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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Definitions: Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Ayurveda

Posted on27. May, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Cruising the internet for health-related information, you will encounter all sorts of terms and claims. These terms are often used to imply superiority of method or approach by whoever is using them. For example, a site might claim that their remedies are homeopathic, or naturopathic, or “natural,” claiming superior results. With no judgment regarding which is superior, here is a description of each.

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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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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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3 Year Old Boy Hospitalized For Severe Sinusitis: Simple Cure

Posted on08. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

There are good scientific studies that have evaluated the efficacy of saline sinus rinses. But seeing is believing. At a time when I was only sporadically doing my own sinus rinses (have I mentioned how I detest doing them?), a distant children’s hospital asked me to help them treat a seriously ill little boy, who was hospitalized with sinusitis. Here is what I recommended. Here is how it turned out …

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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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What to Look for in a Humidifier: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Posted on31. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

A dry nose leads to 2 things: nose bleeds, and sinusitis. In order to avoid nose bleeds and sinusitis, the lining of your nose needs to stay moist. Keep those cilia happy! That’s where your humidifier comes in. There are many choices, but only 1 great choice…

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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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