Sinus infection anyone?

[Mr. Wizard]

Lots of sneezes at school but I think mine is self inflicted. I dove int a pool Saturday and apparently inhaled half the water into my sinuses and ears. Now I have yellow snot for days and am weak. I use a navage 3 times a day which helps but this crap ain’t goin away. Came home from school today to weak to teach shop.
Any ideas?

[scho63]

Saline spray for nostrils.

Make sure at night you are hydrated.

I haven't had one since my move to AZ.

I had 1-2 a year for about 20-25 years. I got them the most in the fall in NJ with the crunching of leaves on the golf course. Also the pollen in the spring.

The post nasal drip and squishy ears and pain around the eye sockets are the worst.

[BlackHelicopters]

Gatorade is your friend.

[DJJasonp]

get them all the time unfortunately. enough to where I've considered sinus surgery.

As mentioned - saline spray (though the gel seems to work better for me).

Sinus rinse (netti)

Sudafed (the kind you have to sign for) helps open up your ears/nose/breathing

[ThrobProng]

Go to the doctor, have him prescribe a Z-pack. You'll be fine in a few days, whereas a sinus infection can linger for weeks if left untreated.

[Mr. Wizard]

Seems like what is read is 50/50 meds or not. Looking for home/Walgreens remedies.

[ThrobProng]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wizard

Seems like what is read is 50/50 meds or not. Looking for home/Walgreens remedies.

If you aren't taking antibiotics, your only option is to treat symptoms and wait it out. There is no OTC or home cure for a sinus infection.

[kcgreene]

A Zpak would help fix the issue if its a bacterial infection... I'm not suggesting anyone does this, but one could theoretically purchase antibiotic capsules for fish, as they are the same capsules that are used for humans but don't require a prescription because you'd be purchasing them for fish. In this case a Zpak is Azithromycin 250mg, 2 capsules on the first day, followed by 1 capsule daily for the next 4 days...

(This is not a recommendation necessarily: I say theoretically of course, as fish antibiotics are not regulated in the same way as human antibiotics, though oftentimes the capsules sold are produced by the same companies on the same assembly lines, but once produced, they potentially undergo different standards of care, and if the case of a cross-contamination or anything occurs, you wouldn't have the same legal protections that you would hold with prescription antibiotics.)

If the sinus infection is viral, nothing you can really do other than treat symptoms and stay hydrated.

Worked in pharmacy: Learned from drug reps that the only difference for a number of companies is that they package it differently.

Again, not a recommendation per se, more knowledge for people as a last resort.

[Mr. Wizard]

Originally Posted by kcgreene

A Zpak would help fix the issue if its a bacterial infection... I'm not suggesting anyone does this, but one could theoretically purchase antibiotic capsules for fish, as they are the same capsules that are used for humans but don't require a prescription because you'd be purchasing them for fish. In this case a Zpak is Azithromycin 250mg, 2 capsules on the first day, followed by 1 capsule daily for the next 4 days...

(This is not a recommendation necessarily: I say theoretically of course, as fish antibiotics are not regulated in the same way as human antibiotics, though oftentimes the capsules sold are produced by the same companies on the same assembly lines, but once produced, they potentially undergo different standards of care, and if the case of a cross-contamination or anything occurs, you wouldn't have the same legal protections that you would hold with prescription antibiotics.)

If the sinus infection is viral, nothing you can really do other than treat symptoms and stay hydrated.

Worked in pharmacy: Learned from drug reps that the only difference for a number of companies is that they package it differently.

Again, not a recommendation per se, more knowledge for people as a last resort.

Interesting. I grew up in the livestock field and many products for livestock are the same but cost a LOT more as meds for humans.

Now my question is why can’t we determine-if it’s a viral or fungal or another type of infection but we can put several people in a mini submarine to go see the titanic !

[BlackHelicopters]

Don’t take fish antibiotics. Poor tip from CP physicians.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wizard

Interesting. I grew up in the livestock field and many products for livestock are the same but cost a LOT more as meds for humans.

Now my question is why can’t we determine-if it’s a viral or fungal or another type of infection but we can put several people in a mini submarine to go see the titanic !

You can with bloodwork and cultures

[ThrobProng]

Originally Posted by BlackHelicopters

Don’t take fish antibiotics. Poor tip from CP physicians.

Cow de-wormer good. Fish antibiotic bad.

What about horse tranquilizers?

[kcgreene]

Originally Posted by BlackHelicopters

Don’t take fish antibiotics. Poor tip from CP physicians.

It's literally the same ingredient drug and the same dosage. It's even in capsules because with fish, they absorb it through the water.

You're right, what would a personal friend who's a pharmacist know when they told me that I should be fine to go ahead and do it when I didn't have insurance years ago? I'm sure that their pharmacy school and doctorate doesn't mean a damn thing.

The risks are the ones that I presented in the statement I wrote. I wasn't even trying to disguise that, nor am I endorsing it, I'm just saying that that is an option that can work (and has) if times are tough and you can't afford to get to a doctor.

[kcgreene]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wizard

Interesting. I grew up in the livestock field and many products for livestock are the same but cost a LOT more as meds for humans.

Now my question is why can’t we determine-if it’s a viral or fungal or another type of infection but we can put several people in a mini submarine to go see the titanic !

Obviously, thats not the case on everything, and the only one I happen to know about is the antibiotics that are made for fish being essentially the same. The only reason I know the fish thing was because I had a pharmacist I worked for/ a friend tell me such and I talked with a drug rep we had coming in once who told me about the manufacturing process stuff (He apparently went from that division to human pharma). But I've heard theres a lot of crossover when it comes types of drugs and such.

It's essentially same concept. Just like the usual human/ livestock barrier that items meant for human use have more stringent production standards in terms of preventing potential cross contamination and transportation standards under the FDA while most livestock products don't.

And in regards to determining the type of infection, yeah, I wish they had a more widely available testing method of some kind that isn't overpriced (for insurance to mark it up) or anything. But at the end of the day, if you have the means, probably should just see a doctor or take stuff for the symptoms.

[kcgreene]

Originally Posted by ThrobProng

Cow de-wormer good. Fish antibiotic bad.

What about horse tranquilizers?