What To Do To Relieve Sinus Congestion

General Sinus Face Massage

To start, place your four fingers on each of your temples and gently massage in a circular motion. If you feel a tense spot, hold and breathe for several seconds. You can continue along parts of your forehead and hairline.

Next, take your thumb and index finger and place them on your eyebrow closest to your nose while gently pinching down. Hold this position for several seconds. Slowly work your way across the eyebrow toward your ear.

Then take four fingers and place them on the inside of your cheekbone near the bottom of your nose. Gently press and drag your fingers outward. Repeat several times.

As you finish toward the outside of your ear, gently massage the temporomandibular joint , which connects the lower jaw to the skull. If you cant find it, open your mouth and you should be able to feel it protrude out.

Finally, make a V with your fingers by separating your middle and index fingers from your ring and pinky fingers. Bring your fingers to your ear and slowly massage this area in an upward and downward motion.

When To See A Doctor

In some cases, at-home remedies might not do the trick. If you arenât feeling better after a few days, have a fever that isnât going away, are wheezing, or canât seem to shake the infection, make an appointment with your doctor. Chest congestion may indicate a condition more serious than the common cold or bronchitis.

What Causes Sinus Pressure

Pressure in your sinuses is essentially swelling in response to any of three different causes: a pressure change between the air inside your sinuses and the air outside your sinuses , when irritants invade your sinuses , or when you have an anatomical issue .

Unfortunately, you can’t cater your sinus pressure treatment to the exact cause, but the good news is that most available remedies can work to reduce sinus inflammation and swelling regardless of what’s causing it.

Here’s a guide, according to experts, on the best ways to treat sinus pressure so you can start feeling better as soon as possible.

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What Can I Do About Recurring Sinus Headaches

Many sinus headaches, especially those that recur, are actually migraines. But its smart to see your healthcare provider to figure out the cause of your headaches.

You may find that the best long-term solution is figuring out what triggers your migraine headaches so you can avoid them. Its helpful to keep a headache diary to track potential triggers. Triggers you can control include:

• Alcohol.

Hum Your Way To Sinus Pain Relief

“Some people report that humming for one hour improves sinus pain,” says Das. Researchers in Sweden have found that humming can keep your sinuses clear. How could that be possible? Humming may increase both airflow through your sinuses and the level of nitric oxide in your sinuses. The combination of nitric oxide and airflow may reduce your risk of sinusitis. So if you have a common cold or allergies, want to prevent a sinus infection, and know a happy tune that you don’t mind hearing for an hour, you may want to try a little humming.

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Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women

Its not clear whether its safe to take any type of decongestant if youre pregnant, so you should only use them if told to by a healthcare professional.

Some decongestants that come as nose sprays or drops are safe to use if youre breastfeeding, but check with a pharmacist or GP first before using them.

The patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine will say who should not use it and who should get advice before using it.

Make The Sinus Pain And Mind

“Techniques that take advantage of the mind-body connection, such as deep breathing practices and relaxation exercises, can be very effective for relieving sinus pain,” notes Das. These practices rely on the mind’s ability to influence pain perception and are especially helpful with chronic or recurrent pain that is often seen with sinus pressure. Some examples include biofeedback, meditation, yoga, and hypnotherapy.

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What Is The Treatment For Nasal Congestion

Where possible, the cause of the nasal congestion will be treated. However, the most common causes get better on their own. Either way, there are a number of treatments which improve a blocked or stuffy or runny nose, and make you feel better. These all tend to work for a short period of time and need repeating until the cause has gone away.

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Home Remedies For Nasal Congestion:

When you are unable to visit an ENT to get to the root of your condition, you may want to turn to nasal congestion home remedies. These are several effective options for how to relieve nasal congestion.

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What Causes Sinus Pain And Pressure

Your sinuses are air-filled spaces connected to your nasal passages that help humidify air as you breathe in and produce mucus that helps trap bacteria and foreign particles. When nasal passages and their tissues become irritated, mucus can build up instead of draining normally. This build-up causes swelling and often causes pain and pressure in your sinuses. Swollen and inflamed tissues can also cause pressure on nerve endings around your sinuses. This leads to dull or throbbing pain and aches.

Several factors can cause nasal passage irritation and bring on sinus pressure symptoms.

• Environmental irritants Airborne pollutants such as those that cause allergies can trigger mucus build up and sinus pressure.
• A sinus infection Sinusitis, more commonly known as a sinus infection, could be a cause of your sinus pressure and pain. If you think you may have a sinus infection, talk to your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
• The common cold Not every cold is the same but sometimes symptoms include mucus build up, which can mean sinus pressure and pain.

