u/mitchplaysriffs

Very curious because i'd like to volunteer to help.

Update:

11 days after I found the problem, I am cured.

used to be one nostril consistently blocked (my right) and now I can breath just fine.

you can self test by touching the back scalp of your head and see if they are tender.. if yes, then good chance that your sinus problem might be structural..

I also incorporated some exercises for my suboccipital muscles.. you can google exercises for that.

a whole year and an half struggle, and sometimes the solution can be quite simple.

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I got a really bad cold in March, 2023 and couldn’t breathe for a week. At the same time, my acid reflux was acting up bad again. So ever since then, I have been sleeping on two or three pillows to alleviate my symptoms.

My symptoms: constant post nasal drips that are clear. symptoms get worse during hot shower, relieved by exercises, standing up and bending over for a while. Massage my head sometimes can get instant relieve with complete open of both nostrils until symptom returns again..

I have excluded these things:

1. Rhinitis (allergenic or non-allergenic): I do have seasonal allergies and very sensitive to dusts molds etc. I tried a various method to eliminate this: changing out my feather pillows, changing bedsheet weekly and vacuuming very often; purchased air purifier. sinus wash; taking supplements (quecertin, vitamin C vitamin D etc etc) I definitely sneeze a lot less. But my nose did not improve.
2. physical obstruction in the nasal cavity: Went to an ENT and checked; no visible polyps or mass obstructing the pathways.Diagnosis: Bilateral turbinate enlargements. Very mild septal deviation but not severe enough to cause obstruction. ENT prescribed antibiotic which I did not take because I dont believe it is bacterial. Bacterial rhinitis usually have more severe symptoms such as pus like nasal discharge, fever, elevated WBC, which I don’t.
3. Residual fungal infections/nasal bacterial colony imbalance inside the nasal cavity: you either have it or you don’t. I have tried silly things like sticking kimchi juice up into my nostrils. Xylitol added to my sinus wash to get rid of possible fungal colonies. No relieve.
4. Silence reflux disease - that is when the stomach acid goes back up and irritates the inner lining of your throat, nose and ear canals that cause the soft tissue to swell. I adjusted the amount and time that I had my dinner. Continued to sleep on 2-3 pillows. NO RELIEVE. This is when I got really frustrated because I truly believe this was my cause.
5. Other random things that I have tried: exercises and self massage I found on Youtube to eliminate sinusitis. Minimal relieve.

So after all these trials and errors, my conclusion is that it must be that the blood vessels supplying these turbinates are either compressed or engorged. Turbinates are filled with microvessels and it is very sensitive to any pressure change. I am convinced that it must be something structural, outside of my nose, that leads to this problem.

SOLUTION:

I started neck exercises. such as tucking chin straight back, multiple times a day, turn head from side to side, bring ears to each shoulder; as well as TMJ exercises such as place your tongue on top of your mouth roof and open mouth wide; I also have been doing very gentle stretching exercises mostly focusing on whole body extension especially the neck region. I also eliminate my pillows and have been sleeping flat every night.

Let me tell you, my nose is 80% better in just a few days.

What I thought that was helping me (sleeping on two -three pillows), is actually whats making it SO BAD.

I truly hope that my post can help someone like me out there. I hope that you can all breathe through your nose again. It is just an amazing feeling!

God Bless!

*** edit:

I forgot to add that diet is also an important component to consider if you haven’t done so. Diet is not the issue in my case but some people do have sinus issue due to chronic inflammation caused by diet and once they eat clean, the sinus problem improve.