Acute Sinusitis (Acute Rhinosinusitis) is simply a short term inflammation of the sinus membranes. You don't have to dash towards antibiotics. This inflammation of sinus and nose congestion can be easily removed with home remedies.
Acute sinusitis prevents mucus from draining from your nose, it becomes difficult to breath through the nose in acute sinusitis. You may get facial pain and headache as the area around your eyes and face may get swollen.
Acute sinusitis can last from a few days to 4 weeks. It can usually go away on its own without any treatment. On the other end chronic sinusitis may last for months and even can linger on for years.
What Causes Acute Sinusitis?
If allergies are causing the acute sinusitis then you will have to treat allergies to get faster relief.
Usually all the symptoms such as stuffy nose, swollen face and face pain go away in 10-14 days of the onset of acute sinusitis. Many home remedies for acute sinusitis can remove congestion of the nasal passage and reduce pain without the need of any medication.
Since you already know now that the acute sinusitis will take about 2 weeks to completely disappear, it becomes very important to get relief from the symptoms while acute sinusitis gradually disappear.
It then all boils down to remove congestion from the nose, so that the swelling subsides and pain is reduced. Anything that helps to dissolve the mucus is a good remedy.
3 Home Remedies for Acute Sinusitis
Most of these remedies will not only help in acute sinusitis but will also be sinus infections. In fact for all natural methods are preferable particularly for sinus infection during pregnancy when every chemicl medicine the mother takes can have an impact on the child inside her womb.
The aim of all the following methods is to remove the mucus from the nasal passage and clear the sinuses.
1. Drink Plenty of Fluids: Water and Juices
Drink more water than usual. If you are generally a dehydrated person, then this will help you to not only get relief from acute sinusitis in the short term but also increase your immune system for a long term benefit.
Water is your best remedy to combat the symptoms of acute sinusitis, but also drink all kinds of non sugary and non carbonated drinks. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as these drinks dehydrate you and thicken the mucus.
Make hot tea from ginger, cayenne pepper or black pepper or even mix of all these.
2. Steam Inhalation
Inhale steam 3-5 times a day for 10-15 minutes each time. Steam moistens the sinus lining and removes the mucus. Do not add anything to the steam. Some suggestions to add eucalyptus or peppermint oil are counter productive as these additional ingredients will reduce the efficiency of the releasing the mucus from the sinus linings.
Stick to normal plain water from steam inhalation.
You can heat water in a pot and then inhale its steam by sitting in a comfortable position at a table and draping a cotton towel around your head covering the vessel.
You can also use commercially available electric steam inhaler. Anything that suits your comfort and budget to produce steam for inhalation is ok.
Steam inhalation is one of the best remedies for acute sinusitis.
3. Salt Water Rinse through Net Pot
This is the best way to irrigate the nasal cavity. Buy a neti pot and fill it with a warm saline solution. You can add 1 teaspoon of common salt to a glass of warm water to make the effective saline solution required for the nasal irrigation.
Stand straight and lean slightly forward. Turn your head on one side to make your nose horizontal and pour the saline solution through the neti pot on the upper nostril and let it flow out though the other nostril. repeat the process with the other nostril by tilting the head on the opposite side of the previous time.
You will realize that this is perhaps the best home remedy for acute sinusitis as the mucus dissolves fast and removed quickly giving instant relief from acute sinusitis.
You can continue this practice for the rest of your life. This will prevent lots of sinus problems in the future.
If your acute sinusitis is not cured within the 2 weeks period and the symptoms still persist then you must visit your doctor. it may be more severe bacterial infection that may require treatment.