Why Sinus Pressure Without Congestion Is Unique

It seems like everyone can remember at least one morning where they wake up and just dont feel good. The pressure in their nose paired with the struggle to breathe properly is something we have all experienced at some point.

This issue is known as congestion, and it is that feeling you have when your nose feels blocked. In most cases, you will also experience sinus pressure when you deal with congestion.

Sinus pressure and congestion go hand in hand as congestion is caused by the nasal cavities in your head getting backed up. When these cavities fill up, your sinuses feel the pressure of the added fluid and tend to feel uncomfortable. This is why so often you will see people dealing with both sinus pressure and headaches at the same time.

Just because these two symptoms go hand in hand does not mean that they cant exist in isolation. As we will see, there are many causes of sinus pressure and dizziness that often dont come with added congestion.

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Use A Nasal Steroid Spray

Available over the counter, these sprays can help reduce the inflammation that adds to congestion. Sometimes the inflammatory reaction is self-perpetuating, Kern says. The 2015 sinus inflammation and congestion treatment guidelines from the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Foundation advises using local steroid treatments and, if necessary, antibiotics to break the cycle.

And while nasal steroid sprays and saline sprays are both helpful, Kern stresses that other nasal sprays, such as decongestant sprays, can make the problem worse if you rely on them consistently.

Remedies And Treatments For Chest Congestion

The common cold and chest congestion are the result of a virus. The only cure for this kind of virus involves resting and waiting for the virus to clear. Antibiotics are only helpful in treating diseases like pneumonia and whooping cough. However, some home remedies and treatments can soothe your aching chest and relieve your symptoms.

Doctors suggest these home remedies for chest congestion:

• Drink plenty of clear fluids to keep your body hydrated and thin the mucus inside your throat and lungs.
• Place a cool-mist vaporizer or humidifier in the room to soothe any lung irritation.
• Sleep with your head propped up on several pillows to make breathing easier and prevent mucus from accumulating in your chest overnight.
• Take a hot shower and breathe in the steam to ease congestion.
• Try an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to ease body aches and reduce fever.
• Use saline drops or nasal spray to alleviate congestion.
• Use lozenges to keep your throat moist.
• Use bronchodilators, which relax the muscles in your lungs and widen your bronchi to make breathing easier. Bronchodilators are often used to treat long-term conditions where your airways become inflamed and narrow, such as asthma.

Symptoms usually start to go away within seven days to two weeks if you donât have an underlying condition like chronic pulmonary disease. Medicines like may also loosen mucus and ease other symptoms.

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Sphenoid And Ethmoid Sinus Massage

Your sphenoid sinuses are located behind your nose and right between your eyes, while the ethmoid sinuses are in the bone that divides your nasal cavity from your brain, so these two are quite close together. Heres how to properly massage both your sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses to open up your sinuses, breathe better, and reduce sinus headaches in a pinch:

• Take your index fingers and place them on the sides of your nose bridge.
• Feel around for the area right between the corners of your eyes and your nasal bone.
• Put slightly firm pressure on that spot with your index fingers for around 15 seconds.
• Next, make a slow downward stroke down the side of your nose bridge.
• Repeat steps three and four once or twice.

How To Treat Sinus Pain

If you experience sinus pain, there are over-the-counter medications, home remedies, and lifestyle strategies that may be helpful.

If your symptoms last more than a week or keep recurring, see a healthcare provider. It could be a bacterial sinus infection, also called sinusitis, that requires a course of antibiotics or it might be migraines or another condition that requires medical intervention.

Fungal sinus infections can also occur and require surgery and/or antifungal medications.

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Common Nasal Congestion Symptoms

People generally know when they have a stuffy nose, but they dont always know when their stuffy nose has become a bonafide medical issue. We get a ton of questions about how a stuffy nose can impact the rest of your health. Does congestion cause sore throat?Can nasal congestion cause loss of taste? People are often surprised that the answer is yes, chronic nasal congestion can impact a lot more than just your ability to breathe comfortably.

You should seek treatment for your congestion if you regularly experience any of the following symptoms:

• Headaches
• Severe nasal congestion at night
• Excessive snoring

You should also seek medical attention if you have been congested for more than 10 days, have a high fever, or have yellow, green, or red nasal discharge. It is important to note that if a child has a fever coupled with significant congestion, you should take them to see a doctor.

