If you’ve ever had a sinus infection, you know how miserable it can be. Sinus infections are a common problem, and they can become markedly worse during cold and flu season.
Sinus congestion usually occurs as a result of a respiratory ailment such as a cold, cough, or allergic reaction. When you feel a sinus problem coming on, a highly effective sinus infection remedy you can use is probiotics – directly into the sinus passages. The most effective way to deliver this is by putting it right into your porcelain neti pot.
Can’t use a neti-pot or have a child that hasn’t been able to master the use of this type of apparatus? Then, I would suggest a nasal saline spray from the drug store and use that instead. My sons use one with great results when they are congested.
Here’s how the simple protocol works. You will be delighted how easy and effective this sinus infection remedy is. It may very well save you a trip to the doctor and a prescription for antibiotics.
Natural Sinus Infection Remedy
1. Empty the contents of a probiotic capsule into your neti pot (I like this one) or empty nasal spray bottle. Alternatively, a bulb syringe can be used, but the ingredients will have to be mixed separately and then sucked into the bulb once fully blended and ready to use.
2. Add warm filtered water.
3. Add a bit of sea salt and baking soda if desired – you won’t need very much (I always just guess – but no more than about 1/8 teaspoon)
4. Mix ingredients together carefully with a spoon or shake bottle after screwing on the lid (nasal spray bottle).
How to Use
5. If using a neti-pot: while standing over a sink, insert the nozzle of the neti-pot into one nostril, and make sure there is a good seal between the nozzle and your nostril. Lean forward, close the back of your throat and breathe through your mouth. Then, allow the contents of the neti pot to enter one nasal opening and rinse through to exit out the other nasal opening. This may take up to two or three minutes if your nasal passages are congested. Repeat on the other side.
Try to avoid swallowing the water that goes into the nostrils, and blow your nose when finished. If using a spray bottle: insert the nozzle of the spray bottle into one nostril while covering the other. While compressing the pump on the nasal spray bottle, inhale deeply. Repeat several times on both sides. Be prepared to spit out anything left after inhaling the mist into the sink.
6. When finished, wash out your neti-pot or spray bottle with warm water and soap and allow it to dry before using it again.
7. Oral probiotics can be used not just like a natural sinus infection remedy. They can also be used to prevent sinus infections in the first place.
How to Use this Sinus Infection Remedy
A friend of mine had a sinus infection that had been going on for 5 – 6 weeks. She had tried everything that was natural – aromatherapy (breathing steam with essential oils), apple cider vinegar in water, grapefruit seed extract in water, colloidal silver nasal spray, taking the best probiotics orally, oil of oregano in water (which she had used in the past with great success for sinus problems), and various homeopathic and other natural preparations.
Nothing was doing the trick and she was getting desperate!
What finally worked!
As a final attempt to resolve the problem naturally before resorting to meds, she went to see a naturopath who did some head massage, chiropractic manipulations and used essential oil swabs up into her sinus passages.
While these did offer some improvement, she was concerned that the next day the infection would come roaring back again.
At the suggestion of her next-door neighbor who is a nutritional therapist, she tried adding probiotics to her neti-pot. The naturopath also suggested alternating hot and cold packs on the forehead to encourage sinus drainage.
Immediately after using the probiotics in my neti-pot, she felt a terrible burning sensation that went on for a good ten minutes.
It was quite painful, but as it subsided, she went to bed and had a good night’s sleep. The next morning, she was surprised to find that she experienced no pain. This continued throughout the day. The horrible “ice pick” sinus pressure which was normally in full-swing by 10 a.m. was completely gone.
She repeated the neti pot protocol a few more times over the next five days along with some grapefruit seed extract (about 5 drops in 6 ounces of water twice a day). The entrenched sinus infection resolved and did not return.
Natural Prevention of Sinus Problems
Sinus issues are often a symptom of something else going on, such as yeast overgrowth or a candida problem. Making changes to your diet can help to reduce the incidence and severity of sinus problems. The need for even a natural sinus infection remedy is reduced as well. Here are some recommendations to avoid the overgrowth of yeast in the body:
Dietary Recommendations
- Avoid refined grains – these foods are common in our food supply and eaten frequently. They are high in carbohydrates and are converted to sugar in the body.
- Avoid meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products from commercially-raised animals fed grains, soy, and corn from factory-farmed environments. These animals and birds are given antibiotics, hormones, antibiotics, and are not allowed outside to wander, graze, and obtain fresh air and sunshine. Eating those kinds of meat, meat products, eggs, and dairy can contribute to yeast overgrowth in the body. Eat meats, dairy products, poultry, and eggs from animals raised naturally and without chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics.
