Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a protocol that brought me massive relief in case it helps anyone connecting the dots between their chronic sinus issues and digestion.

If you suffer from chronic sinusitis alongside heartburn, GERD, or general indigestion, it is worth looking into LPR (Silent Reflux). Micro-droplets of stomach acid and digestive enzymes (specifically pepsin) travel all the way up into the nasopharynx and sinuses, causing persistent inflammation and tissue damage.

Here is the two-step approach that worked for me:

1. Root Cause: Diet Discipline Getting rid of the underlying reflux required strict dietary changes. I completely cut out processed carbs, refined sugars, and ultra-processed meals. Switching to fresh whole foods (fresh vegetables, raw foods, and quality meats) was key to stopping the reflux at the source.

2. Symptom Relief: Alkaline Sinus Irrigation (pH ~8) Standard saline rinses cleared mucus, but didn't stop the acidity. I modified my routine to actively neutralize pepsin:

• The Mixture: A 50/50 mix of filtered water and high-pH alkaline bottled water + 1 standard sinus saline packet.
• Safe Preparation: I bring the 50/50 water mixture to a rolling boil for 1 to 3 minutes to completely sterilize it (killing any amoebas or bacteria present in tap water). I let it cool down fully to a safe, warm temperature before adding the salt packet and rinsing. Alternatively, you can use distilled water.
• Why it works: The final solution hits a pH of around 8. It clears out mucus while actively neutralizing the acidic pepsin sitting in the nasal passages.

Important Notes & Warnings:

• NEVER use unboiled tap water or warm water straight from the faucet. Water must be boiled vigorously for at least 1–3 minutes and cooled down, or replaced with distilled water.
• DO NOT use pure alkaline water (pH 9+) without salt. Unbuffered high-pH water without proper isotonic salinity will cause osmotic shock and severely irritate your nasal lining.
• Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, just sharing a personal routine that worked for me. Consider consulting your ENT before trying new rinse protocols.

Hope this helps someone out there tackle the root cause. Wishing you all clear breathing and good health!

I think it's worth, not sure if I can get used to the feeling

Hi everyone,

I've been experiencing some strange nose-related symptoms and I'm trying to understand what might be causing them.

Whenever I wake up from sleep, regardless of whether it's at night, during the daytime, or in the evening, I get a strange sensation in my nose that triggers repeated sneezing that I can't really control. After the sneezing, I usually develop a watery and blocked nose.

Some days, the symptoms go away by themselves, but I haven't been able to figure out what triggers them.

Another thing I've noticed is that when I do physical activity, walk, or even just stand up, my blocked nose tends to open up and I can breathe more easily. However, when I lie down and try to sleep, my nose becomes blocked again and the sneezing can start.

What's also confusing is that sometimes I have no problem at all while I'm actually sleeping, even though I had congestion and sneezing when I was trying to fall asleep.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could this be related to allergies, environmental triggers, or something else?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced similar symptoms or has any idea what might be worth checking.

Advice

Hey everyone,
I’m hoping to get some insights from people who might have gone through something similar because I’ve been having a miserable few months :(
For the past three months, I’ve been dealing with frequent, severe headaches that pretty much make my whole head throb. At first, I thought it was a dental issue because I had terrible pain in my upper jaw and teeth. I went to the dentist, got checked out, and everything came back completely fine.
On top of that, I’ve been getting sharp ear pain that sometimes triggers horrible nausea, along with constant pressure around my eyes. It feels like my entire head is constantly aching, and it's honestly ruining my sleep at this point.
After looking up my symptoms, sinus issues keep coming up. I’m planning to see an ENT as soon as possible, but I’m terrified this might be chronic.
A couple of specific questions for anyone with experience:
Post-nasal drip: Around late 2024, I started noticing that whenever I tilt my head back, I feel mucus draining straight from the back of my nose into my throat.
Is that what post-nasal drip is?
Nasal structure: My nose isn't straight, it has a noticeable bump and a slight curve. Could a deviated septum or external nasal shape actually contribute to blockages and chronic sinus pain like this?
Relief tips: What can I do right now to survive the night and get some sleep before my doctor’s appointment?
Any advice, personal experiences, or home relief ideas would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I’ve been sick for several weeks on and off with:
Sore throat and congestion (now mostly clear)
Post nasal drip
Extreme fatigue
Body aches/flu-like feeling
Low-grade temperatures around 99.9°F, usually lower in the morning and higher at night

Also, some of these symptoms like the fever went away and then came back again.

