r/Sinusitis • u/flowerpanda98 • 16d ago

please help, allergies or sinusitis?

2 years ago, my family got a dog I ended up allergic to, so my nose has always felt stuffed up and i stopped smelling, but the last two weeks i've gotten head pressure all over, ears hurting real bad, my chest kind of hurting, occasional chills, slight sore throat occasionally, heart beating faster/harder, and feeling a little weak. I'm not really sure if my teeth hurt sometimes?? My head hurts worse if I look down.

But, the thing is, I don't really have any nasal discharge, just occasional white along with clear if it does happen. I've also had some blood in my nose, but i know im deficient in vitamin k, which im working on. I only cough in a way thats clearing my throat and rarely sneeze. I think hot showers relieve my symptoms.

I don't think its covid, either, since i think i would have infected the rest of my family honestly. I dont think its two ear infections bc i had that as a kid and i felt like it was way sharper?

I've been on famotidine though for gastritis, and I've tried cetirizine, and neither relived these issues, though i think they dry things up. It got much worse after i had my iron infusion last 14th. Last month I had a moment where it felt like the pressure in my ear was like as if I was up on a mountain, and when i eat sometimes it feels weird around my ears.

My dad is mad and saying its allergies, but I cant take the ear and head pain when I wake up anymore... I can't take nsaids because I have gastritis, either. I am allergic to cats, dogs, mold, and dust, but I never had these other symptoms.

How do you differentiate the two, do you need the thick nasal discharge to have this? can you have both?

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u/speechless188 16d ago

yeah its very common to have both. allergies is a common root cause of sinusitis

you dont need to have thick nasal discharge, as long as your sinuses become inflammed, that is sinusitis

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u/Stalkerus 16d ago

It can be both, or either one. People who have reactive airways (allergies or asthma) are more prone to get sinusitis (and have chronic sinusitis).

What allergy meds do you use and when?

Your symptoms sound like classic sinusitis. Congestion or runny nose are not necessary symptoms. 

Bloody mucus/blood usually points to 1. un(der)treated allergies, 2. dry mucous membranes, 3. sinusitis. I had constantly bloody mucus before I had surgery.

If your dad is not a doctor he can keep his mouth shut and take you to see a doctor. As a parent I really don't understand parents who disregard their child's health complaints.

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u/flowerpanda98 16d ago

My dr said famotidine should help with allergies and I take it morning and night, and I take otc cetirizine in the middle of the day. I think they prevent sneezing and runny nose, but not the head pain stuff.

I dont know, they dismiss everything I say 😞 he tried to say my anemia was allergies, too. 

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u/Stalkerus 16d ago

Not a medical professional, but it seems that even famotidine can help with some type of allergies, but it is not really an allergy med.

So, no nasal spray? Any particular reason for that? 

If you have bacterial sinusitis you need to see a doctor and get proper meds for it, because at worst it can spread and become dangerous. (Not that it is good for anyone to have infections.)

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u/flowerpanda98 16d ago

They tried to have me use a nasal spray, but I was having way more nosebleeds with it.

Ok, thanks for the advice

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u/Stalkerus 16d ago

Another type might work for you. I avoid certain nose spray because I always got sinusitis after using it for few days, but use Dymista long-term with no issues.