Preventing Sinus Infection

It is vital that you know ways to prevent sinus infection from recurring. Prevention is always better than cure and unless you know how, you cannot prevent it from recurring.

If you have been diagnosed with sinus infection by the doctor, take the prescribed drugs conscientiously. By doing so, you would be able to treat it at its early stages and recover quickly before it turns into chronic sinus infection. Once you are cured, it does not necessarily mean that you have developed a natural immunity to this condition. On the contrary, it merely shows your susceptibility.

Sinus infection when cured can recur again. There is no total respite from this disease. The only way in preventing sinus infection from recurring is to keep a check on yourself.

Sinus infection is caused by allergies, bacterial and viral infection. You have to avoid consuming food that is known to cause an allergic reaction. The list includes chickens, ducks, eggs, dairy products and chocolates.

An allergy is the body’s response to a substance(an allergen), which although generally not harmful in itself, can cause an immune response and reaction. This reaction can produce uncomfortable symptoms in some people.

Simply put, an allergy is an overreaction of the body’s immune system to allergens which normally cause no reaction to most individuals. In the case of sinus infection, the sinus cavities become inflamed and infected causing an abnormal overproduction of mucus.

Many other conditions are also caused by food allergies. There are documented cases where consumption of certain types of food in your diet will lead to increased incidences of sinusitis. The following case study shows how food allergies can affect you:

Case: A 50-year old man with a long history of sinus infection had sinus headaches, enlarged turbinates, chronic sore throat and persistent cough. He was found to be allergic to certain classes of food. These include chickens, ducks and eggs which the patient regularly consumes. On discontinuing the consumption of such food, his symptoms gradually disappeared.

Thus, it is not that difficult in preventing sinus infection from recurring with the correct diet. Just be familiar with the type of food that can cause an allergic reaction in your body and avoid them where possible.

However, you should eat as much as you can on foods that are rich in antioxidants. These include berries, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, blackcurrants, grapes and spinach that help boost the immune system and thus prevent sinus infection. Nutritional supplements are highly recommended too.

Nasal irrigation is a technique in which you have to pass saline water through your nasal passages. The purpose of doing this is to remove trapped dirt, bacteria and viruses within the mucus.

The longer these pathogens are left in the nasal cavities, the greater the likelihood of them proliferating. When our body’s immune system is impaired, its antibodies are unable to eliminate these pathogens effectively and we succumb to an infection.

Nasal irrigation is often performed with a neti pot. After irrigating your sinuses you have to wait until the draining of the saline solution from the sinuses stop before using a prescribed nasal spray. This is one of the best home remedies for sinus infection that really helps in preventing sinus infection.

It is vital to keep your home as clean as possible. Inhaling too much allergens from the air such as dust, pollen grains, smoke and other contaminants can cause a recurrence of sinusitis. Should you find black mold in the home, it is imperative you eliminate them at all costs since they will send spores into the air.

Once you breathe in the mold spores, your body’s immune system weakens significantly. For those who are extremely sensitive, it may be necessary to purchase a good quality indoor air purifier.

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are the highest efficiency air filters available for the filtration of small particles. According to the Institute of Environmental Science a Certified HEPA filter must capture a minimum of 99.97% of contaminants at 0.3 microns in size.

Staying well-hydrated can help keep one's mucus thin and easier to drain.

These are the major steps you should take in preventing sinus infection from recurring. However, you should always consult a physician when in doubt.