any other chronic sinus issues folks here? (topic: "why did we decide that flushing your nose out twice a day was acceptable QOL?")
any other chronic sinus issues folks here? (topic: "why did we decide that flushing your nose out twice a day was acceptable QOL?")
wasn't sure where else to put this, since, while chronic, this definitely doesn't qualify for /c/chronicillness LOL (idk how to link communities sorry)
(post tone: lightly frustrated, somewhat comedic description of problems and viewpoints; i swear a lot in my normal speech, but i'm not pissed or anything)
i've been dealing with nasal/sinus issues for over a decade: i've had a couple surgeries for it, i'm currently doing braces, which is fixing the underbite situation and helps with nasal drainage, and i'm on a good amount of allergy meds to mitigate the situation
the doc i had ten years ago and the doc i just saw today told me the same thing: rinse my nose with saline twice a day
now, if i was willing to do that, i wouldn't be seeing a doctor. i know that i can simply waterboard myself persistently enough and the problem will go away
my issue is that i need to flush my sinuses at all to be a functional person (thankfully, on the current routine, it's maybe a few times a week, vs twice a day)
i should have talked about this in more detail with the doc, and i'll see him again after some allergy testing and talk about it more then (i needed a minute to compose myself đź’€); but i mostly wanted to get a survey of other folks with these issues: do y'all just fuckin live with rinsing your nose out twice a day?? i been doing it for a decade, i know how to do it correctly, i just HATE DOING IT, i cannot imagine doing it 2x a day willingly
(if you're wondering what part of the process i hate, it's all of it; having to bank distilled water, dealing with either cold water in your congested nose (shitty) or having to heat up the water to the right temp to be warm but also not burn the shit out of your nasal passages (pain in the ass), and then having to clean a shitload of salt water out of your face because why the fuck would it drain out cleanly)
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What physical action does the saline water even do? Like, does it dissolve the mucus to allow it to drain out? If so, why doesn't a hot shower or steam bath do the same shit? Is it the pressure of water that does the work? If so, why can't you simply blast a balloon filled with air clear you out? It's almost as if they don't truly know how to help you, and you should seek a more specialized doctor?
LMAO this is the more specialized doctor, i saw an ENT
the saline actually uses a mechanism which i... cannot recall the name of, where, by virtue of the saline having salt in it, the water/mucus of your nasal walls is pulled out, helping with decongestion (and, as an additional example, one can make or acquire extra salty saline, for a larger effect, although this is commonly associated with a mild burning sensation due to the... salt)
which is why a shower or steam bath doesn't do the same thing, altho it certainly does help to have the saline be warm, or for your nasal passages to be warmed by one of those things before using the saline (i commonly use prepackaged saline (cold) in the shower (warm))