Natural Health
Getting Rid of Sinus
Infections Without Drugs
T
Yael Tusk, MS, OM
is a U.S. board certified
practitioner of Traditional
Chinese Medicine. She
resides in Jerusalem, where
she treats both adults and
children, and gives classes on
hypnosis for childbirth.
She can be reached at:
02-581-7415,
or 052-768-4438
here are numerous conditions that are
labeled “infections” that I believe are
not due to microorganisms at all. These
include: sinus infections, ear infections, and
even many cases of bronchitis and pneumonia.
What all these conditions have in common
is an accumulation of fluids or mucus. This
mucus then becomes a breeding ground for
bacteria. Often, the mucus was there first,
and the organisms make themselves a home
in this ready medium secondarily. If you
can clear out the mucus, the infection will
automatically be flushed out in the process.
Many people suffer from recurring sinus
infections. Why do they recur even after
antibiotic treatment? Antibiotics only kill
bacteria (unless the bacteria are resistant);
they do not cleanse the body of the pathogenic
environment.
On the contrary, in my
experience antibiotics not only tend to weaken
our body’s immune response, but can actually
promote mucus production. Additionally,
they decimate the digestive systems of many
susceptible individuals, especially babies and
children.
While antibiotics may cause a sinus
infection to die down, thereby eliminating
inflammation and pain, for many people this
relief is only temporary. As long as the mucus
remains, it is only a matter of time before the
bacteria set up residence once again.
There are certain factors that make some
individuals more susceptible than others.
One thing I have observed is that some daily
prescription drugs seem to act as either
immune suppressors or clogging agents that
create blockages and make way for infections.
There are several ways to eliminate
chronic sinus infections so that they
do not recur:
Why do
they recur
even after
antibiotic
treatment?
10
Eliminate foods that promote
mucus. In order of culpability, mucus triggers
include: dairy, peanut butter, bananas, orange
juice, white sugar, and wheat.
Mucus producing foods vary from one
individual to another, but the foods listed
above nearly always cause trouble. I frequently
come across individuals with chronic sinus
trouble who are dairy addicts. Many of my
patients have reported that after eliminating
dairy, their health improved dramatically.
THE ENGLISH UPDATE
In any adult or child with a mucus condition,
if one truly desires to eliminate the problem,
dairy should be removed. Dairy is bad for
most people; it causes innumerable digestive
trouble and mucus. It seems obvious, that if
it’s bad for you, it can’t also be good for you,
so of course you can and should do without it.
This may sound extreme, so I will back up a
step and say that if you are not phlegmy and do
not have lactose or casein intolerance, dairy
may not hurt you as much. In my experience,
the most phlegm producing dairy foods
include yogurt, milk and white cheeses. Hard
cheeses and butter may be better tolerated
by some; and of course goat products have a
better health reputation in general.
People often ask me where they and
especially their children will get their calcium
from if they take dairy products out of their
diets. In fact, dairy is not nearly the best
source of calcium. There are many truly
healthy non-dairy foods that contain plenty
of calcium, such as leafy green vegetables, as
well as a variety of nuts, seeds, and legumes.
I hope to cover this topic more thoroughly in
a future article. I wonder who convinced us
that dairy is the best source of calcium. The
dairy industry perhaps?
Sinus wash. There are various ways to do
this. The premise is that if you squirt a saline
solution (i.e. salty water) up your nose, you
can wash the mucus right out of your sinuses.
Some people have great success with this
method.
Use warm water and a bit of salt. You can
use a neti pot, a nasal dropper, or a water
bottle with a narrow spout. Introduce the
water into one nostril with strong pressure
while tilting your head forward and away
from that nostril. If you do it right, the water
will exit from the other nostril or the mouth.
This can be a jarring experience at first, but it
gets easier. For chronic sinus trouble, repeat
this process daily or as often as possible for
several weeks or months.
Acupuncture. Many of my patients,
even or especially those who do not follow
the previous advice, experience immediate
improvement in their sinus infections after
receiving acupuncture. You cannot do this
one for yourself though; you’ll have to come
see me. If you’re afraid of needles, go back to
1 and 2.