The last thing anyone wants when already going through a bad cold is a sinus infection to top it. It’s not just about the permanently blocked nasal airways, but the crippling pain and headaches that most often accompany sinus infections. Conventional meds usually don’t do much for sinusitis, you just have to wait it out for a few days.
Thankfully, there are home remedies who are really able to make the situation better. After you try these out, you will be surprised of just how easy it was to get rid of the sinus infection. Below, we will present to you the most common ways to treat a sinus infection at home with real results. The inspiration and main source for our post was this article on sinus infection remedies.
Some of the remedies we will present below will seem like no-brainers and self-obvious. Still, never underestimate the force of a healthy environment and enough hydration. You may think you’re doing it right, but upon a closer self-inspection, you will probably admit that you haven’t really been drinking as much water as you should have, lately.
Let’s go through the list of home remedies for the sinus infection and see exactly what it takes to keep it at bay.
A. Drinking enough water.
- Speaking of your water intake, when is the last time you actually monitored it?
- Did you know that 8 glasses of water per day was the minimum for a 100-pound adult?
- Most of us weigh more than that, so we should make sure we drink even more water.
- When it comes to staying well-hydrated in order to prevent your sinuses from becoming vulnerable to infection, you can do better than simple water.
- Go for a variety of herbal teas, preferably unsweetened, so that you don’t add another health risk to the mix.
- Most herbal teas contain natural anti-inflammatory substances that will help relieve sinus pain and prevent sinus infection in the future.
B. Some spices found in foods.
- Spicy foods can be of help when dealing with a sinus infection, but not all spices are as effective in this regard.
- The ones you are looking for roughly belong to the mustard family.
- This includes horseradish, wasabi, mustard and mustard seeds, and some curry blends.
- Besides these mustard-related spices, ginger and turmeric powders can also add some relief, due to their anti-inflammatory effects.
- Asian dishes should be your best bet for finding foods which contain as many of these spices as possible.
C. Keeping an allergen-free environment
- When your sinus cavities dry out and become vulnerable, this doesn’t have to mean you get an infection right away.
- What makes you get an infection is usually a microscopic unsanitary particle that ends up in there and irritates the delicate inner layers of your sinus.
- This is why investing in a good air purifier can help a lot when dealing with a sinus infection, both for immediate pain relief and for preventing future illness.
- Keep the purifier in the room you sleep in, for best results. If you’re a light sleeper, look into completely silent models.
D. Apple cider vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar has both anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
- When you’re battling a sinus infection, make yourself a cup of apple cider vinegar tea at least twice a day and drink it.
- Just put 1-2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar into a large cup of warm water and drink up.
- Don’t worry about the taste, it won’t be too sour or unpleasant.
- It will actually taste refreshing, like summer fruit tea.
- Still, if you’re really squeamish about it, you can add a teaspoon of honey to the cup before drinking it.
- The honey may even help relieve your airways of the bacteria that caused the sinus infection, so there’s no harm in it.
E. Steam inhalation
- A traditional home remedy for sinus infection, since the ages ago.
- People continued using the classic steam bath for one reason: because it works.
- Sure, there are some fancy electrical versions today, and you can definitely invest in one if you know you are prone to sinus infections often.
- But the basic version of the steam bath couldn’t be easier to set up. Just heat a small pot of water until it boils, then remove it from the heat.
- Place it in a sink and add a drop of menthol or eucalyptus oil to it.
- Bend with your face just over the pot, as close as you can stand the steam rising up from it.
- Cover your head with a towel, creating a sort of tent over yourself and the pot, so that most of the steam reaches you instead of just drifting away.
- Inhaling the beneficial vapors for at least 20 minutes will help heal and soothe your sinus cavities, as well as provide a temporary decongestion effect.
- Also, the fact that you added a drop of essential oil to the pot will help open up your airways even more.
F. Himalayan salt and hydrogen peroxide solution
- If the remedies presented above were all softer, this one may not be for everyone.
- Flushing the insides of your nose with a powerfully astringent solution can feel uncomfortable at the moment, even though it produces immense relief right after you’re done.
- This solution acts to decongest the nose and clear away the blockage, and also to disinfect the area, guaranteeing you will feel better and better afterward.
- To prepare the solution, mix 1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt and ½ teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide solution into one cup of water.
- Put it all into a Neti pot or some other device for nasal flushing and gently pour some into one nostril at a time.
- Try inhaling it in a bit so that it can reach deeper. After getting it out, repeat with the other nostril.
- These remedies are proven ways to getting rid of sinus infections as fast as humanly possible.
- If you keep these in mind whenever you or someone in your family are dealing with a sinusitis episode, the painful moments will be gone in a jiffy.
