Help for Sinus Problems in Thin, Dry Air?

This isn't really a gardening question, but I thought this would be a good place to post my question. We like to go to Flagstaff, AZ (elevation circa 7000ft) for vacation. However, after a couple days, my sinuses are so irritated by the dry air that they start to bleed slightly. I have use saline spray throughout the day and ran a humidifier in the hotel room, but these have not helped. Does anyone else have this problem, and if so, what do you do? (Don't worry, I'm not looking to move to Flagstaff, I just want to enjoy my vacations more.)

If you don't mind the smell of Mentholatum, coating the inside of your nose with it keeps moisture in and helps heal from the bleeding. I suppose you could use vaseline if you don't like the smell of menthol, but the vaseline would not promote healing as much. I used to do that when the smog was getting me too badly in Arizona in the Valley of the Sun before I finally moved away.

It's dehydration. Do you get a little light headed after bending or sitting and get up to fast? And pardon the personal (certainly don't have to answer-LOL), is your pee not so clear? I get that around here in Denver, and as soon as I start pounding the water, it goes away. I had tried the nasal spray, mentho, and I still use the evaporator at night (now, mostly for the white noise), but only water helped. I work outside in construction, and I have to drink in excess of 100 oz of water a day, or I get the bloody nose. For some reason, it usually starts in the shower!?!?! Hope that helps.

Thanks. Dehydration is definitely a possibility. I don't drink as much as when I'm at home because I don't want to have to be going to the bathroom all of time when we're out hiking and stuff. I'll also try the mentholatum. I actually like the smell of that. It sounds like it wouldn't hurt to use that around here, too.

I'm also a sinus sufferer, and I use a Neti pot. They're available in health food stores in the Denver area, and I'm sure you can find one locally or online. It's basically just another method of delivery for salt water, which I find MUCH more effective than the nasal spray.

I use 1 and a half cups of water, warm it up to internal body temp (98* or so, 1 minute in the microwave), add 1/2 tsp. uniodized salt and dissolve. Then put some into the Neti pot, lean over a sink with your head tilted to one side so your nostrils are more-or-less perpendicular to the ground, breathe through your mouth (VERY IMPORTANT), and pour some water into the upper nostril. If you're not too stuffed up, the water will gently make its way from the upper nostril to the lower nostril and drip out, and NOT up your nose -- this is why breathing through your mouth is so important. Use up all the water, alternating from one side to the other. If you're stuffed up, it'll help loosen the mucus and may allow you to clear your nose, at least for a while. This is not difficult or painful, and it rinses out the nasal passages very nicely.
This is in addition to dealing with dehydration, by the way. That'll get you even if you're stuffing salt water and mentholatum up your nose ;-)

I don't usually have sinus problems, but I have heard so many good reports on neti pots that I can't help but believe they are very helpful. Next time I have a sinus problem I will try one. I understand that using that treatment over time helps kill bacteria that like to live in the sinuses and cause problems. I notice too that there are lots of mass produced products, now, which accomplish the same thing -- spray cans that dispense already prepared salt water.

Trisha, how many times a day do you do the Neti pot?

An updated and better version of the netti pot is the NeilMed sinus rinse system (http://www.neilmed.com/usa/sinusrinse.php) which all the ENT and Allergists recommend now. You can get them at Walgreen's, even some of the local super markets carry them. I use this twice a day, morning and bedtime, plus vaseline inside nose during the day. Much better than mentholatum, no smell. But if you use a nose spray for allergies you'll likely have bloody noses in the arid west. Much better to use allergy tablets. If I sound like I'm lecturing it's only because I've been there, done that with Ocean, netti pots and everything else under the sun to keep the nosebleeds at bay.

Good luck in Flagstaff!

I am just lucky, I guess. I have never had a problem with nosebleeds except once on a train in Mexico. It was the one at Copper Canyon and we were at 7,200 ft. -- same as Los Alamos-- but it was even dryer if possible. I had such a bad nose bleed that I looked like an ax murderer and gone after me. Finally a doctor came along and showed me how to stop it -- you bend over a sink and stay that way until it stops. I had always been told to put my head back. I was very grateful. Probably you all know that, but if you don't, I am happy to share the info. Oh, I use a nasal spray and allergy tables, to keep from sniffling all the time.

The advice I've been given for stopping a nosebleed is not to bend your head back because then the blood will run down your throat and could cause nausea and vomiting. They say you should blow your nose one last time to dislodge any clot that may be keeping the blood vessel open, wad a cotton ball or tissue and put it into the bleeding nostril, lean slightly forward, then pinch your nose just below the bony part, which puts pressure on the vein most likely involved in the nosebleed. You shouldn't see any blood coming out of your nose. If you do, pinch your nose lower. Keep it pinched for five minutes. When you let go if it's still bleeding pinch again, this time for 10 minutes. If it doesn't stop you should head for the nearest emergency room.

You're lucky, p.j., not to have nosebleeds in our arid climate. Probably not all people living here do, but enough of us that it's pretty common.

