By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

July 13, 2015

• Why you shouldn’t take antibiotics for sinusitis
• It’s this easy to flush away sinus infections
• Out with the bad, in with the good

Chances are good that, at some point in your life, you’ll experience a sinus infection.

In fact, you may have already suffered through one or more – or have an ongoing infection that you can’t seem to shake.

If you’ve ever experienced one of these infections, you know exactly what sinus hell feels like. The nasal discharge, sinus pressure and headache can leave you feeling wrung out. Other symptoms like ear ache, dental pain, fever and even nausea just add to the misery.

Your doctor will recommend all sorts of things – from saline nasal irrigations to steroid nasal sprays.

And if these treatments don’t work, he may even write you out a prescription for antibiotics. You’ll probably be more than happy to give them a try so you can start feeling normal again.

But is a prescription really the way to go?

In my opinion, no. In fact, antibiotics could make matters worse.

You see, your nasal cavity is loaded with both good and bad bacteria. But allergens, pollutants and viral infections can all disrupt the process that normally removes bacteria in your nasal passages. This allows bad bacteria to set up house and cause an infection.

And guess what happens when you take an antibiotic to “cure” that infection?

It kills the good bacteria right along with the bad! This leaves your nasal cavity without any defenses against the buildup of even more harmful bacteria. It’s an ugly cycle that’s hard to break.

For this reason, I like going the natural route. I have a very simple way to flush bad microbes out of your sinuses while replenishing the good ones. And you’ll be surprised at how quickly it works.

Using probiotics helps your nasal passages flourish with healthy bacteria. And the more diverse the bacterial population, the healthier your sinuses will be.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A neti pot, rubber ear bulb or spray bottle
• One probiotic capsule
• 8 ounces of saline solution

(You can make your own saline solution if you want. All it takes is 8 ounces of distilled or sterilized water, ½ teaspoon of sea salt and a pinch of baking soda. Just mix them together and you have a saline solution.)

Open up the probiotic capsule and pour the powder inside of it into the saline. Shake or stir it until it’s dissolved, then use the solution as a nasal irrigation.

If you use a neti pot, stand over a sink and tilt your head to one side. Insert the neti pot spout into the upper nostril. Keep your mouth open and breathe through it while you gently pour the solution. When the pot is empty, blow your nose and repeat through the other nostril.

Using a rubber ear bulb is basically the same, but you’ll need to hold one nostril shut while gently squeezing the bulb to release the solution into the other. If you use a spray bottle, just apply a few squirts into each nostril.

Here’s a bonus tip to help replenish good nasal bacteria.

After brushing your teeth at night, empty a probiotic capsule into a small amount of water. Swish it around in your mouth like you would mouthwash, then swallow. Go directly to bed without drinking or eating anything, and some of those good bacteria will find their way into your nasal passages.

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References:

Ramakrishnan VR, et al. Sinus microbiota varies among chronic rhinosinusitis phenotypes and predicts surgical outcome. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 Mar 25.

Abreu NA, et al. Sinus microbiome diversity depletion and Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum enrichment mediates rhinosinusitis. Sci Transl Med. 2012 Sep 12;4(151):151ra124.