The cause of all the unpleasant symptoms associated with a sinus infection is an inflammation of the sinus cavities, which are located behind the nose and upper face. The sinus cavities play a major role in draining mucus from the nose. When the cavities or sinuses become inflamed the available space is reduced and the mucus becomes trapped. It is the trapped mucus that causes the pain and pressure we call sinusitis.

Sinus infection symptoms usually include a thick yellow nasal discharge, headache, a feeling of pressure behind the face and quite often a feeling of tenderness around the eyes. In more severe cases you may even experience earache and pain in the jaw.

The sinuses themselves are more complicated than most people imagine. There are in fact four pairs and you will experience different symptoms depending on which are infected. For example, a pain around the eyes and lower nose is a sign of ethmoid sinusitis, while discomfort when bending forward or lying backward indicates sphenoid sinusitis. Similarly, pain while lowering the head could indicate a problem with the frontal sinuses and pain when the head is upright indicates maxillary sinusitis. While the symptoms may differ depending on which sinuses are affected, the sinus infection treatment will almost always remain the same.

The treatments used by most sufferers include prescription drugs, antibiotics and decongestant nasal sprays. However, it is worth questioning the wisdom of this, as many prescription drugs, including sprays are habit forming, have side effects and in the long term undermine the body’s immune system. While almost all home remedies for treating sinus problems are all natural and free from side effects.

Perhaps the favorite and oldest home sinus treatment is to fill a bowl with boiling water and inhale the steam through the nose while covering your head with a towel. The sinuses are aggravated by dry air so it is understandable why this particular sinus treatment would be beneficial. A modern variation on this old favorite is to use a vaporizer, you may find increased benefit by adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil.  You may also find that drinking plenty of warm water and eating jalapeno peppers helpful.

Many people people think essential oils or plant extracts are the only sinus infection treatment that really helps, see our sinus doctor review.

Sinus problems seem to be on the increase and are now affecting more than 35 million Americans each year. Our sinus infections are now big business. Americans alone spend over $5 billion each year on healthcare costs directly related to sinusitis, and there are a half million related surgeries performed annually.

But the medical profession know what they are doing, don’t they?

Well I assume so, and certainly hope so, but there must be some doubt as to the long term effectiveness of some of the “treatments” that some of their number recommend. Consumption of both prescription and none prescription drugs is at a all time high (as we’ve said over $5 billion a year) yet there’s no drug currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of chronic sinusitis.

My Success Story
I personally suffered chronic sinus problems for about twenty years; you could say I grew into it in my late twenties. I seemed to end up stuck on a merry go round of antibiotics and steroids, any relief to be had was temporary and when the problem came back it seemed worse than ever. Since I wasn’t really getting better and the side effects of both antibiotics and steroids were worry me, they were appearing increasingly in the news, I tried a “natural remedy”* and have never looked back. That’s what this blog is about, helping people find an alternative solution for their sinus problems.

*When time allows I’ll put a review up for this product, until then you can read more here.  Sinusdoctor