I like to use the Neti pot. It works pretty well sometimes. I make a lavender, tea tree oil, bee's wax and jojoba oil salve that I use in my nose but vaseline is similar. I seldom get nosebleeds but D.H. has had some fine ones! I heard to use ice and not to blow your nose. I also heard not to bend forward, more or less sit up straight. That was from a nurse friend. We had a foster son who got nosebleeds which is why I had to call my friend. Scared the heck out of me. I think ice is a good remedy, like a bag of frozen peas.

Good to know I'm not the only gardener with sinus problems! Some people -- probably not gardeners -- think I'm crazy to "subject" myself to the dust and pollen. But I swear I feel better after an hour or two puttering in the garden. I've gone out with killer headaches, started slow, not too much bending over, and in an hour felt better. Gardening makes me happy ;-)
As for the neti pot, I have to admit I don't use it as often as I should. I think I would benefit from twice a day -- once in the morning and again after work.

In the spring, when it is so windy and dusty here, I've been known to wear a bandana over my nose and mouth when out working in the garden. I've also used those filter-type masks if it's really bad.

Thank you for the recommendations. This year we went to Yellowstone but I figured that I'd have the same issues as in Flagstaff. I made an effort to stay hydrated and I didn't need to use the mentholatum or irrigate my sinuses. Thanks again. It was a great trip in many ways. :-)

We are heading to 9000 feet in October to visit our son, every time I get a nose bleed the first few days. Thanks to all of your advise, I'm going to start before we leave to get my nose ready this time, and have my son get a vaporizer for the bedroom.

Kelli, I use the neti pot daily during dry and dusty weather. An added benefit to using neti pot is that the continous stream flow will create a mild vacuum that will help drain the sinuses. The nasal irrigation sprays will not do that.

After using the neti pot, do a few vigorous exhales through your nose to clear any excess water. Wait ~10 minutes, then lubricate the inside of your nasal passages with vegetable oil. Sesame oil (the untoasted kind) is traditionally used. You can dip a clean Qtip into the oil, then swab around inside your nostril. Snif a little to pull the oil up higher.
This will help stop your mucous membranes from drying out. You can use the oil like this with out first using the neti pot.

I'd suggest caution on using any mentholated or camphor product in your nose or on your lips or skin on a regular basis. Although menthol and camphor were supposedly cleared of causing addiction, there are many people who exhibit addiction to these. We used to use mentolatum at the base of the nostrils when we needed to work with patients/surgeries that had strong disagreeable odours. Quite a few health care workers can't get by without a daily does of menthol now. My father would actually get the DTs if he couldn't find his menthol inhaler.

Thanks for the tip on the menthol. I'm already trying to get over nasal spray "addiction". I had a sinus infection about two weeks ago and now I am addicted and still sinus-y. I was trying to get over it using camphor and then menthol. Back to the old drawing board, as they say.

For lubrication, I have been using the contents of GNC aloe vera capsules. It's a mixture of soybean oil and aloe vera. (I have no idea why they contain soybean oil.) This was just something I came up with on my own that I thought would be good. I've only been using it for a couple days, but it is fairly soothing.

Rite-Aid had a special on Neti pots where you buy one and get the purchase price refunded late. The offer had ended in CA but I think goes to the end of the week in other states. Check the Single Check Rebates on their web site.

Sounds like you have something that works for you. You might want to experiment with sesame, or olive oil and see which does better for you. Sesame oil penetrates more readily and has some naturally occuring antimicrobial qualities. We also use ghee for this purpose.

The next time I'm at the store, I'll get some sesame oil. If I don't like it for sinuses, I can always use it for cooking.

I make a salve with jojoba oil and beeswax, sometimes with lavender flowers and essential oil, sometimes with crushed vanilla bean. I use organic products whenever possible. The bees wax is local. For me, this makes a nice lip and nose moisturizer. I have also used avocado oil with the jojoba and beeswax. If you already have a sinus infection these things are not a cure. They are more of an every day thing.

I do some other things in our house like vent the dryer into the house and use the lint collector to prevent dust. It is a small device that goes on the end of the dryer hose to allow moisture to be released to the house air. Also I put a large roaster pan on the wood stove ( the bigger area the better) to release moisture into the air. I also leave the shower curtain low on the wall so the steam from the shower delivers into the house. I also dry much of our clothing over a dryer rack by the wood stove. My DW has sinus issues and this seems to help a lot. We also have moist air in the winter in Montana where we live so when the stove is heating the house too much we open windows to allow the moist winter air to replace the dry inside when it is not too cold.

Yes, glad you mentioned it, Sofer! We also vent our dryer that way. We try to remember to put a pan of water on the woodstove, too. I like to put essential oil in the water for a pleasant scent. We also run a vaporizer in the bedroom at night when it gets really dry.

We kept a kettle of water simmering on the wood stove in the winter when we still lived in the mountains. It helped alot with the indoor moisture. My nose would still dry out and start running whenever I went outside though. The bit of oil on the Qtip really helped prevent that.