TESTING – CT Imaging the Sinuses

Posted on02. Dec, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Another family just came to see me, referred for “sinus headaches”. They bring a computer disc with them containing the CT scan of their 4-year-old’s sinuses. The child has had many CT scans. As we review them, it quickly becomes clear that no one has ever reviewed ANY of the scans with them. So I gave them a short course in “Reading Sinus CT Scans”. Here it is …

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Quit Smoking: Do It For Your Kids

Posted on21. Oct, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

If You, or Your Children, Have Asthma, Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Otitis, … If your child has any of these chronic inflammatory aero-digestive disorders, YOU. MUST. QUIT. SMOKING. Tobacco smoke has been shown, with no doubt, to cause all of these ailments: asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, otitis.  Not to mention that smoking will take, on average, 15 years [...]

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5 Things You Didn’t Know About Reflux (and you should)

Posted on09. Sep, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Nearly half of us will have reflux every month. We usually know it as “heartburn” – that burning discomfort of reflux esophagitis. But our kids usually don’t experience heartburn. Check the 6 symptoms of reflux in children here.

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What is the Unified Airway?

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

In practical terms the Unified Airway Model predicts that challenges affecting one anatomic area of the aero-digestive tract will also likely affect one or more of the other components. Here is the evidence for he UAM, and how to use it to get your kids better.

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Use Plants to Purify and Detoxify Your Air

Posted on15. Jul, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Interesting story: We have NASA and an asthmatic in India to thank for finding the right plants to detoxify our air for us. That’s right, NASA – the space people, and a business man with severe asthma. And plants also provide us with oxygen as an added benefit. Here’s the story …

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The Human Pollution Experiment …

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

“… OK then, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, we’ll put your little Sally in this box for 6 months, and pipe industrial waste smoke into the box to see how that affects her nose and lungs and stuff. Oh, and we’ll need to take some surgical biopsies occasionally. You’re cool with that, right?
Just sign here …”

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Honey – Nature’s Antibiotic

Posted on24. Jun, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

You may have noticed that your honey never seems to develop mold or bacterial contamination, even when it isn’t refrigerated after opening.  We now know why this is: honey has innate anti-microbial activity. Honey is a natural antibiotic !!  Who knew? Well, it seems that ancient humans knew:  For over 2 thousand years humans have [...]

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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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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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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? 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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Some Good Books, and Other Stuff

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

By my calculations, if only 138 Million of you click through my link to Amazon and spend $1,000 each, I will have enough to help support my Fig Newton addiction. That’ll happen, right?

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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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8 Dangerous Complications of Sinusitis, But 3 That Can Kill

Posted on19. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Complications of sinusitis are fortunately rare. Some of these complications can kill you. Some of them can leave you blind. What are the signs and symptoms? Which symptoms warrant medical attention RIGHT NOW?

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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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Nasal and Sinus Anatomy (and Histology)

Posted on15. Apr, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

The nose and sinuses are complex. Aside from looking beautiful, your child’s nose (and sinuses) acts as: air-conditioner, warming or cooling incoming air, and moisturizing it for the lungs, and an immune barrier against airborne microorganisms and pollutants. The complexity of this job is reflected in the complexity of the anatomy and histology of the nose and sinuses. Here is a review of how it all works together. WARNING: Long, technical post. But it will help you care for your child’s nose, sinuses, etc.

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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 is Sinusitis ?

Posted on15. Mar, 2010 by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD.

Strictly speaking, sinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses ― air-filled cavities in the skull and facial skeleton. Sinusitis often follows infection in the nose (virus, bacteria, or mold), or inflammation in the nose (rhinitis) from some other cause, such as from allergies – allergic rhinitis. Here are the details, with figures.
There will be a pop quiz …

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