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Lifestyle and home remedies

By Mayo Clinic staff

These self-help steps can help relieve sinusitis symptoms:

  • Get plenty of rest. This will help your body fight infection and speed recovery.
  • Drink plenty of fluids, such as water or juice. This will help dilute mucous secretions and promote drainage. Avoid beverages that contain caffeine or alcohol, as they can be dehydrating. Drinking alcohol can also worsen the swelling of the lining of the sinuses and nose.
  • Steam your sinus cavities. Drape a towel over your head as you breathe in the steam from a bowl of hot water. Keep the steam directed toward your face. Or take a hot shower, breathing in the warm, moist air. This will help ease pain and help mucus drain.
  • Apply warm compresses to your face. Place warm, damp towels around your nose, cheeks and eyes to ease facial pain.
  • Rinse out your nasal passages. Use a specially designed squeeze bottle (Sinus Rinse, others), bulb syringe or neti pot to rinse your nasal passages. This home remedy, called nasal lavage, can help clear your sinuses. If you make your own rinse, use water that's distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered using a filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller to make up the irrigation solution. Also be sure to rinse the irrigation device after each use with similarly distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered water and leave open to air dry.
  • Sleep with your head elevated. This will help your sinuses drain, reducing congestion.
Alternative medicine Treatments and drugs
References
  1. Hwang PH, et al. Acute sinusitis and rhinosinusitis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
  2. Sinus infection (sinusitis). National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/sinusitis/Pages/Index.aspx. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
  3. Leung RS, et al. The diagnosis and management of acute and chronic sinusitis. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2008;35:11.
  4. Tips to remember: Sinusitis. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/sinusitis.stm. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
  5. Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters for Allergy and Immunology. The diagnosis and management of sinusitis: A practice parameter update. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2005;116(suppl):13.
  6. Dykewicz MS, et al. Rhinitis and sinusitis. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2010;125(suppl):103.
  7. Fact sheet: 20 questions about your sinuses. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/sinuses.cfm. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
  8. Sinusitis. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Aug. 11, 2010.
  9. Sinupret. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Aug. 13, 2010.
  10. SinuComp. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Aug. 13, 2010.
  11. Naegleria FAQs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/faqs.html. Accessed Dec. 30, 2011.
DS00170 Jan. 20, 2012

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