Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,480,204 times
Reputation: 12187
Advertisements
I have never had any allergy problems, not even the sniffles. For the past two months though I've developed one very serious sinus infection after another.
It starts with minor symptoms very similar to an inner ear infection (aka swimmers ear) and get so bad that my ear canal will get so swollen that my jaw is unable to close. After a round of antibiotics & decongestants it will go away for a few weeks before coming back, even if I take an over the counter decongestant continuously.
It started about 1 month after I started working at a nursing home, so I'm wondering if I caught something there (fungal infection, MRSA, etc) that is causing this problem.
I have never had any allergy problems, not even the sniffles. For the past two months though I've developed one very serious sinus infection after another.
It starts with minor symptoms very similar to an inner ear infection (aka swimmers ear) and get so bad that my ear canal will get so swollen that my jaw is unable to close. After a round of antibiotics & decongestants it will go away for a few weeks before coming back, even if I take an over the counter decongestant continuously.
It started about 1 month after I started working at a nursing home, so I'm wondering if I caught something there (fungal infection, MRSA, etc) that is causing this problem.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,480,204 times
Reputation: 12187
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjma79
Go and visit your doctor.
I don't have any health insurance (thanks Republican voters ) so every time I go to an urgent treatment clinic my family has to pay out of pocket. Since I've been to an UTC 3 times in a month in a half it may be cheaper in the long wrong to see an ear/ sinus specialist, even paying out of pocket.
My guess is that you have an allergic reaction to "something" in your new work place. You should evaluate every chemical you come in contact with, either by touch or by breathing it in; perhaps some chemical cleaning substance they are using ? Eating any new foods at work? Taking any new medication or supplements?
Get a neti pot and cleanse your nasal passages with warm salt water every day for a while. The water gets to places that nothing else can reach.
You probably did catch something at work.
I second the salt water flush.
Neti pots work wonders.
Use a good sea salt .... warm (not hot) water (distilled or filtered) and not too much salt.
Over the sink, you pour the salt water up/through one nostril and let it run out the other nostril.
Use the whole pot and then fill the pot again and run it up/through your other nostril.
There will most likely be a lot of mucous. This is good. Blow your nose into the sink as it's all flushing out. Gross to some but it's functional and it works and that's what matters.
It takes a little getting used to but it works wonders for sinus infections and for an oncoming cold, etc.
The neti pot has been used in India for centuries.
You can find a neti pot in most health food stores or on-line. They are ceramic.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,480,204 times
Reputation: 12187
Great News
I had my follow up appointment today and got a different doctor today who clarified my diagnosis. She said it was NOT a sinus infection and that (as I first suspected) it was a very severe ear infection caused by my over cleaning my ears with a nasal aspirator.
It appears that after a couple months of overcleaning my ears with bath water that I developed my first ear infection - I used the same nasal aspirator during the infection, which like infected it with the bacterium causing my swelling. By using it the past few months I have been constantly reinfected both ears.
Ask the doctor if she recommends peroxide in your ears a few times a month. Sounds like a plausible explanation. People don't realize what may be hanging onto germs that they then reinfect themselves with. For instance I never thought about tossing my tooth brush after every sinus infection but if you don't you could be reinfecting yourself.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
allergy to...... ?