Apply A Warm Compress

Placing a warm compress over your sinuses can help stimulate blood circulation in the area and bring down the inflammation in the underlying tissues or blood vessels.

Moreover, this gentle topical heat can help melt the dense mucus accumulated within your respiratory passages to facilitate its drainage and thereby relieve nasal congestion. Even though this remedy has no solid scientific backing, it has delivered good results for a lot of users and is worth a try provided you do it correctly.

Directions:

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Natural Sinus Pain Relief

In addition to remedies and medications, practices that promote relaxation may help you to manage and prevent sinus pain. This can include:

• Massage: Relax in a dark, quiet room. Gentle head and neck exercises or gently massaging your head and face may also help.
• Meditation: Research suggests that mindfulness meditation may help decrease the intensity of head pain. Focusing on your breathing, body sensations, and surroundings can be a useful coping strategy to manage pain.

You may want to enroll in a local mindfulness-based stress reduction training program to learn techniques commonly used in studies on meditation and head pain.

How Do I Get Rid Of A Sinus Headache

To get rid of a sinus headache, you have to treat the underlying cause. But you can take steps to ease sinus pressure and pain at home:

• Apply a warm compress to painful areas of the face.
• Use a decongestant to reduce sinus swelling and allow mucus to drain.
• Try a saline nasal spray or drops to thin mucus.
• Use a vaporizer or inhale steam from a pan of boiled water. Warm, moist air may help relieve sinus congestion.

Sinus infection

Viruses, bacteria and sometimes fungi cause sinus infections. Viral infections often go away on their own. But if your infection is bacterial or fungal, you need antibiotics or antifungal medications. Your healthcare provider may also recommend other medications to ease discomfort, such as:

• Antihistamines to prevent allergy symptoms.
• Pain relievers to ease headache pain.
• Steroids to reduce inflammation.

Migraines with sinus symptoms

Sinus headaches that are actually migraines need a different type of treatment. The first step is to relieve your pain. You should know that frequently using over-the-counter medications when you have a headache can cause even more headaches .

Your provider may recommend prescription medication for migraine pain. You may also need a preventive medication that helps you have fewer migraine attacks.

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When Home Remedies For Nasal Congestion Fail:

If these home remedies for nasal congestion are continuing to not work, there may be something more serious going on. When symptoms continue, it might not just be a common cold and you should visit an ENT to get to the root of the problem and learn how to clear sinus pain once and for all. Many of these home remedies for nasal congestion simply mask the symptoms you have, they donât solve them. For real relief that lasts, visit Pittsburgh Sinus Centers.

Sinus Congestion Pressure & Pain Management

YOUR 101 GUIDE TO SINUS CONGESTION & SINUS PRESSURE

WHAT IS SINUS CONGESTION?

The sinuses are a series of interconnected cavities that connect the nasal passageways to the throat.

When youre sick with a cold, allergies or, flu, it can involve a runny nose or nasal congestion. This infection can cause inflammation and strike the sinuses in such a way, that it causes the tissue walls of these cavities to swell.

That swelling blocks the connective passageways that keep you from breathing freely and allow normal mucus production to drain.

Imagine closing two lanes of a highway off-ramp. Now, you can clearly understand how much trouble sinus congestion can cause.

WHAT IS SINUS PRESSURE?

While sinus congestion restricts the normal flow of the respiratory system, sinus pressure is the resulting build-up of trapped mucus that magnifies your symptoms.

Imagine that same highway off-ramp again, but this time picture it at rush hour.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SINUS PRESSURE?

If youve ever had a cold that made you feel like you had a headache pushing from the inside out, youve likely experienced the symptoms of sinus pressure.

SINUS PRESSURE SYMPTOMS MAY INCLUDE:

• Nasal Discharge
• Itchy Nose & Throat
• Post Nasal Drip

Making matters worse, you respiratory system contains four pairs of sinus cavities, for a total of eight unique locations the sinus pressure could build up.

DETERMINING THE LOCATION OF YOUR SINUS PRESSURE

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Address Any Potential Congestion Triggers

Antihistamines may help if your congestion is related to allergies, but the quickest and easiest solution is attacking the problem at its source.

“If your congestion is triggered by allergies or irritation, removing the allergen will offer the best help,” Friedlander says.

Replace carpet with wood or tile floors that don’t trap dust mites or dander. If possible, keep windows closed to avoid pollen inside and use HEPA filters in your HVAC system and air purifiers.