- Eliminate processed and refined foods from the diet including excessive sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Lifestyle Recommendations
- Steer clear of prescription drug medications such as antibiotics, steroids, birth control pills, and even over-the-counter medications. These medications can greatly contribute to yeast overgrowth and unfriendly bacteria in the digestive tract. Once entrenched in the gut, these pathogens easily spread throughout the body.
- Eat plenty of healthy fats in your diet – butter, olive oil, palm oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, pastured lard, and grass-fed tallow. These traditional, healthy fats are nutrient-dense and help your body keep away illness and disease.
- Consume plenty of cultured and fermented foods and raw dairy products from healthy cows on pasture. These foods will naturally help promote diverse and friendly bacteria in your body and help keep illness and disease away.
Supplement Recommendations
- Take a therapeutic-grade probiotic daily to ensure friendly bacteria support in your gut. Read this post about choosing probiotics for more information on good brands to buy.
- If you still have trouble with yeast, consider doing regular detox baths or other protocols like a coffee enema. Better still, follow a temporary, healing dietary protocol like the GAPS diet, SCD, or autoimmune paleo (AIP).
More Information
How I Resolved My Raging Sinus Infection
How to Make and Use an Onion Poultice for Congestion
Doctor Prescribed Treatment for Healing Croup Naturally
SSKI: The Best Cough Expectorant You’ve Never Tried
Power Shot: Best Green Juice for Congestion
My story is that I used almost everything under the sun without any success until one day i ran into a nasal spray on-line (sinusoothe) that has now changed my life. This packs a punch and I could not believe how powerful it was. My sinus infection was gone within a couple of weeks and so have every symptom even the dreaded dizziness and fatigue that plagued me. Give this a try.
Does adding the probiotic to a salt solution in the neti pot kill the beneficial bacteria? (
Unfortunatelly I’m also suffering from allergy sometimes. So if somebody with it used to use EO? Afreaid of getting allergy, wha can you suggest?
Just finished using an awesome nose spray with spices in it – cumin, turmeric, ginger and not forgetting manuka (I love manuka honey).
I have sinus allergies and get frequent bouts of sinusitis and this works better than anything ever!!!
I think by eating healthy foods and stay away from environmentally polluted air pollution can reduce the potential for recurrence sinus
Check out a site I found called lactobacto. It talks about the correct probiotic for our sinuses. Many studies show that healthy people with absolutely zero sinus issues have a beneficial bacteria called L Sakei which, wouldn’t you know it, every case study on people with sinus issues had none or extremely little of this bacteria in their sinuses. Even more studies show that this bacteria strand actually fights off harmful sinusitis causing bacteria and keeps our sinuses and respiratory system in check. The family who run this website simply buy organic, vegan live kimchi and merely dip their fingers in the juices and rub it inside their nostrils and inhale gently and let it dry and keep doing it for 6 days from opening the kimchi (L Sakei deteriorates in the kimchi after that period but once in our nostrils they can colonize and repopulate). Of course eat the kimchi also because L Sakei also colonizes your throat and mouth to protect us. If you don’t like kimchi then the family have also tested this cured meat probiotic culture made from L Sakei (L Sakei is the main bacteria for curing meats, kimchi, there is very little in sauerkraut and is the main bacteria in organic sake, hence the name) here from this website (m.meatprocessingproducts.com/19008.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwk_OhBRD06abu3qSoxlwSJACt7sZ7iD5UygCXMX4pkuySPa_Ot_ZMy4N7seoxnWcysallRBoCF3nw_wcB ). I hope this helps some of you and I am on day three of dabbing kimchi in my nostrils and so far my post nasal drip and congestion is practically gone. Don’t go too high up your nose because it burns and I learned the hard way, literally just go up in your nose and no further than like picking boogers (sorry haha). Also, something you may want to do PRIOR to the kimchi is use baby shampoo and manuka honey in your nasal rinse to break down the biofilm of the harmful bacteria or fungus in your sinuses. I did that about two weeks which felt great! Then I started dabbing kimchi and stopped the sinus rinsing since im not sure if sinus rinsing kills the beneficial bacteria in our sinuses or not :/ anybody have any info on that? If nasal rinsing kills our natural bacteria in there?
Great pot and helpful information. Thank you for sharing with us. Thank you so much.
been fighting a sinus infection for weeks, just spent the last 10 mins irrigating with sea salt and probiotics and wow I am already feeling less pressure in my sinuses.. Thank you so much for sharing! Not sure why I never thought about adding probiotic to the solution… Many thanks!!!
I can’t believe how much this guy looks like my husband