In this article, we will discuss how to relieve sinus pressure. Most of the people experience sinus pain and pressure in their lives and most of them recover from it without any medical treatment. There are a number of home remedies which offer relief from sinus pressure, whether it’s a sinusitis (an infection caused by sinus) or the common cold, allergies etc.
Sinuses are vacant pockets inside the bones enclosing the nose. They generate mucus, which flushes into the nose and blocks your nasal passages, the inflammation causes swelling in the nose and can the sinuses which causes congestion, pain, cough, facial pain, pain in a tooth or post-nasal drip. Sinusitis can be delicate and it may take more than four weeks, it usually happens after catching a cold or it could be constant. It may last for months or years sometimes with symptoms or without any symptoms. There are other problems also which can give you chronic sinusitis and acute sinusitis-like nasal related problems, allergies and some certain conditions like cystic fibrosis, as mentioned by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases.
So here we have ten natural home remedies for you which you can try at home by yourself to get relief from sinus pain. These remedies are quite useful in reducing the sinus pain and unblocking your blocked nasal passages.
Home Remedies to Relieve Sinus Pressure
1.) Flush Your Nasal Passages to Relieve Sinus Pressure
According to a study done, there is a lot of confusion about which remedies works best or is appropriate for the treatment for sinus pain. But the use of rinse like neti-pot and saline spray is considered to be quite effective.
The use of saline wash thins mucus and helps to drain it out from the nasal passages and helps you to get relief from sinusitis by unblocking the nasal passages. According to the study, saline washes are trusted, tested and plays an important role in fighting against sinusitis problem. If you are suffering from sinus problem it is recommended to follow the regular use of saline solution through neti-pot or another instrument. It keeps the sinuses moist and helps you in giving more relief when you catch a cold or suffering from several allergies. It is easy and effective in treating sinusitis
2.) Try Bromelain to Relieve Sinus Pressure
Bromelain has been in use for years to reduce swelling in nasal passages. It is a protein which is sold as a supplement in medical stores. Bromelain is a type of protein which is found in stems of pineapple. Bromelain is considered to be very helpful in reducing the swelling of nasal passages.
Before using Bromelain for the treatment of swelling in nasal passages, you need to make sure that you have consulted your doctor. This is because Bromelain can react with other medicines that you be taking. And, you also need to follow the instructions by your doctor for dosage amount of Bromelain for treatment.
3.) Take a Steam to Relieve Sinus Pressure
Steam is also considered one of the best remedies to get relief from sinus pressure. Sprinkling some drops of menthol or eucalyptus in the shower and steaming up the bathroom is a nice way to make steaming effective. This is because hot water vapor helps to moist the sinuses and gives you relief from the problem. Taking a steamy bath or shower is also helpful in softening stuck debris inside the nose and mucus. This makes you feel better.
4.) Drink Up to Relieve Sinus Pressure
Keep your body hydrated as it helps in keeping the sinuses moist. You must drink water regularly after a short interval of time to keep your sinuses moist. You should avoid the drinks which contain caffeine or alcohol because these drinks cause dehydration in your body which hardens the mucus. The intake of fluid depends on person to person. An ideal quantity for intake of fluid for a normal person is eight-ounce glasses in a day. There is one more way to check the requirement of fluid in your body; all you need to check is the color of your urine. If the urine color is clear it means your body is hydrated properly. If its pale or yellowish, you need to increase the intake of water.
5.) Spice to Relieve Sinus Pressure
Some spices and spicy foods are very helpful in clearing your nasal passages like horseradish, wasabi, mustard, curry, hot peppers etc. It helps to keep your sinuses clear. You can add few a spices to get rid of blocked nasal passages. These spices help to clear your nasal passages effectively and provide you relief from the sinus pain.
6.) Avoid Allergic Contents to Relieve Sinus Pressure
Sinusitis is very sensitive to allergies. Some allergies can make your sinus pain worse. According to a study, you should make your home safe from allergic contents by protecting your living place from dust mites. You can install an air filter system to prevent airborne allergens. Also, you should keep your pets out from the bedroom. They can also cause allergy to you in the case of sinuses problems and you can also use beddings with allergen barriers. These methods will be very helpful to keep you safe from the allergic environment.
7.) Use a Humidifier to Relieve Sinus Pressure
Humidifiers are effective in keeping the air moist. But you need to make sure that you keep the humidifier clean, especially when you are sensitive to mold allergies. An unclean humidifier can raise mold and make you vulnerable to sinus issues. You also need to ensure that you avoid the use of the humidifier in humid months. It is better to use a humidifier only during dry seasons. You should also crosscheck for the level of humidity in your room. According to the specialists, thirty-five to fifty percent of humidity is perfect and if the windows of your room start fogging, it means that the level of humidity is higher than the ideal percentage required. So the bottom line is keeping your humidifier always in clean condition and avoid using it when the humidity level reaches higher due to humid season or other reasons.
8.) Apply Warm Compresses to Relieve Sinus Pressure
You may also use a warm compress to keep your nasal passages tissues soggy. Or you can use a deep bowl filled with steaming hot water. Keep your towel over your head to cover and then place your face over the deep bowl filled with steaming hot water. Take deep breaths to inhale the steam. But be cautious to not to burn yourself as the extremely hot water can burn your body. So follow the process very carefully. To get better results from the treatment, you can follow up the warm compresses with cold compresses.
9.) Avoid Antibiotics to Relieve Sinus Pressure
According to the doctors, the use of antibiotics arbitrarily may cause antibiotic resistance and the growth of superbugs. In addition to this, antibiotics may not be efficient in the treatment of most of the cases of sinusitis. Doctors say that there is only less than two percent of infections which are bacterial. Mostly these infections are viral and should not be treated with antibiotics. The doctor may advise you a waiting period for a week without any antibiotic to analyze if you can recover on your own. As per a study published in JAMA, for most sensitive cases of sinusitis, antibiotics helps a bit to decrease the symptoms of sinusitis in three days of antibiotic treatment and only offers a little improvement on the seventh day of treatment.
10.) Know when to Consult the Doctor to Relieve Sinus Pressure
If you have tried above-mentioned home remedies to get rid of sinus pain and there is no improvement in your sinus pain for a week or more then you should visit an ENT specialist. This is because your condition may need more serious treatment which will be more effective than these home remedies. So your doctor can carry out the CT scan of your nose to figure out the sensitivity of your sinusitis and to check for the anatomical blockages which can be treated by giving surgical treatment, like nasal polyps or nasal septum. So in case if you don’t get the relief from these home remedies mentioned, then you must go to see a doctor depending upon the sensitivity of the sinusitis.