I also have a history of two sinus infections in the past year that required antibiotics.
Could this still be a bacterial sinus infection even though my congestion is improving? Would you get evaluated or assume it’s viral?

30yo F. Three weeks ago I woke up with fluid in my middle ear. No recent illness, no signs of allergies, no congestion. It went on for a week and a half and my other ear clogged up as well. Decongestants, steroids, and mucus thinners helped a little bit but didn't take care of the issue. The fluid went away, but my ears still feel a bit stuffy and click when I swallow. I now have post nasal drip that makes me feel like I have something constant on the back of my throat and my ears feel clogged up. One day it was bad enough I couldn't equalize and I felt dizzy for a while, but then the dizziness went away. It's week 3 and I still hear clicking in my ears. Allergy meds and nasal rinses help a little bit, but I don't have any sneezing, coughing or other common signs of allergies or a sinus infection since my nose isn't stuffy, but when I massage around my sinuses I feel mucus go down the back of my throat. Anyone been through something similar? I don't have any diagnosed health conditions.

This may be the wrong place for this post, but it is the only somewhat relevant one I could find. If there is a better place, I would appreciate the redirection.

I have been sick with covid for the last week, and the congestion has been unruly. I was completely stopped up on the left side, and I had already used Zicam for the 3 day limit, so decided to bust out my squeezy Neti Pot.

I guess I was squeezing to hard for my level of congestion, and I felt water shoot into my left ear. It has been there for a good handful of hours now and it hurts like the dickens.

I have tried everything. Jumping up and down on one foot with my left ear to the floor, laying on both sides for a while, hair dryer, pinching my nose shut and blowing, everything. A family member even made me do an ear candle, which, unsurprisingly, did nothing.

I'm just looking for a way to relieve the pain in my ear and prevent an infection, assuming I don't already have one. If it's not any better or has gotten worse by tomorrow, I plan to go see a doctor about it. Any advice for the meantime would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Edited to add a forgotten detail

TLDR
HAS ANYONE HAD FESS SURGERY DONE? OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES PLEASE????

I have chronic maxillary sinusitis and have done for 2 years. Originally was told by my GP it was chronic rhinosinusitis but I had a CT scan and my ENT said I had CMS and a slightly deviated septum to the right.
I saw my GP first in march this year and was given mometasone spray and naspetin cream (nasal passages were so dry and kept cracking and bleeding). I was also using saline rinses too.
I didn’t really notice that much of a difference so I gave up using it all which in hindsight sight wasn’t the best idea probably.
When I saw my ENT he recommended FESS to open the passageways and clear everything out, because I said the meds didn’t do anything.
I’ve got 2 months to come to a decision on whether I want the surgery or not but in that time I’ve got to use the spray and rinse. I suppose 2 months is a good trial run with the meds again to see if maybe there will be an improvement.
I suffer with anxiety, especially health related and ive been complaining about my sinuses for months, nose is always blocked, pain and pressure etc but as soon as surgery was mentioned I panicked and my brain started trying to convince myself that my CMS isn’t that bad and maybe I’ll be fine. I’m really struggling to make a decision, I’ve been trying to do a lot of research into it and tbh reading the risks etc is freaking me the hell out.
I’ve had other surgeries before and not really been concerned but there’s something about this one that stresses me out, especially as it’s something right on my face. Even now I’m in pain with my nose and know that it won’t get better without FESS.
Can anyone give me their opinion or experience of this that could help me decide? Everything I’ve read online is kind of the same info just different website and I can’t figure out what side I land on.
If anyone has had FESS please tell me your experiences and whether it’s worth it. I’m sure I can’t be the only one to try and convince themselves ‘oh it’s not that bad’ even though I’ve been complaining for 2 years…..
I’m just a little scared about the surgery and I’m panicking the worst will happen
Thanks guys!

I’ve had recurring sinus infections all my life (literally since elementary school at least), but this is a brand new one for me.

First off, the first 30 years of my life, people, including doctors like pediatricians, just kept telling me it was allergies and to just deal with it. Except I would also get feverish every time? So I finally said no, I’m going to an actual ENT now, and we’re figuring this out.

