Oh. My. Goodness. I never want to go through another sinus infection ever again!
At first, I was really upset. I haven't had any type of cold, hay fever, or flu in well over a year. 2014 was the only year in my whole life that I didn't get sick with some bug. I'm very proud of that, because I as a kid and teenager I got sick all the time. And then I ended up with a sinus infection. No!! Thankfully, this sinus infection may not technically count as a bug. It made me sick, but it isn't a virus or bacterial. It was (and still is) an MCS reaction.
Last Monday (3 days ago) I thought I would be able to handle taking care of a couple important errands. First, I went into Staples to have something printed, but their machine was down. I bought a couple other things I needed, but I started to feel sick pretty quickly. I could smell cleaners though out the aisles, and then my cashier reeked heavily of cigarette smoke. Then I ran across the street to a grocery store I normally never shop at. I didn't notice getting worse in the store, but I wasn't feeling good. I grabbed a few things and got out quickly. My print job wasn't done, so I was forced to go to another store. I went to Office Depot. They took forever, and it was moderately fumey. I felt my anger start to rise, which is a typical allergic reaction for me. I went back to my car, did some breathing exercises to try to calm down, and then made one final very stupid decision. I was right next to Big Lots, and I really needed an extension cord so that I could plug my car in (to keep the engine warm - North Dakota problem.) I should have known better, because Big Lots has always given me problems (so many scented things in their store!) I wrapped my scarf around my face as a filter, ran into the store, grabbed the cord, bought it, and bolted out. I was in there for no more than 3-4 minutes. The scarf didn't work. I could taste a film of chemicals on my tongue. My eyes were burning red and a bit swollen. My heart was palpitating. I felt completely exhausted. I also felt like the Hulk. My anger was totally out of control, and I had to take time to sit in my car for a while before I drove home because my rage was too strong to be safe to drive. If you knew me when I was a kid, did you ever see me when I had an allergic reaction to something I ate? I didn't just break out. I got angry. Intensely angry. This is not a new issue for me.
When I got home, I felt really congested. 2 hours later my garbage bin was filled with used tissues. I haven't had a congestion problem in over a year! I brushed my teeth and tongue a few times to get that film of chemicals off. I changed my clothes, showered, and drank some calming tea. I didn't calm down until the evening, but my sinuses hurt more and more. The next morning I woke up with a sinus infection. It totally wiped me out. I was completely useless all day Tuesday. I'm still fighting it, but I'm past the fever and have energy back.
Yep, MCS induced sinus infection. No fun! It's scary - I did not know I would get that bad. I never would have imagined I would ever get this type of reaction! I'm even more scared of all the toxins in our world now. This is a really serious problem.
Looking back, I remember all the sinus infections and ear infections I had as a kid. I was always put on antibiotics for them, and they didn't always seem to help. I'm wondering how many of those were reactions to chemical exposures now. I think about all the scented markers, crayons (which are highly toxic,) and various craft supplies (like glue) that we used on a regular basis in my grade school class room. I think about how the janitor would have to come into the classroom during lessons to clean up someone's vomit and he used the "stinky" cleaner (this happened often enough that our class named the cleaner he used because it reeked worse than the vomit did.) I was also in many sports, girl scouts, and summer programs. I was out of the house in public environments very often. I wouldn't be at all surprised if many of those sinus infections were a reaction.
So, where do I go from here? I think step one is to get a mask and/or a nasal filter that I can wear when I need to be in public. I wasn't convinced that I was "bad enough" to need to wear a mask before, but now I am. I'm still researching the best one to buy that fits my lifestyle and needs. I'm leaning towards getting an I Can Breathe mask along with a nasal filter.
How am I treating my sinus infection?
Well, I was short on supplies when it struck. I do not own a netti pot. I was out of saline spray. I cannot tolerate medications (this is nothing new - most cold meds have always given me nasty bloodynoses or anger issues.) I didn't have any menthol rub. But I've been managing.
The first day of the infection my throat was way too swollen up to swallow any pills, but yesterday it opened enough where I was able to take some of my regular supplements. Glutathione works! I doubled the amount I normally take and it reduced the severity of the infection quickly. In the past I've had problems with all the mucus and gunk getting stuck in my sinuses, making it very hard to get out. I haven't had that problem with this infection - it's all pouring out of me (or getting coughed out.) I'm pretty sure the glutathione is helping with that. What also has been helping has been lots of very hot salt baths. I would had added eucalyptus if I had any, but my bottle was dry. Hot showers feel good, but they're not as effective. I've also been putting my face over boiling water and breathing in the steam. This is very helpful at opening up the inflammation and letting loose all the mucus. Finally, I've been making a lemon turmeric ginger tea (half a lemon's juice, a teaspoon of turmeric, and teaspoon of ground ginger mixed into hot water.) It's very soothing!
