on a steroid nasal spray [rhinocort]. And a half and half mix of regular ocean spray [you can buy it at any drug store] and 10% hypertonic saline which I get from my clinic. There's no trials that say that it works in the nose but I notice my nose seems to do better with it.
When I'm feeling really icky with a lot of sinus pressure I'll take sudafed which helps.
One thing is do you know what is causing the congestion? Does she has seasonal allergies to pollen or perhaps to a pet? A good allergy medicine through the allergy seasons would be beneficial... my son is 10- over the last few years we have tried several different meds and most work for awhile... Zyrtec is good, my son liked Claritin (you can buy this over the counter now), he is currently on Clarinex.
also one other thing that i have discovered this last year with my sinuses (as far as I know I am just a carrier) but that actually using meds will dry the sinuses out and cause them to feel stuffy and congested. So a good saline spray works wonders to keep things nice and wet and not inflammed (which is what causes the stuffiness).
Has the CF doctor sent you to an ENT or done an X-ray of her sinuses, she may have a polyp.
Sudafed (and Equate the Wal-Mart brand) makes a med that is non-drying- this has guafinsen which will help thin out the mucus... we only buy that type anyway and best to avoid any cough suppressants.
Hope this helps some.
also one other thing that i have discovered this last year with my sinuses (as far as I know I am just a carrier) but that actually using meds will dry the sinuses out and cause them to feel stuffy and congested. So a good saline spray works wonders to keep things nice and wet and not inflammed (which is what causes the stuffiness).
Has the CF doctor sent you to an ENT or done an X-ray of her sinuses, she may have a polyp.
Sudafed (and Equate the Wal-Mart brand) makes a med that is non-drying- this has guafinsen which will help thin out the mucus... we only buy that type anyway and best to avoid any cough suppressants.
Hope this helps some.
We have had great luck with rinoflow. It is like a nebulizer for the nose. It is great way to really get the saline way up in the nasal area. It has cut down our sinus problems. Cory was having sinus surgery every year. but since the rinoflow we haven't had sinus surgery in over 2 years. We don't use it everyday but we do use as soon as we start to notice any sinus trouble and continue to for at leas 2 weeks after they seem to clear up.
My son is 20 and has had sinus trouble- two surgeries. He just went to see a new ENT- so fun when they get a certain age and have to have all new drs. lol. He put him on flonase and a tobramyacin nose spray. Flonase once a day- tobramyacin twice. The tobi spray has to be compounded and kept in frig- stays good for one mo. This must be fairly new cause when I told the CF clinic nurses they said they had never heard of it- one said it didnt exist but when I explained what it was she just laughed and said she couldnt keep up with everything. This has helped him- it was so nice to go see a dr that took a conservative route and didnt immediately want to do surgery-good luck.
HollyCatheryn
New member
You can also buy Guaifenesin in tablets under the name Mucinex. It has only the mucus thinning agent, not the other stuff. She can wash out her sinuses with a water-pick with salt-water in the tank. The Summer issue of CF Roundtable had a good article about sinus care from a woman with CF who had suffered for years, but whose sinuses are near-normal now. There is also a nebulizer made for inhaling medication through the nose. You can make a solution with Grapefruit Seed Extract (Citrus Seed Extract) to inhale which will help kill any bacteria she may be growing - including Pseudomonas (see <A href="http://www.botanical.com/products/learn/grapefr.html">www.botanical.com/products/learn/grapefr.html</A> scroll down to Nasal Rinse).
Thanks for everyones suggestions. I think I will look into getting one of the "nebulizers for the nose" type devices. Just a note about Afrin, I think it works great temporarily but becareful because I had heard that it can cause a rebound effect. If you use it for too long the congestion can become worse.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
I
IG
Guest
Um, as I have stated before, and no offense meant HollyCatheryn before starting any regimen with Grapefruit Seed Extract check with your doctor. The reason why transplant patients are warned away from Grapefruit is because it [and this is why people trying to loose weight love it] helps your body to absorb faster than it normally does (I'm pretty sure that's the way it works I'm really tired tonight so I'm not going to double check) Which means that medications are not fully and properly absorbed into the system. Which is not a good thing with antibiotics and such. I know the purpose of this is nasal wash but you can never be too careful.
I also know that Grapefruit is something that certain medications can not be taken with. I am not sure about CF meds, but my husband blood pressure meds come with HUGE stickers on the bottles warning against having any grapefruit items. Just a thought since we dont know for sure!
mom2brooke
New member
When my daughter was in the hospital for a tune up this May, the ENT told us to try the saline nasal flush when her sinus problems would flair up. It washes all of the mucus out of their sinus cavity instead of it sitting in there and letting those germs breed. On average she was having a bad sinus infection about every 2-3 months. Since then when her nose starts to get stuffy we flush it out once or twice a day and she hasn't had a sinus infection since then. hope that helps!
<blockquote>Quote<br><hr><i>Originally posted by: <b>daelwill</b></i><br>One thing is do you know what is causing the congestion? Does she has seasonal allergies to pollen or perhaps to a pet? A good allergy medicine through the allergy seasons would be beneficial... my son is 10- over the last few years we have tried several different meds and most work for awhile... Zyrtec is good, my son liked Claritin (you can buy this over the counter now), he is currently on Clarinex.
also one other thing that i have discovered this last year with my sinuses (as far as I know I am just a carrier) but that actually using meds will dry the sinuses out and cause them to feel stuffy and congested. So a good saline spray works wonders to keep things nice and wet and not inflammed (which is what causes the stuffiness).
Has the CF doctor sent you to an ENT or done an X-ray of her sinuses, she may have a polyp.
Sudafed (and Equate the Wal-Mart brand) makes a med that is non-drying- this has guafinsen which will help thin out the mucus... we only buy that type anyway and best to avoid any cough suppressants.
Hope this helps some.<hr></blockquote>
It could be completely unrelated to allergies or sinus polyps. PWCF often suffer from chronic sinusitis, as mucus builds up and hardens in the sinuses just like it does in the lungs. I have had severe sinus problems and infections and had seven sinus surgeries-- and have no seasonal or otherwise allergies. Just a heads up.
also one other thing that i have discovered this last year with my sinuses (as far as I know I am just a carrier) but that actually using meds will dry the sinuses out and cause them to feel stuffy and congested. So a good saline spray works wonders to keep things nice and wet and not inflammed (which is what causes the stuffiness).
Has the CF doctor sent you to an ENT or done an X-ray of her sinuses, she may have a polyp.
Sudafed (and Equate the Wal-Mart brand) makes a med that is non-drying- this has guafinsen which will help thin out the mucus... we only buy that type anyway and best to avoid any cough suppressants.
Hope this helps some.<hr></blockquote>
It could be completely unrelated to allergies or sinus polyps. PWCF often suffer from chronic sinusitis, as mucus builds up and hardens in the sinuses just like it does in the lungs. I have had severe sinus problems and infections and had seven sinus surgeries-- and have no seasonal or otherwise allergies. Just a heads up.