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Sinusitis and ear infections
I am currently recovering from yet another bout of sinusitus and ear infection. These seem to be my `weak spots’ and whenever I get run down or feel tired and stressed, I get one of these infections. I am fed-up with decongestants, steam inhalations and a raft of remedies that don’t work. What do you suggest?
The sinuses are, in effect, open spaces in the skull. They come in pairs and there are four sets of them; two spaces just behind the bridge of the nose, two in the upper nose, two in the forehead, just above the eyebrow and two under each eye, just to the side of the nose. Their job is to warm, moisten, and filter the air coming from outside into the lungs - but the trouble with spaces in the body is that they are the first places to become congested when any kind of infection takes hold.
When the sinuses are congested, blocked, irritated, or inflamed they can trigger a whole range of secondary symptoms including earache, headache, toothache, pain in the face, loss of the sense of smell, bad breath, and tenderness in those affected areas.
Chronic sinusitus is often linked to asthma and the result of an allergic reaction. That means it won’t go away, until you identify the food or environmental triggers and remove them. Dairy products and milk are not helpful since they trigger the production of even more and thicker mucous, which will be harder to drain - so be strict and cut both these out.
Start the day with a homemade lemonade combining the juice of two lemons with hot water and organic maple syrup. This will help relieve congestion by cutting mucous production. Betacarotenes convert to vitamin A in the body, and this nutrient is the one that can help heal inflamed mucous membranes. Take 180mg a day and eat more betacarotene-rich foods, including yellow, orange, and green leafy vegetables. Zinc (30mg a day) will also boost the immune system to fight off secondary and further infection.