Dealing with storms and sinus pain?

[ammag]

on our last trip I ended up at first aid (fantastic people) due to a severe sinus headache and leaving my sudafed in the hotel. I want to be prepared this time..I get headaches, sometimes migraine level, With any rain storm. My short trip is this sun-tue which is supposed to be possibly heavy thunderstorms from tropical storm Matthew.

Aside from my stand by red sudafed does anyone with more experience have other suggestions? This is my first vacation with just my husband in 12 years and it's my darn 40th birthday.....so I need to do and bring anything I can to help myself

Side note: on a complete stormy day which park is best? MK?

 

[ml sumner]

on our last trip I ended up at first aid (fantastic people) due to a severe sinus headache and leaving my sudafed in the hotel. I want to be prepared this time..I get headaches, sometimes migraine level, With any rain storm. My short trip is this sun-tue which is supposed to be possibly heavy thunderstorms from tropical storm Matthew.

Aside from my stand by red sudafed does anyone with more experience have other suggestions? This is my first vacation with just my husband in 12 years and it's my darn 40th birthday.....so I need to do and bring anything I can to help myself

Side note: on a complete stormy day which park is best? MK?

I too also suffer from severe sinus headaches and they are the worst! I also have my sudafed pills packed on stand by and I also find that Excedrin seems to help when the headache is really bad. We will be there Friday - Thursday and are hoping the weather will be better than what is predicted now and maybe we won't have to deal with these sinus issues. On another note I use a nose spray and zyrtec daily just to try to keep things at bay. I also did the allergy shots once a week for 5 years, so trust me I feel you on this!!

 

[dreiwhit]

I used to get frequent sinus headaches whenever the weather changed or a front went through. After two sinus surgeries, I don't get them as often, but I still get them from time to time.

What really helps me when I can feel one of them coming on, or one has hit me, is to irrigate my sinuses with the sea salt / baking soda / warm water mixture my doctor told me to use. That helps a lot. If that isn't practical, I use the 12 hour Wal Mart or Publix brand sudafed. That works better than the 4 hour kind. Also, ibuprofin helps take away the aches in my head and jaw.

Lastly, my wife has an aunt who is a nurse. She has recommended that I chew gum when I have a problem. Strangely enough, it does help!

 

[ammag]

I don't know if I have allergies? It's new that I am getting these every single time, it used to be occasionally. What kind of nose drops? I kind of want to walk around with a breathe right strip lol do you buy excedrin migraine?

 

[ammag]

EEEK will I need surgery? I wonder....I definitely don't want this constantly. Guess I should see a specialist this fall!

 

[Grand Admiral]

I'm a life-long allergy sufferer. I agree with the suggestion upthread about getting 12hr sudafed. Taking a 4 hour pill when you're already feeling the headache isn't as effective as taking a 12hr as a preventative. Ibuprofen will help with inflammation as well (and helps with sore muscles from all that walking ). You might also consider getting some Flonase (or generic equivalent) nose spray and taking that before bed. I do all of the above and it helps me quite a bit.

 

[Ydnameht]

Caffeine usually helps me somewhat when I get nasty sinus headaches. I used to take Advil (when I could still take NSAIDs), Sudafed, and drink something caffeinated and the combination would usually at least help.

Sometimes a nasal spray will help too, like Afrin or similar (or one for allergies).

 

[loves to dive]

My son has extreme migrains (the kind that have put him the hospital for a week at a time) and also has sinus problems so I hear ya. He actually got Botox shots for the migrains, which sort of kind of helped and he also has prescription meds for those. When it's just sinus problems, he uses Sudafed (the kind you have to sign for at the pharmacy not the PE), he says that helps him best. Our last trip in March he spent from noon on one day in bed with the lights off. He also says every once in a while Benydrl helps but he tends to take the child's liquid since he can just slug that (he's an adult).

 

[dreiwhit]

EEEK will I need surgery? I wonder....I definitely don't want this constantly. Guess I should see a specialist this fall!

For me, I had a deviated septum and was having frequent sinus infections, about one per month. Actually, I probably never got completely over the infection and it kept coming back. It would also get in my lungs and I would have constant colds. The first surgery was a septoplasty to correct my deviated septum and the second was a partial ethomoidectomy. The surgeon had to stop when he accidentally punctured the eye wall socket.