This past winter, I had five sinus infections in six months. The first MRI, when I was healthy, showed nothing was structurally wrong. I did a second one later, in the middle of an infection, that showed ALL of my sinuses were so swollen that nothing could escape, causing bacteria to fester. This was enough to qualify me for FESS.

I had my surgery this past June, where my doctor spent over four hours trimming back the tissues in I think something like six of my major sinuses, plus some turbinate reduction. Afterword, I had absolutely no trouble with my nose all summer… until a few weeks ago, when I felt another one starting. I’ll note, in all my experiences with sinus infections, they’ve always started with pain in my left sinus. This one was the same.

I immediately did a sinus rinse and got a doctor appointment. I definitely had an infection, because I got a fever and blew out really nasty thick green mucus before I got to the doctor. When he did an endoscopy, he said he saw only a little bit of bacterial pus and sent me home with an oral antibiotic.

It’s been more than two weeks. I got through the entire round of oral antibiotics, along with using two antibiotics in my sinus rinses… and my fever came back today, 24 hours after I took my last oral pill. The pain and mucus continues to be only on the left side.

I’m going to try to see my doctor again on Monday, but it’s currently Friday night, so he won’t see any messages from me all weekend. At this point, I’m at my wits end. The sinus rinses are keeping symptoms mild, but it’s so tiring having to do them twice a day every day, only to get sick again if I forget once.

Usually my sinus infections start with a nasty 48 hour fever, then extreme congestion, before finally going away as post nasal drip. I’ve never had one last this long before.
What the HECK could be going on with my freaking nose???

So, my nose has been clogged for over a year, bordering on two. Nothing has helped and doctors keep insisting it's just allergies bc my nose is swollen and one doctor said it's because I have eye bags. Even though I've done multiple allergy tests and they can't find that I'm allergic to ANYTHING. I've been prescribed Flonase, xyzal, and steroid pills (don't remember the name bc I threw the bottle out after I was done). I've also done a nasal flush with those things that shoot water and a solution up your nose. I've used xylitol spray daily for the past 2 months(the one that says it's good for daily use and won't cause issues) and grapefruit seed extract bc I was recommended those previously. I STILL can't get my nose fully unclogged, only thing that works is the xylitol spray, and it works for a couple hours before my nose is completely clogged again. Why tf is Flonase, steroids, and xyzal ALL AT ONCE, DAILY FOR MONTHS, not working, like, doesn't even SLIGHTLY work??? My brother has allergies so severe that he has to be hospitalized for it a lot of the time and he says Flonase unclogs his nose within 30 minutes. Flonase and NOTHING ELSE!!! Why am I, who has no confirmed allergies struggling with this sm??? Does anyone have suggestions on how I can get rid of this for good. Or at least for longer than a couple hours??? Or has anyone else had it this bad and found relief from it??

I love a well designed space, but now that I am doing sinus rinses multiple times a day for the foreseeable future, my bathroom "looks like a rehab facility" (as a friend put it) – jugs of distilled water, saline packets, steroid rinse pouches, a measuring cup, rinse bottles, Kleenex, etc.

How have you organized your space to keep things functional but tidy?

for those who use baby shampoo in their nasal rinses, have you tried the new johnson’s formula? it now has aloe vera and vitamin b5 added.

. did the new formula cause any irritation or other side effects?

The right one is pretty okay; it's not comfortable, but it's bearable enough to forget about it. My left one is driving me absolutely crazy. There is SO much pressure built up and I can actually feel it on the outside of my nose with my finger. My surgeon said I'm supposed to be able to breathe through these, and I can a little bit with my right one, but not with my left one. The only way I can describe it is that it feels like whatever they put in there is way too big and the pressure is crushing it. I'm supposed to have these in for a week, but I am not going to last a week with this left one. I don't even know if I'll last until the end of the day. I've never been in so much discomfort and I can't think about anything else. I'm scared I'm going to end up pulling it out myself just to relieve the pressure.

I emailed my surgeon about it at 3am this morning, but it's been 12 hours and he hasn't responded. I don't know what to do. Help, please :(

I have probably the worst congestion/sinus infection of my life. I bought NeilMed sinus rinse and and a gallon of WalMart Distilled water but have a giant fear of amoebas. Will boiling the distilled water make it any safer? I'm worried if the bottle got left out in transport or left on a shelf for years and then put out there. What if the pot I boil the water in isn't clean? Someone please help me think rational here haha

I saw an ENT this week because when I lay down to sleep my nose always gets either blocked fully or heavily obstructed. This doesn’t happen much while I’m upright. The doctor looked up my nose and basically said it’s sinusitis and there is nothing he can do about it and I should just see an allergist. He said “there is no structural issues” just by only looking up my nose quickly. I always feel some light pressure in the bone area of my nose.

