Breathing in hot, moist air can relieve sinus pain and pressure. You can inhale moist air by sitting on the ledge of a bathtub with the shower running. You can also breathe in steam from a bowl of hot water. These techniques may be more helpful when combined with other home remedies to relieve a sinus headache.
Don't breathe irritating materials or smoke:avoid breathing in harmful materials or fumes when you have a sinus infection. You should not smoke cigarettes or cigars. And, you should avoid high pollution areas. Try to breathe in clean, fresh air.
Ginger and Turmeric: These spices have many anti-inflammatory properties that help open up congested nasal passages. The best ways to enjoy ginger and turmeric are by adding them to hot lemon water or by creating a refreshing tea from them.
Your Air Is Too Dry. This is especially true in the colder months when sinus infections are more common. The cold, dry air of winter not only dry out your skin but your nasal passages as well. The dry air will irritate your sinuses and make your symptoms even worse.
Severe sinus pain and pressure can be caused by a variety of factors, including sinus infections, allergies, nasal polyps, chronic sinusitis, and structural damage or irregularities within the nose or sinus cavities. Allergies can also cause severe inflammation in the sinuses, leading to similar symptoms.
An “acute” sinus infection lasts anywhere from ten days up to eight weeks. A “chronic” infection lasts even longer. It is ongoing — it may seem like it's improving, and then it comes right back as bad as it was at first. Chronic sinus infections may drag on for months at a time.
When you're fighting sinus symptoms, you can put the kettle on for caffeine-free teas — (caffeine dehydrates the body, so options like black tea can irritate the sinuses). Some top herbal choices, which can also help clear congestion, are peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, wild thyme and blackberry teas.
Try Steam or a Humidifier
Doing this a few times during the day may help clear the nose. Running a humidifier in the bedroom overnight can also prevent dryness that may trigger nasal irritation and congestion. Humidifiers send continuous moisture into the air to make the room more humid.
Nasal congestion with sinus or facial pain suggests a sinus infection. Sinus infections can be viral or bacterial. “Either way, it's best to stay home,” Wigmore says. Viral sinus infections are often contagious.
See a doctor if you have: Severe symptoms, such as severe headache or facial pain. Symptoms that get worse after improving. Symptoms lasting more than 10 days without getting better.
Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen is a type of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It works by reducing swelling, which can help ease sinus pressure. Anyone who is allergic to ibuprofen should not take this medication. Additionally, some people who are allergic to aspirin are also allergic to ibuprofen.
On the other hand, repeated and forceful nose-blowing can generate pressures that are high enough to force mucus into the sinuses, which could be a factor in chronic sinusitis. If you are going to blow your nose, stick to one nostril at a time and do it gently.
Hoecker, M.D. Vicks VapoRub — a topical ointment made of ingredients including camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol that you rub on your throat and chest — doesn't relieve nasal congestion. But the strong menthol odor of VapoRub may trick your brain, so you feel like you're breathing through an unclogged nose.
Balloon sinuplasty allows the surgeon to dilate a blocked sinus, creating open space, which allows the sinus to drain normally. The surgeon uses a flexible endoscope with a light to guide the insertion of a thin wire. The wire is then moved through the nasal passages toward the opening of the blocked sinus.
a blocked nose. pain and tenderness around your cheeks, eyes or forehead. a sinus headache. a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or more.
“Sinus drainage is not typically position dependent,” Barnes says. “But elevating your head off bed helps with stuffiness when you have a cold or allergy flare.” Jacobowitz adds that “gravity rules,” so sleeping with your head more elevated as long as it's comfortable is best.
“For congestion relief, sleep with your head elevated on a few pillows and maintain a position where your head is above your heart,” Govindaraj suggests.
Sinus pressure/facial pain: While you may experience some sinus pressure with common colds, this is a frequent sign of sinus infection. Facial pain and tenderness are frequently seen in sinus infections. Mucus: The mucus produced when you have a cold is typically thin and clear.
When you lie down, however, your body doesn't have to fight as hard to send blood to your head. Increased blood flow in the blood vessels of your sinuses can, in turn, cause sinus congestion, pressure, and pain.