Sinusitis

This term means acute or chronic inflammation of the sinuses, the deep, air-filled cavities in the facial bones, lined with a tissue similar to the nasal mucosa. The sinuses give resonance to the voice and provide added protection to the eyes, nose and brain.

Nine times out of ten sinusitis starts as a cold, causing congestion of the mucosa, most often affecting the maxillary sinus, as shown by X-ray or better by using a scanner. It presents as a continuous, pulsing, piercing pain on one side, which worsens when the patient leans forward or coughs. The pain is often accompanied by a discharge or a blocked nose, and sometimes fever. Sinusitis occurs most frequently in the winter.

A moderately severe episode may last two or three weeks, but the infection may become chronic with frequent relapses. The treatment should deal simultaneously with the infection, the inflammation and the congestion. It aims to relieve the pain, eliminate the germ responsible, allow improved draining of the sinuses, prevent complications and avoid relapses.

Sinusitis is too frequently diagnosed in children

This condition is rare before the age of five or seven, because only the ethmoid sinuses are present at birth (the frontal sinuses have not yet formed, and the maxillary sinuses are only very slightly developed). The differences between child and adult become indistinct after the age of 12.

Standard anti-infective treatment

At the start of the first symptoms of sinusitis - to be initiated as quickly as possible at the first abnormal symptom

• Start with Aconitum-Homaccord@, (Heel) which contains Aconitum D2, D10, D30, D200, Eucalyptus D4, DID, D30 and Ipecacuanha D2, D10, D30, D200:
  - Available in drop bottles containing 30 and 100ml
  - ten drops to be taken three times daily. Initially ten drops every 15 minutes
• Add copper as a trace element with silver or gold in colloidal form
• Six tablets of Pyrogenium 5c once a day in a single dose for a few days
• Twenty drops of Lehning@ L52 in a little water, three or four times a day
• Vitamin C: one gram a day for adults, 0.5 gram for children, for a fortnight
  - This treatment, combined with the dietary advice given in the section 'The start of infection', brings improvement or cure in a good number of cases

Acupuncture

Vital. particularly when pain predominates. Combined with effective homeopathic treatment. it is one of the best treatments for discharge in sinusitis.

- Four or five twice-weekly sessions will be needed to start with, with longer intervals on improvement. A maintenance treatment of one session every three weeks can be carried out during critical periods

Homeopathy

Hepar sulfur, Hydrastis. and Kalium bichromicum

- Four tablets of one of these three remedies at 5c to be sucked like sweets three or four times a day, between meals, for a few days

Hepar sulfur

- Chemical origin: a mixture of sulphur and oyster chalk
- Homeopathic treatment for infections with suppuration
- Two characteristics: improved with warmth. worsened with cold

Hydrastis canadensis

- Vegetable origin: the roots of golden seal, a plant long used by the Native Americans
- Homeopathic remedy for discharges of thick, still yellow, viscous mucus

Kalium bichromicum

- Chemical origin: potassium bichromate
- Homeopathic remedy for suppuration with thick, sticky, foul. green mucus

• You can use Euphorbium composition S (Heel). which contains Euphorbium D3, Hepar sulfur D10 and Sinusitis nosode D13 among others:
  - Sold in drop bottles containing 30 and 100ml
  - In general. ten drops three times daily. In acute disorders, initially ten drops every 15 minutes followed by a reduction to ten drops six times daily

You should also add the basic remedy decided upon after consulting your homeopath: in this case, it will often be Calcarea carbonica. Calcarea phosphorica, Sulfur.

Sulfur

- Mineral origin: sulphur
- Homeopathic remedy for resistant and recurrent mucosal infections

Herbal treatment

Echinacea: anti-infective.

Eleutherococcus and ginseng - both very stimulating.

Prescription: Ask your herbalist to prepare 30ml bottles of the mother tincture of each of these two plants. Take 25 drops three times a day of the first, and 25 drops twice a day of the second

Eleutherococcus and Echinacea

Eleutherococcus or devil's shrub is a plant of the ginseng and ivy family, but originates from the plains of Siberia where it grows in abundance. It owes its fame to athletes from the countries of the former Soviet Union and Asia who use it because it increases resistance to physical and mental fatigue. Echinacea originates from North America, and was used by the Native American tribes for its anti-infective properties.

• You can use Echinaforce (Bioforce), a tincture of Echinacea purpurea:
  - Available in 50ml and 100ml bottles of oral drops
  - Fifteen drops to be taken in a little water, three times a day by adults, seven drops three times a day by children (6-12 years old).

Plant essential oils

Niaouli, mountain savory. common thyme for their anti-infective properties.

Mint, nutmeg, rosemary for their stimulant properties.
- For adults, two drops of one of them to be taken in a spoonful of honey, twice a day

Mint

Mint, whose effectiveness is due to the menthol in its essential oil, is tonic, antiseptic, analgesic and digestive. It is thus one of the ingredients of stimulating drinks, as well as of Tiger Balm.

Niaouli

Niaouli. the New Caledonian paperbark tree (Melaleuca leucadendron) possesses properties close to those of the Cajput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), and the tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia). They are all in the same family.

Nutmeg

Portuguese sailors brought nutmeg to Europe in the 16th century. It is a general and sexual stimulant, but can easily be toxic, thus caution is advised.

Eucalyptus, cloves, thyme linalol can be used in children.

- One drop of one of these to be taken in a spoonful of honey, twice a day

Thyme

An infusion of thyme used for its medicinal properties can easily be drunk instead of a cup of tea or coffee. There are various varieties of thyme, each of which contains a different essential oil. These essential oils are powerful, aggressive or toxic to different degrees.

Cloves

The essential oil of cloves is antiseptic, calming, and antispasmodic; the dried buds we use as a spice are virtually regarded as a panacea in the whole of Southeast Asia.