Dear Jeanxyz,

This post is slight update (with additions) of my response-email to you:


I have some ideas for you, listed below. But, I would also, if I were you, seek a 2nd and even a 3rd opinion from other medical professionals -- whether allopathic (e.g., standard western medicine) or perhaps holistic (who might have a different, perhaps more positive, approach), and so on. At the least, you may get some broader and more encouraging perspectives on what to do.

(Additional: In part, it may be important for you to find out, via a competent medical professional, if you have nasal polyps or anything else "up there" of concern; that information can be important toward your selecting the most appropriate treatment for you, preferably a treatment that HEALS you rather than just COVER UP the symptoms.)

In my efforts to find a safe solution for my sinus infection problem -- which I'm still working on -- I've found some
treatments that may be helping me and which may help you too, in terms of(a) fighting off whatever bacteria/viruses/fungi maybe contributing to the infection/inflammation, and (b) reducing the inflammation by counteracting the body's (or the organ's) histamine-producing reactions to whatever is causing the underlying problem.

Perhaps these can cure, perhaps they can somewhat alleviate -- I'm not a doctor so I can only suggest that these are the things that I've learned and which I think are somewhat helping me, and maybe they can help you too. But you have to be the judge. I hope that they do help you. It may take time but if it works, it should be worth it.

Specifically they are:

Vitamin C, preferably in the form known as Ascorbyl Palmitate, which is easy on the stomach and fat-soluble. Several thousand milligrams per day, in several doses spaced over the day. C is great for the immune-system, is antioxidant, and is also anti-inflammatory.

(Additional: If you are on medications, especially blood-thinners, it would be important to consult with your doctor for guidance as to the advisability to taking C, or what amount you could take of C -- or of the other supplements I mention below -- while those meds or blood-thinners are also in your system. Also, while citrus fruits and their juices are typically loaded with C, these fruits and their juices -- especially grapefruit juice -- can have an effect on how rapidly and fully those meds & thinners get absorbed into the system; so again, it's important to get legitimate medical guidance about this, if you're taking those meds or thinners.)

Bromelain, which comes from pineapple, and Quercetin, are also very good anti-inflammatories. Stinging Nettles too. (Note: Myholistic-oriented MD private-labels capsules which contain all 3 items plus Vitamin C; maybe your health-food store has a similar such combination available. But I doubt that it's necessary to take all 3 items together -- it's just easier if they're all in one capsule.)

Turmeric, Olive Leaf Extract, Garlic Oil or Garlic Extract, Oregano Oil or Oregano Extract. These are said to be excellent as antifungals or antibacterials/antivirals.

(Additional: Astragalus too, for the same reasons as above.)

MSM(methyl-sulfonyl-methane) and CoEnzymeQ10 are also said to be good for nourishing/energizing reducing inflammation and strongly supporting the health of the body's cells and, as I recall, to some extent for helping fight off infection.

Acidophilus and Bifidus, and maybe also other "good bacteria" (ask at a healthfood store or reseatch these on the web)that the body needs for proper digestion. These also, somehow, help fight off other "bad" bacteria in the body -- or so Ive been told.

(Additional: Supplementing with these "good" bacteria should also help keep another natural resident of your digestive tract -- fungi -- in check.)

Zinc and Selenium are also said to be important to the body's immune system.

Vitamins Aand E are also important generally and for the sinuses.

I've also added to my regimen, just out of my own deductions about the need to fight this bad infection off, a mushroom-extract-based supplement known as MGN3 (made by Lane Labs; www.lanelabs.com).

MGN3 is a special supplement said by Lane Labs to triple the "natural killer (NK) cell activity", meaning, as I understand it, strongly boost either the production of or the activity of a certain type of the body's white blood-cells that are key to the body's immune system.

You might also want to consider gently lavageing (e.g., internally cleansing) -- as I do -- the sinuses, several times a day for maybe a few minutes each time (or shorter if it clears the sinuses sooner and you feel comfortable about it), with either (a) a weak lukewarm saline (salt or sea-salt) solution, (b) a water solution containing a little salt (or sea-salt), aloe vera liquid, (c) a water solution ofthose sameitems plus a little Colloidal Silver , or (d) just a solution of Colloidal Silver , either diluted a lot or, perhaps, undiluted; on this last point, you mayhave to experiment to find your own comfort-level.

(Additional: I've just been told today, by the maker of a major brand of Colloidal Silver , that one should NOT mix colloidal silver with salt: the two will react, causing the creation of Silver Chloride, which is not good, znd which would result in the creation of very large particles and can be unhealthy, or so he said. So it seemed that the best idea would be to lavage with purely weak saltwater -- maybe including aloe vera -- first, then be sure to lavage again with unsalted water (maybe including aloe), and THEN to tilt your head back and drip a small amount -- maybe an eyedropperful in the case of his brand -- of colloidal silver into the nostrils and let it penetrate awhile. I suppose one could then re-lavage with water (maybe including aloe) afterward a bit, if you want to, but maybe that wouldn't be necessary.

