What is the best thing to do for a sinus headache other than taking medicine?
I took sudafed sinus headache an hour ago and can't take more for at least three hours. It is extremely painful and I can't fall asleep. I am also 15 weeks pregnant so my options are limited. Are there any foods that will help or anything at all? I can't go to a doctor until tomorrow.
Public Comments
1. have you tryed steam?2. I've found that a hot shower helps me. It opens up the sinuses so they drain and the pressure that causes the headache goes away. Also drinking hot liquids seems to help.
Hope you feel better, sinus headaches are horrible.
3. drink hot limonade and with bit of honey and and put a cold towel under your eyes to releave the pressure.
4. i suffer migraines so i feel your pain... try smelling something lavendar smelling, putting ice on your temples or using accu-pressure. find the most sensative spot between your pointer finger and thumb and apply pressure (it releases endorphins)
also try taking a warm shower and let the water run on your neck...also avoid looking at screens for a while-don't watch tv and turn off the computer.
best of luck and feel better!!
5. Drink plenty of water (if you are dehydrated your mucous can be gluggy and make sinus pains worse)
Rest
6. Pour boiling water into sink or bowl.....hold head over same and cover all with a thick bath towel and inhale the steam .
7. Bring pan of water to a boil, put towel over your head and inhale the vapors. Using Eucalyptus oil in the water will help.
8. Stay out of damp weather--and if it's damp in your house, turn on the heat to dry it out.
Sometimes you absolutely need a decongestant so that it does not go to the glands, ears, etc. When it gets to the ears, you can get a very bad ear infection--and you would then need antibiotics in order to avoid ruptured eardrums.
Drink warm tea and broths. Don't drink milk or soda, and don't eat fried foods or chocolate--these will make it worse. Take vitamin C (in addition to what's in your prenatal vitamin).
I would suggest calling your doctor--he or she might want you to come in to make sure you don't have Strep Throat, or some such thing. Additionally, they can give you antibiotics (if necessary), and they know what type of decongestants are safe in pregnancy.
9. Steam is best for relief. I used to get sinus every other week. I used to inhale steam by utting towel on my head and could sleep.
10. Try warm compresses. Wet a facecloth with nice hot water (not too hot) and apply it to your forehead or your cheeks, anyplace the sinuses are, or where it hurts the most. Lay down with your head elevated and try to relax. If you do some deep breathing it will help to relax you, and if you are less tense it will help the pain. If this doesn't work well enough, try putting a large pot of water on the stove to a very low simmer, and hold your face over it, with a bath towel tented with your hands over your head to cover your head and keep the steam on your face. This should break up some of the congestion and help your headache.
Good luck, hon, and congratulations on your pregnancy!
11. Often, a nasal spray can help break up that pressure. Sometimes immediately. (Please check to see if advisable during pregnancy.) Bear in mind, tho, that using a nasal spray too frequently is bad, and your nasal membranes become conditioned to the spray. So use it sparingly.
Cool compresses, or chilled chamomile tea bags (damp), can really reduce pressure, also.
Try some honey for prevention. Make sure you get LOCAL honey, which will provide allergy protection for local pollen(s). NOTE: Honey is NOT recommended for babies or toddlers. Their immune systems are not developed enough.
Good luck, hope you feel better soon.
12. Hot shower or just fill your sink up with hot water and hold your face in the steam - w/o burning yourself. Also. try spicy foods this can help get the sinus' moving along. Ice packs or heating pad --- everyone's different, whichever gives you relief. If it's cold where you are go outside for a short walk sometime the cold air can clear up your sinus' too.
13. I think something to help you would be garlic........prepare a vegestable soup with chiken and once the soup is done add two or three raw garlic cut in half each clove, for about two to three minutes before eating it. Garlic will make you feel better.......
I actually would call your doctor and ask if it is ok because garlic on its raw form is very powerful. I am almost certain it is ok to eat while pregnant but I don't want you to risk it.....please check before eating the soup.........
I think you were looking for something right now.......buy Noni and drink 1 or 2 oz. tops this will take away any pain. Or if you can find Camu Camu....powder form.....mix it into water it will take care of the headache.....Camu is a fruit from South America it has more vitamin c than an orange and it does not have the harsh effect of diahrrea......prefered take use is less than 1 tea spoon.
I don't know anything faster that won't affect or risk your baby......you may want to check Accupresure but becareful because some points are not recommended while pregnant!!!
Good luck and hope I was of some help!
14. If you mean the sinuses that are just under the eyes... The best way to fix the headache is to get the sinuses themselves fixed, which means getting the clogged-up mucous to drain.
You can use saline nose drops to help wash our the sinuses and thin the mucus. These are good because they're so harmless you can use them as much as you want and they're certainly safe for babies, though they don't work that quickly... You can also use spray decongestants to help along with the ones you take orally, though the decongestant sprays you can only use a few days in a row. Also, if you look at the ingredients in the Sudafed you took, you can get any other sinus medication that has different ingredients and take them together, because as long as they don't have the same ingredients you won't end up with too much.
I also find myself that my sinuses drain ALOT better if I tilt my head back, the pull the skin next to my nose down and away from the nose, then breath in... Pulling the skin like this seems to help open the sinus cavity, as does tilting the head back... I discovered this technique while sitting through a three-hour class being driven absolutely mad by the sinus pain and pressure that had been worsening the entire day, and after doing it every few minutes for about an hour the sinus gradually ended up feeling completely fine! I do this all the time now. I figure it might work for other people as well because drug users say it's how they get drugs out of their sinuses, that's where I got the idea in the first place...
Oh I almost forgot, breathing in warm steamy air is supposed to help alot. I find it helps... a little. You can heat up a cup of water in the microwave and breath the steam in for a while and see if it helps you at all.
15. Headache is a pain in the head, scalp or neck. Headaches can be
caused by minor problems like eyestrain, lack of coffee or more
serious reasons like head injury, brain tumors, encephalitis and
meningitis. Taking painkillers continuously can have harmful side
effects, so it is better to modify your lifestyle. More information
available at
16. I would try a saline nasal rinse (not a spray.) A full warm water saline rinse goes in one nostril and out the other. It draws out all the gunk and shrinks the tissue (like swimming in the ocean).
The buffered salt doesn't 'sting' as much as plain salt water. You can use a new method like Nasopure, or the vintage, Netipot
You don’t need a prescription for this therapy. If you live in a state like mine, they’ve pretty much “outlawed” sudafed medicine. Drug-free is really the way to go on a frequent-use basis.
17. The vix vapor rub that you can buy at any store, take a spoonful or two of that and put it into a small pan of water and let it boil on the stove. It works much better then a vaporizer. That will help to open your sinuses enough to start draining. You can even use a towel to hold your head over it rather then just plain steam.
Blowing your nose as often as possible rather then sniffing it back in, that helps to drain it, and help unblock sinuses which is causing your pressure.
Also drinking a Hot mint flavored tea helps.
And one more thing I am not sure that using nasal sprays is safe during pregnancy, unless it is simply a saline spray.
18. There are a lot of things to do for sinus congestion. One of the best is to inhale steam through your nose. Get a pot of water boiling and inhale the steam. Another home remedy that works INSTANTLY is to go to a health food store and get some eucalyptus oil, lavender oil and oil of peppermint (these are essential oils) put 3-4 drops of each on a tissue and then inhale the vapors through your nose. Instant relief. I use it all the time.
19. try taking a hot shower this will help loosen up your sinus..also try running a humidifier
