Sinusitis: What Is It And How To Cure It

Sinuses are cavities on the skull located around the nose, eyes and forehead. Sinuses develop while a fetus is in a womb and continues to grow until an individual reaches 20 years old. The sinus cavity help in humidifying the air that we breathe in.

More than air filtration, sinuses contribute to the strength of your skull. In regard to voice production, it allows more resonance. But more importantly, they help produce mucus and just like the nose have microscopic hairs called cilia, that filter dirt in the air that we breathe.

Headaches occur when the connective ducts around sinuses are swollen or inflamed. This lowers down the capacity of sinuses to drain, which results in a pressure buildup. Increased mucus and fluid secretion make the sinuses swell. This increased fluid pressure is what we call a sinus headache. This inflammation is what is commonly known as sinusitis.

Sinusitis is caused by several reasons such as air pressure and temperature changes, sinus infections, cold viruses, and allergic reactions. Aside from taking over the counter meds, there are several methods on how to relieve sinus pressure.

Get a bowl of boiling water and add some raw, cut onion into it. Put a towel over your head and the bowl to prevent the vapors from escaping. Then breathe the steam while the water is hot. The vapors will help open sinus passageways thus relieving it from fluid pressure. You can also use eucalyptus oil if you do not like the smell of onions. Using tea tree oil is effective if the sinusitis is caused by a viral or bacterial infection.

Spicing up your diet can also relieve pressure on your sinus passageways. Capsaicin in spicy food like peppers helps on the pressure inflammation. Spicing up also improves circulation.
Accupressure is a remedy that is available all the time. To do this, press your index fingers at the middle of your eyebrows, massage the area in a circular motion for 15 seconds, then gently move your fingers towards the area between your eyebrows and continue massaging them. Repeat this acupressure massage until you get relieved.

Using sinus pillows also help a lot. These pillows contain rice of flaxseed which applies acupressure. There are other herbs and spices used as based for this type of pillow to further relieve the pressure. To activate the aromatice herbs, heat the pillow for 15 seconds in your microwave.

Other treatments are cold compresses, humidifiers, drinking lots of fluids, and drinking hot caffeine tea. Do not rely much on medication as nature knows how to relieve sinus pressure.