NOTE: Depending on the brand, apparently the colloidal silver solution may "sting" a little in the nostrils/sinuses; I'm told that that's to be expected, but my own feeling is that it helps to drip just a little bit in at first to see how it feels, and if it feels too strong, dilute it a bit with lukewarm water or water/aloe solution).

As to lavageing the sinuses: Have you tried this yet? Has any of your doctors suggested it to you yet? Here's how it works:

Lavageing entails you GENTLY "snorting" -- in short snorts; do not gag yourself! -- the appropriate solution (see above), using a little teapot-like pot with a spout, called a "neti-pot", or with a WaterPik or InterPlak machine, using a special squirty-tip designed especially for the nose; for safety, the tip has a "T" shaped crossbar so that you can't stick it up your schnozz. You carefully, gently, with short inward "snorts", take small amounts at-a-time ofthe solution into your nose and sinuses, and spit it out through your mouth into the sink. Pretty soon it should help open up the sinuses and help you breathe more comfortably.

Do this maybe 2 or 3 (or more if you feel like it) times per day. But don't force it; be patient. See if it helps; it should help open the sinuses and also help clear out bacteria, fungi (if any), etcetera, giving your sinuses a healthier, cleaner environment; it may help them heal.

Don't be repelled by the idea of this procedure: I've found that while I balked at doing it the first time, I quickly got used to it and found it to be only slightly yucky but also comforting and positive.

Details on the above solution-choices:

Salt: I've learned that sea-salt (which you can usually buy at a supermarket or health-foods store) is preferable to regular table-salt, but both are okay. The amount should be maybe a pinch to 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon per pint ofwater -- it should be delicate and should not be so strong as to sting the nostrils.

Aloe vera: I chose to add aloe vera because it reputedly has healing & soothing (and maybe antibacterial?) properties; I know that it's also an ingredientin some nasal sprays. You can buy the liquid in most health-food stores. Read the fine print, try to get the kind with no additives or preservatives , or atleast the kind that doesn't contain sodium benzoate or benzoic acid , which I've read irritate the membranes. I experimented with the amount
to use in solution, from a few tablespoonsful to maybe an inch in a pint of water; experiment with what's comfortable.

Colloidal silver: This, so I've read and been advised, is supposed to be an effective treatment -- antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral -- that can allegedly clear up sinus infections (among other things). There's a lot of hype about colloidal silver but there's also a lot of good information too, if you just perists in hunting it down. Accordingly, I've read &heard, in my research, so many different things about which type to get and how to use it.

Now, this issue ofchoosing, and properly using, the appropriate type of colloidal silver maybe a bit confusing -- but hang in there; if it gets too complicated, maybe you can phone a good healthfood store or two and get their advice about it. Just be sure that the clerks that you speak with about this know what they're talking aboutand aren't just there to sell you whatever they've got on their shelves.

As to type, there's apparently much debate: ionic silver (= silver ions, not atoms, in solution); MSP silver (= Mild Silver Protein =silver atoms held in liquid suspension by an animal-protein-based gelatin; or actual silver atoms (perhaps in molecular clusters a few atoms in size) suspended in water.

(Additiona: In my email to you yesterday, I wrote that so far, my conclusion, for myself, was that it's wisest to use the 3rd choice -- the pure silver atoms in water solution -- and to stay away from the other two choices, especially if it comes to internal uses such as lavageing the sinuses . Today. however, I'm once again a bit puzzled, having been advised by the maker of a major brand that it is the IONS, not the neutral silver MOLECULES, that do the trick. -- Maybe someone reading this post can dig up some peer-reviewed scientific literature and post it, or links to it, here, on this question? -- So I have more research to do about this, it seems.

Also, in my email to you yesterday, I mentioned the website of what appeared to be an independent laboratory, a lab which, according to its website, has done independent analyses of a number of colloidal silver products; and I also noted one of those products as having been rated very highly by them. Today I was told, by a colloidal silver manufacturer, that that website is in fact connected to, or run by, the maker of the product that I had mentioned as having received a top rating on the lab's website, and that some of the lab's research-techniques are inadequate to properly testing some of these products.

Well, I don't know the full truth of the matter, but it does raise questions as to whose information on the net is or isn't to be trusted. It's like Jimmy Durante used to say: "Everybody wants to get in on the act!".)

Anyway, in your research on colloidal silver, keep in mind that while some people claim that you can use it longterm with no side effects, others say that this is not quite true, and that the safety-level depends on several factors, such as particle-size (super-tiny is preferable), ions versus atoms -- versus MSP (which I gather may not be a good idea for internal use, because, allegedly, the protein "envelopes" encasing the silver atoms can possibly harbor bacteria or form a barrier between the silver atoms and the bacteria/fungi/viral forms that you want the silver to kill).

