The 8 Basic Principles to Control Your Child’s Sinusitis

Posted on10. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

For most of my sinusitis patients, the doctors have tried everything to treat their sinus troubles. Their parents feel like their kids are an ongoing experiment for those docs. Chronic sinusitis is a challenge. Everyone is frustrated: the child, the parents, the docs. There is no easy answer. No quick cure. Even so, you CAN make things better with a few simple rules. Here are the 8 basic tips that you can follow to improve the quality of life for YOUR little boogor-head.

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Thanks ShoutOut

Posted on07. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

I want to thank “Dr. Hana” for helping put a check mark next to one of my BIG to-do’s. It isn’t often that one of the BIG items on my long (way too long) to-do list gets a check-mark. It is truly remarkable when someone else takes care of the check-mark, with no effort on my part.

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Sinus Rinses: if once/day is good, is 4x/day even better?

Posted on03. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

And other stuff on my mind …

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Saline Sinus Rinse Poll Results

Posted on25. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

We had 66 votes total – not a huge number, and probably not enough to do statistical analysis (thank goodness), but interesting results nonetheless. Here are the results, and some recommendations:

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The “Ciliopathies”

Posted on20. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

When those little hair-like cilia don’t work normally, bad things happen. The medical terms are “dysmotile cilia syndrome”, “primary ciliary dyskinesia”, and acquired or “secondary ciliary dyskinesia.” All contribute to ear infections (otitis, mastoiditis), sinus infections (rhinosinusitis), and other respiratory infections. Whether “primary” or acquired, here are some tips that might help.

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 4/4

Posted on13. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

If you insist on making your own saline solution …

Before I switched over to the store-bought, Nasopure saline rinse system, this is the recipe I used for years:

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 3/4

Posted on06. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

It’s one thing to have someone suggest that you should do saline sinus rinses. They usually won’t tell you how to do them, like it’s something too indelicate to discuss. Well, let’s discuss it now …

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 2/4

Posted on29. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Medical Evidence to Support Sinus Irrigations: A study from the University of Michigan (well-designed, and executed as a randomized, controlled trial of over 100 people with chronic rhinosinusitis) found that symptom severity and symptom frequency were significantly reduced in those who used sinus rinses on a daily basis compared to those who did not. Similar [...]

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Saline Sinus Rinses: What Good Are They? 1/4

Posted on22. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

I have been personally coping with allergic rhinitis from the age of 6 or so, and with recurrent and chronic sinusitis for at least 20 years now. Although I was fortunate that allergy desensitization (allergy shots), gave me great relief, somewhere around age 8, I am not completely symptom free. Antihistamines, the standard conventional treatment, were not much benefit. And I hate the side effects. So, about 10 years ago I began using the home remedy of nasal-sinus irrigation using a weak salt water (saline) concoction. This is a method of cleansing the nasal and sinus cavities.

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Sinus Anatomy: The Cliff Notes

Posted on16. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

You may have fallen asleep while reading my post on Nasal and Sinus Anatomy yesterday.  Or more likely, you just clicked away somewhere else.  That’s understandable – that was a little too wordy (nearly 1,000 words), and a little too technical.  Lot’s of new vocabulary.  I was kinda hoping the pretty pictures might keep you [...]

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Can Your Child’s Allergies be Cured with Drops Under the Tongue?

Posted on05. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Allergic Rhinitis will affect nearly half of our children. Treatment options include: medications that risk changing brain development and sleep or behavioral problems; “allergy shots,” but nobody likes needles, especially kids. So, are “drops under the tongue” an option? Here’s the scoop …

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6 Impressive Facts About Allergic Rhinitis

Posted on26. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Nearly half of our children will be affected by allergic rhinitis. A simple stuffy nose can lead to missing school, lots of doctor visits, and worse – sinusitis and obstructive sleep apnea. Here are the facts and numbers.

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STOP BREATHING: Your Air Is Killing You (and what to do about it)

Posted on26. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

We Americans spend nearly 90% of our time indoors. We take for granted that our indoor air quality is safe. Certainly, our air quality indoors is better than that polluted stuff outside. Isn’t it? Wrong. The EPA says that air pollution indoors may be 100 times higher than outdoors. So unless you can stop breathing, here are 8 simple tips to keep your air from killing you.

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8 Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Child’s Nose Bleeds

Posted on18. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

We know that picking is the #1 cause of nose bleeds in children.
Short of sewing mittens on their hands so they can”t pick their noses, here are the things that you CAN do …

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Allergic Rhinitis CAN Be Controlled – Here’s How

Posted on04. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Allergic rhinitis – usually simply called “allergies” – is a chronic illness resulting in stuffy, runny nose. Itchy, burning eyes and general low energy are often associated. It is estimated that allergic rhinitis affects nearly 50 Million Americans. Over half of those with sinus disease have a history of allergic rhinitis, and it is estimated that close to 95% of those with asthma have rhinitis. Your child may have both too. How to ‘freeze’ those allergens?

The good news – allergies CAN be controlled.

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