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I never buy or use any medications OTC or Rx. Never had allergies. Never had a sinus infection. That all changed in the last couple of months. Had a water leak, major mold, was stuck inside near and around it for weeks or months. Started to get sick had whole house torn up, mold people came etc....so I figured once the mold was gone I would be better. That hasn't happened. For the last 3 weeks, my nose is constantly both swollen/stuffed-up and running like a faucet. Terrible pressure, sinus headaches, etc....thick green rubber-cement-type crap coming out of my nose, blood too, really sore just inside outer nostrils, etc...
It's been hell and nothing like anything I've ever dealt with. So not knowing anything about it, just googled best decongestant and came up with Sudafed. Drove to Walmart, went in, all I found was variations of this:
Phenylephrine HCl, 10 mg
So I got a box of it. Took about 10 of them over the last 2 days and from what I can tell, they haven't done anything. So then I did some research and now I find out the whole Pseudoephedrine story. Apparently that is the "real" medication that works and this other garbage does nothing. I didn't know anything about this whole "you have to show ID and can only get it from the pharmacy because of drug making, etc...." BS so my question is: does the OTC stuff that I got from the shelf actually do anything and did I waste a trip and money on worthless junk because of my ignorance about the subject?
Going to the doctor isn't and hasn't been an option - for anything. I tore my rotator cuff and haven't been able to use my right arm for 5 months - haven't been able to see a doctor for that -then this happened. I've got more disasters happening right now than anyone can comprehend so, yeah just trying to find time to make a trip to the store for that medication took about a week of trying to get it squeezed in. The frustrating thing is that every issue/subject/ person I deal with for one problem all tells me that I need to do X, Y and Z - nobody understands the endless other problems and ongoing nightmares that are all equally or more urgent. More problems get added every day and nothing ever gets fixed, solved or goes away.
You need Sudafed and probably antibiotics too. Sudafed is a very good decongestant. You just need to show your drivers license to the pharmacist and sign for it; no big deal. Generic Sudafed is called Pseudoephedrine. You can buy the generic version at a lower cost than the brand name.
I never buy or use any medications OTC or Rx. Never had allergies. Never had a sinus infection. That all changed in the last couple of months. Had a water leak, major mold, was stuck inside near and around it for weeks or months. Started to get sick had whole house torn up, mold people came etc....so I figured once the mold was gone I would be better. That hasn't happened. For the last 3 weeks, my nose is constantly both swollen/stuffed-up and running like a faucet. Terrible pressure, sinus headaches, etc....thick green rubber-cement-type crap coming out of my nose, blood too, really sore just inside outer nostrils, etc...
It's been hell and nothing like anything I've ever dealt with. So not knowing anything about it, just googled best decongestant and came up with Sudafed. Drove to Walmart, went in, all I found was variations of this:
Phenylephrine HCl, 10 mg
So I got a box of it. Took about 10 of them over the last 2 days and from what I can tell, they haven't done anything. So then I did some research and now I find out the whole Pseudoephedrine story. Apparently that is the "real" medication that works and this other garbage does nothing. I didn't know anything about this whole "you have to show ID and can only get it from the pharmacy because of drug making, etc...." BS so my question is: does the OTC stuff that I got from the shelf actually do anything and did I waste a trip and money on worthless junk because of my ignorance about the subject?
While I used to swore by pseudoephedrine, now I'm completely free of sinus infection. I have to say that Phenylephrine HCL does nothing for me.
What you need to do to cure your sinus infections is to start cleaning your diet and not eat anything that can trigger allergies. I started by not eating any dairy, nuts, and then going with gluten free. After about 1 year into that I finally went through one spring without serious hay fever and eventually no more post nasal drip, and just much better breathing. It's a very long and slow healing process but I'm not taking anything nor needed anything.
The most I think I would do is a aromatherapy and it does help. So I highly recommend getting off of dairy and gluten. Gluten does the body a lot of bad things beyond just affecting your gut.
Because you had a mold problem, it’s important you’re seen by a doctor, preferably an allergist and not what alot of people do and keep diagnosing themselves and use the trial and error method for medications. Please don’t let this go on any longer. You could end up with serious breathing problems.
Going to the doctor isn't and hasn't been an option - for anything. I tore my rotator cuff and haven't been able to use my right arm for 5 months - haven't been able to see a doctor for that -then this happened. I've got more disasters happening right now than anyone can comprehend so, yeah just trying to find time to make a trip to the store for that medication took about a week of trying to get it squeezed in. The frustrating thing is that every issue/subject/ person I deal with for one problem all tells me that I need to do X, Y and Z - nobody understands the endless other problems and ongoing nightmares that are all equally or more urgent. More problems get added every day and nothing ever gets fixed, solved or goes away.
Seems to me that all the time you've wasted "doing research" with Dr. Google, going to stores, being in pain, not able to work, posting here about how you have more problems that won't go away, get fixed, or solved...
you could've spent more productively with a doctor's visit.
If you have a sinus INFECTION, then antihistimines won't help. You'd need antibiotics. And for that, you need a doctor to prescribe it. There are urgent care offices that don't require an appointment or cost a fortune in "emergency room" visits. There's also the minute-clinic at CVS, though you do need to make an appointment there. There are also random doctors offices and maybe one of them can fit you in between appointments. And - if all else fails, there's the emergency room - the last resort and least desirable option.
PHCl has a similar mode of action as Pseudo-ephedrine, but slightly less effective. Used mainly in patients with high blood pressure since it doesn't have a major effect on BP as PSE
I think having a torn rotator cuff and not using your arm for 5 months is a bit more serious. Why can't you get to the doctor?
No health insurance? Make sure all your mold is gone and maybe have them test it again. I find Advil cold and sinus works good.
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