There's also the issue of how many parts-per-million (ppm) of silver particles (a confusing term in istelf) per cubic
centimeter. Some claim that 3-10 ppm is best, some claim that the ppm should go to the thousands, depending on the condition that a person wants to treat. My impression -- and again, I'm no expert -- is that the thousands-idea is not good at all, but that maybe somewhere in the range of 3-20-50 ppm is preferable. (

Additional: In my email to you yesterday, I thought maybe 10-100 ppm was fair; today, with my updated research, my impression is that the lower range mentioned above is better and is also far lass likely to cause a temporary uncomfortable and perhaps fatiguing reaction called a "Herxheimer Reaction". Boy, this takes real detective work!! Anyway, to continue:)

Particle size is also critically important-- it must be extremely low. Take a look at the chart on the lab-website that I emailed to you and you'll get an idea of what I mean.

(Additional: By the way, from what I've read so far, I would NOT think it wise to buy one of those silver-colloid do-it-yourself generators. They may save you money, but, from what I've read, the actual size, shape, parts-per-million, and quality of the resulting silver particles would probably be questionable.)

But again, I am not the expert on colloidal silver -- I only know what I've read.

Additionally: It's also good to apply very warm (but not uncomfortably hot) compresses (maybe a damp washcloth,
or a hot hardboiled egg wrapped in a dry washcloth -- a folk-remedy I learned from a former chief pediatrician of a hospital in "the old country") to the sinuses (externally), maybe 10-20 minutes at a stretch, every so often, maybe every evening or I guess as often over the course of the day as you want. The heat is said to help.

It might also be helpful to inhale (carefully: do not burn or scald your nose or face) clean steam , perhaps from water that also contains a drop of eucalyptus oil or of the Vicks-brand ofliquid madefor steam -inhaling; I forget the name just now, but your drugstore should know. Inhale the steam gently through the nose for as long as you feel comfortable doing it, for chunks of time every so often through the course of the day. This too is said to usually help open the sinuses and promote healing.

I've also learned that acupuncture can possibly help alleviate sinus problems, or so I've been told, but I have no
experience with this yet.

Additionally, I understand that sinus problems can be caused, it is suspected, in part by allergies and/or by mold,and that removing the cause maybe an important step toward alleviating the problem. So maybe it would be worthwhile for you to get checked for allergies and also to see if you're reacting to mold (which could perhaps be in your house, or, if you work in an office building, maybe it's coming theough the central air-conditioning in that building).

(Additional: Who knows? Maybe you're also suffering from dust-mites, who might have set up camp in your bed, in your carpets, and everywhere else they see a microscopic scrap of what to them is food as a "Welcome" sign. You can perhaps have your doctor test you for allergy to dust-mites. Consider too whatever else is in your environment that might be affecting you: pollen, pets, and so on. Maybe discuss this idea with your doctor or allergist. Might also be useful to do an internet-search on the key-words "sinus AND (allergy or allergic OR allergens)".)

Lastly:

I occasionally (and reluctantly) spray my nostrils with a prescription corticosteroid called Nasacort. It usually
opens the sinuses after 5-10-15 minutes, and does not have the "rebound effect" of most typical over-the-counter nasal sprays. I also do occasionally (though reluctantly and parsimoniously) use an over-the-counter 8-or-12-hour spray Oxymetazoline (that's the chemical name; various brands have it). I've also had some relief, attimes, with something much safer and no rebound effect, an over-the-counter spray called SinoFresh, which is refreshing and
contains an antiseptic (and, I think, Oil of Wintergreen), and I've also just started using a homeopathic nasal spray, said to be very safe, called Similason. Well, I'm still not cured, but I'm working on it, and I may be slowly improving.

Well, Jeanxyx (what a greatname!), there you have it. At least maybe some of thesethings, I hope, might help you.

As I said in my email: Don't give up the ship!

Goodluck!

-- SJS

Dear Jeanxyz --

Short addendum to the lengthy post that I just posted regarding your plea for help, re: your sinus problem:

About lavageing the sinuses, I may have inadvertently given the impression, in that post and my prior email, that I was suggesting that one choice is to do a full lavage -- Neti-Pot or Waterpik and all -- just with lots and lote of pure Colloidal Silver . Well, that was NOT what I meant to say, so please do NOT do that.

I gather that a LITTLE Colloidal Silver , such as eyedroppersful or maybe a teaspoon or so -- depending on what's considered a safe upper daily limit -- might be okay. But, I gather that it would not be wise or safe to take greater amounts than that into the sinuses. Again, this is based on what I've read, and it's my conclusion for myself -- I am no expert on this, but maybe my findings, as I mentioned, can be useful to you.

Best,
SJS.

There is one interview on
http://www.bobmantz.com
where Dr. Schultz cleared a patient's completely blocked sinuses using steam and horseradish/onions, etc. I forget the details but I was wondering if anyone here was familiar with that or had tried it themselves!

A horrblie response but........

4-Way is the most effective. It works everytime.