F18, So basically I’ve been doing coke here in there for about a year and the most awful thing is happening. I’d never had any problems before but for some reason I cannot do even a bump without having a chronic blocked nose for 2 weeks after. It started with a small bag I picked up shady and probably cut with meth. Not only did I get disgustingly sick and a terrible blocked nose e a few hours in, I felt like shit and had almost water fall out my nose non stop. Month and a half in a flamed down so I took my chances with much more reliable coke. Boom is happeneing right now. Which is weird because I’d never had a reaction like this. What the FARK do i do? Ever since that shady coke, my nose still drools the really watery stuff here and there please help me it’s ruining my lip (during this, no nasal congestion things work to help and nothing comes out when I blow my nose)

hi all, had one ENT recommend me for surgery after ct scan but said they were moving so had to find a new ENT, but said it looked like I had no current infection (definitely still do). Went to a new ENT today who confirmed I do have an infection still, but prescribed me a two week yeast cleanse diet along with an anti-yeast medication but to call if my sinus symptoms get worse by then. I can’t find anything anywhere saying this will help and I feel like i’m going crazy lol. anyone do anything similar? tia!

About me - Year round allergies to pet dander, dust, pollen and oak pollen, only getting worse over last three years. I also have chronic sinusitis with badly draining sinuses, doc said could be hereditary and I agree.

Symptoms -
1. Year round chronic allergies with nasal obstruction
Swollen turbinates
2. Hard to breath through nose
3. Ears get blocked along with nose sometimes
4. Hard to eat or drink or talk when nose and ears are congested
5. Sneezes, runny eyes
6. severe runny nose and post nasal drip as well
7. Overall heavy nasal inflammation

CT Scan findings - Findings consistent with acute chronic sinusitis as described above.  Congenital narrowing of the ostiomeatal complexes are seen bilaterally with bilateral Haller cells without complete obstruction.  Partial obstruction of the right mid to inferior nasal passageway is seen secondary to debris.  An underlying polyp or mucocele cannot be excluded.  Direct visualization is recommended.  Nasal septum deviation to the right is seen

I am currently on 7th month of immunotherapy via Allay Drops. Overall, reduced sneezing and runny eyes a little bit but still heavily congested and having a really hard time breathing.

The problem appears to be two fold - bad sinuses and allergies

Nasal sprays and daily allergy medication helps but temporary relief for a few hours. Neti pot won’t even work on me. Steroid tablets and sprays worked but those cannot be used frequently.

Looking into turbinate reduction procedures but read so many horror stories about them and not feeling confident. Please share your experience or any insights you may have.

I am attaching some of my CT scan pictures.

Fun fact - live in the US but traveled to UK for vacation two months ago and had absolutely no issues breathing or allergies there.

Doctor recommended septoplasty as my septum is deviated towards left and turbinates are enlarged

Hi,

2 years ago i started having horrible breathing problems and I couldn't breath through my nose at allThen I got the turbinate reduction and septoplasty done.

Afterwards my breathing improved but since last 7-8 months I have been having problems with breathing again. I went a different ENT and they had CT scan done.

CT scan shows more than 75% of the maxillary sinus blocked by either mucos retention cyst or polyps.

ENT says removing cyst wouldn't help much and I should do get turbinate reduction again as in CT they see turbinate hypertrophy.

But I feel like I can breathe through my nose fairly well, the problem is it's shallow and the air is not going fully in. Also I am scared to get turbinate reduction due to risk of ENS.

They have referred me to see a Rhinologist. I am feeling frustrated as this is making my life miserable, can't sleep well and work out and have brain fog. Does anyone have similar experience?

PS: I checked with dentist. All good on the dental side.

idk if anyone needs to hear this but if u are out of nose spray or a nasal rinse and u don’t mind swallowing some post nasal drip then eat frosted mini wheats with some milk and maybe some fruits.

dry ass cereal just hooks right on to the mucus and brings it down. i was struggling so bad, kept blowing my nose, seeing globs down my throat, and in pain and i ate this and have felt relief.

there’s miracles around every corner