UKC

Hi all, my GF has got a rather bad case of the winter lurgi, Her synuses are totally blocked and i cant work out what to do for her, i've tryed vicks and hot steam, she is taking ibuprofen,

is there anything else that could help her, as she is getting totally fed up and grumpy with me when i offer other things to try

any ideas would be greatful

In reply to Redsetter:
Hot Curry

In reply to Redsetter: A quick delivery up the tradesman's entrance?

In reply to KTT:

"A quick delivery up the tradesman's entrance"?

That might not cure it, but it would probably take her mind off it!!!

In reply to Redsetter:

How about she visits a doctor? Crazy idea, I know, but there you go...

In reply to Redsetter:

Sounds like you need to go to your doctors. If this isn't possible, try NHS direct

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Its an information service run by the NHS so people don't have to go to an actual doctor.

I am not a doctor I should state before I write anymore. However I don't think Ibuprofen will do anything, it reduces swelling in body tissue, so I don't think it will do anything for blocked sinus.

If I have bad/blocked sinus I usually take Sinutab (available in most pharmacy's). Its a pain killer (paracetamol) which also contains a strong decongestant (In my opinion much stronger than in normal cold and flu tablets.

Hope she gets well soon!

Craig.

In reply to James Jackson:


i know its becoming a strange thing these days to actually see a doctor

In reply to Redsetter:

Hi Redsetter,

My wife's had chronic sinus problems for many years. The most effective thing we've found without a doubt is Sudafed nose spray. It's spectacularly effective and available without a prescription.

If you want something a bit more natural, have a look at Sterimar saline spray. Does the same job and is pretty effective.

In reply to niggle:

As mentioned above, a nasal spray such as Otrivine or Sudafed should help. They contain a vasoconstrictor which will reduce the swelling of the lining of the nose and around the openings from the sinuses, allowing her to breathe through her nose and helping the sinuses to drain.

In reply to Pritchard: My GP is Dr Pritchard, what a coincidence (it's definitely not you though!)

In reply to Redsetter:

You can get sudafed in various painkiller plus decongestant guises.

In reply to beastofackworth:

Unfortunately this is bollocks.

The reason people cannot see a doctor when they need to is because of the masses of people with trivial complaints who think they need medical attention.

In reply to vark: Totally agreed!

In reply to Redsetter: Medical student here, not doctor. Just my view.

Paracetamol not ibuprofen, as paracetamol will help with the high temperature she is probably running.

Not trying to be difficult or arsey, but what do you mean by her sinuses? How do you know her sinuses are blocked? Reason I ask is that it's pretty damn hard to say sinuses are involved, as opposed to really bad blocked nose. One will run its course quickly, the other might not.

There is a "social way" of dealing with the bit about being fed up and grumpy with you, that is not the realm of doctors or medical students...

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
I would assume the CT scan confirmed it!!

In reply to vark: Exactly what i was suggesting...portable, or available on the net these days!?!?

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Come along you gents, a pinch of snuff cleared my nasal passage a treat the other night.

Was wondering if it would work with constipation?

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
If her "blocked sinuses" or whatever they actually are, are causing her pain, then go for paracetamol 1g (usually two tablets) four times a day, with ibuprofen 400 mg (usually two tablets) up to three times a day as required. Ibuprofen reduces swelling (and her nasal lining will be swollen) but it is an excellent painkiller, even more so when combined with paracetamol. It also treats fever.

Decongestants (like otrivine/ephedrine) work really well and really fast, but are short-lived, so she'll have to keep taking them frequently to get benefit from them. That's fine for short periods of time (e.g. a few days) but folks need to be aware that if you take them longer term than that, you will develop "rebound" worsening of symptoms if you stop taking them, which isn't great.

If she has headache + fever + horrible green stuff running from her nose, and it's not getting better in a few days, she might benefit from being seen by a doctor. Proper sinusitis should be treated with antibiotics (for 14 days - 7's usually not enough) in addition to the above.

Other suggestions: hot water bottle, blanket, sofa, comedy DVDs, frequent tea/honey/lemon, and vaseline or similar to keep nose from getting irritated.

Get well soon!
Pete.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:



Ibuprofen is equally good as an antipyretic, which is why it is used in kids for that ery reason.

In reply to sutty:



I suppose so, if one sneezed hard enough?

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Both paracetamol and ibuprofen help with high temps.
You can actually take paracetamol and ibuprofen together (or staggered) if necessary.
I would suggest pseudoephedrine for sinus congestion (Sudafed - just check that the particular formulation doesn't already contain paracetamol or ibuprofen.

You could also try nurofen plus as an alternative to nurofen (the plus version is a mixture of codeine and ibuprofen, the latter being just ibuprofen).

Vicks, hot lemony drinks, hot port, hot brandy (drink sensibly :-])

In reply to Redsetter:

Let's be honest here - all doctors ever say is "take anti-inflamatories and rest it", irrespective of the symptoms!

In reply to Fraser: Possibly true....maybe that reflects the sort of things huge amounts of people consult their doctor with when they could deal with it themselves and therefore allow those who must see a doctor soon see one sooner cos there are less appointments booked up with self-help stuff?