The next surgery was three years later, and it was a complete ethmoidectomy with a different surgeon (he was the head of Otolarynology at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.) He said I was actually worse than the MRI led to believe.

However, at least for me, surgery was 1/2 the battle. The last surgeon directed me to see an allergy & asthma specialist - he said he had done all the surgery that he could do on me. After all the years of sinus infections and that gunk getting into my lungs, and because of undiagnosed acid reflux, I had developed asthma because of it. The allergist put me on a medicine for acid reflux (I had it without having the burning, about 1/2 of the people diagnosed don't have burning), Advair for my asthma, and Nasonex as a nasal steriod. He also recommended daily nasal washes (they really help) and Zyrtec as needed. I also got an albuterol inhaler to keep with me.

If you have frequent sinus problems, I would recommend seeing a specialist. If you have a nearby large hospital or teaching hospital, I would recommend going to someone affiliated with those places. The first otolarynologist that I saw told me that I had a deviated septum and didn't do anything about it. He gave me pills and nose spray and I had allergy shots for years, but nothing worked. It took the surgeries to correct the problem before meds would actually work.

 

[missnikki411]

I second the nasal spray idea. I take pseduoephedrine and sometimes it just isn't enough. Taking Advil at the first sign of a headache and nasal spray for the bad stretches definitely helps.

 

[Hikergirl]

I also suffer bad sinus headaches when there is a change in the weather. I use flonase spray and advil cold and sinus.

 

[DisneyMom111]

Another sinus pain sufferer here. I use the saline spray at night and in the morning during trigger times. I always have sudifed and advil in my park bag. At the very first sign of one coming on, I take 2 sudifed and 3 advil. I also agree with the caffein, have a cup of coffee or soda. If I catch it soon enough this knocks it right out and I'm fine. If it gets too bad before I take anything, it won't help at all. For me, catching it early is he key. Good luck!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Afrin nose spray with vicks works instantly.

 

[jenniy122]

If you're having that serious of sinus issues you really should see an ENT. I had surgery 6 years ago and as soon as I came to I could breathe better than I had in 10 years, but they can do super simple tests to figure out what's best for you.

I use zyrtec and the neti pot to keep things under control, if I'm feeling really bad I use Nasocort or Vick's Sinux spray, Vick's vapoinhaler, and Exedrin Migraine (I have issues with stimulants, so I try to avoid decongestants and caffeine as much as possible - back when I could handle them I took 12-hour Sudafed every day twice a day)

 

[HeyKoolaid]

I'm a life-long allergy sufferer. I agree with the suggestion upthread about getting 12hr sudafed. Taking a 4 hour pill when you're already feeling the headache isn't as effective as taking a 12hr as a preventative. Ibuprofen will help with inflammation as well (and helps with sore muscles from all that walking ). You might also consider getting some Flonase (or generic equivalent) nose spray and taking that before bed. I do all of the above and it helps me quite a bit.

I second the Flonase - but understand that you need to take it for a few days before you start to feel relief. It doesn't give you immediate relief like Afrin - but can be used for longer periods of time.

 

[Grand Admiral]

I second the Flonase - but understand that you need to take it for a few days before you start to feel relief. It doesn't give you immediate relief like Afrin - but can be used for longer periods of time.

Right, it's not the same sort of medication. Afrin is a decongestant spray, while Flonase is a corticosteroid that is preventative. I actually use Afrin to decongest before I take my Flonase dose (this was recommended by my allergist).

 

[Donathius]

I've got to make a recommendation here. I have almost daily severe sinus headaches and after 15 years, 1 surgery, too much medication and multiple MRIs and CT scans I have found one thing that works.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CWT4JI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This thing gave me my life back. I've been using it for 3 weeks now and I've had one headache. Normally in that time I would have had 15-20. The only thing that worked for me was Excedrin but I was needing to take it nearly every day.

I use this thing in the morning after I shower and at night right before bed. It's not very pleasant, but it's way better than the headaches ever were.

 

[WeRtrippin]

RN and long-time sinus sufferer (formerly anyway). I, too, had the surgery. Worst but best thing I ever did for myself.

For your trip, I'd suggest using a neti pot. It is pretty simple to pack and use while gone. It works best for me when I use it in the shower. I'd also use it a few times before taking it on the road to get used to how it works.
I'm also a fan of flonase and muscinex D, and the DayQuil / NyQuill family of meds.