Allow me to end with a cartoon that isn't exactly related to this post (processed foods are loaded with toxic chemicals though,) but made me laugh pretty hard:
At first, I was really upset. I haven't had any type of cold, hay fever, or flu in well over a year. 2014 was the only year in my whole life that I didn't get sick with some bug. I'm very proud of that, because I as a kid and teenager I got sick all the time. And then I ended up with a sinus infection. No!! Thankfully, this sinus infection may not technically count as a bug. It made me sick, but it isn't a virus or bacterial. It was (and still is) an MCS reaction.
Last Monday (3 days ago) I thought I would be able to handle taking care of a couple important errands. First, I went into Staples to have something printed, but their machine was down. I bought a couple other things I needed, but I started to feel sick pretty quickly. I could smell cleaners though out the aisles, and then my cashier reeked heavily of cigarette smoke. Then I ran across the street to a grocery store I normally never shop at. I didn't notice getting worse in the store, but I wasn't feeling good. I grabbed a few things and got out quickly. My print job wasn't done, so I was forced to go to another store. I went to Office Depot. They took forever, and it was moderately fumey. I felt my anger start to rise, which is a typical allergic reaction for me. I went back to my car, did some breathing exercises to try to calm down, and then made one final very stupid decision. I was right next to Big Lots, and I really needed an extension cord so that I could plug my car in (to keep the engine warm - North Dakota problem.) I should have known better, because Big Lots has always given me problems (so many scented things in their store!) I wrapped my scarf around my face as a filter, ran into the store, grabbed the cord, bought it, and bolted out. I was in there for no more than 3-4 minutes. The scarf didn't work. I could taste a film of chemicals on my tongue. My eyes were burning red and a bit swollen. My heart was palpitating. I felt completely exhausted. I also felt like the Hulk. My anger was totally out of control, and I had to take time to sit in my car for a while before I drove home because my rage was too strong to be safe to drive. If you knew me when I was a kid, did you ever see me when I had an allergic reaction to something I ate? I didn't just break out. I got angry. Intensely angry. This is not a new issue for me.
When I got home, I felt really congested. 2 hours later my garbage bin was filled with used tissues. I haven't had a congestion problem in over a year! I brushed my teeth and tongue a few times to get that film of chemicals off. I changed my clothes, showered, and drank some calming tea. I didn't calm down until the evening, but my sinuses hurt more and more. The next morning I woke up with a sinus infection. It totally wiped me out. I was completely useless all day Tuesday. I'm still fighting it, but I'm past the fever and have energy back.
Yep, MCS induced sinus infection. No fun! It's scary - I did not know I would get that bad. I never would have imagined I would ever get this type of reaction! I'm even more scared of all the toxins in our world now. This is a really serious problem.
Looking back, I remember all the sinus infections and ear infections I had as a kid. I was always put on antibiotics for them, and they didn't always seem to help. I'm wondering how many of those were reactions to chemical exposures now. I think about all the scented markers, crayons (which are highly toxic,) and various craft supplies (like glue) that we used on a regular basis in my grade school class room. I think about how the janitor would have to come into the classroom during lessons to clean up someone's vomit and he used the "stinky" cleaner (this happened often enough that our class named the cleaner he used because it reeked worse than the vomit did.) I was also in many sports, girl scouts, and summer programs. I was out of the house in public environments very often. I wouldn't be at all surprised if many of those sinus infections were a reaction.
So, where do I go from here? I think step one is to get a mask and/or a nasal filter that I can wear when I need to be in public. I wasn't convinced that I was "bad enough" to need to wear a mask before, but now I am. I'm still researching the best one to buy that fits my lifestyle and needs. I'm leaning towards getting an I Can Breathe mask along with a nasal filter.
How am I treating my sinus infection?
Well, I was short on supplies when it struck. I do not own a netti pot. I was out of saline spray. I cannot tolerate medications (this is nothing new - most cold meds have always given me nasty bloodynoses or anger issues.) I didn't have any menthol rub. But I've been managing.
The first day of the infection my throat was way too swollen up to swallow any pills, but yesterday it opened enough where I was able to take some of my regular supplements. Glutathione works! I doubled the amount I normally take and it reduced the severity of the infection quickly. In the past I've had problems with all the mucus and gunk getting stuck in my sinuses, making it very hard to get out. I haven't had that problem with this infection - it's all pouring out of me (or getting coughed out.) I'm pretty sure the glutathione is helping with that. What also has been helping has been lots of very hot salt baths. I would had added eucalyptus if I had any, but my bottle was dry. Hot showers feel good, but they're not as effective. I've also been putting my face over boiling water and breathing in the steam. This is very helpful at opening up the inflammation and letting loose all the mucus. Finally, I've been making a lemon turmeric ginger tea (half a lemon's juice, a teaspoon of turmeric, and teaspoon of ground ginger mixed into hot water.) It's very soothing!
Allow me to end with a cartoon that isn't exactly related to this post (processed foods are loaded with toxic chemicals though,) but made me laugh pretty hard:
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