How to Prevent Sinus Infection

For those susceptible to sinusitis these tips on how to prevent sinus infection will reduce the number and severity of your attacks, as well as discourage acute infections from becoming chronic.

Get your flu shots every year.

Should you develop cold symptoms, take medication to nip it in the bud.

Steer clear of people with colds because careful as they might be, their germs will pass onto you.

In fact germs surround you. Do you ever stop to think how many germs you inadvertently pick up from public places during the course of a day? From handrails of stairs, escalators, public transport, from shopping basket handles, from toilet floors when you put your handbag down, from elevator buttons. Limit their impact by washing your hands regularly with hot, soapy water, especially after being outside and before eating.

Fortify your immune system by reducing your stress levels and eating loads of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Dairy products thicken your mucous, so cut back on them.

For those who suffer from seasonal allergies, do your best to avoid allergens. Stay indoors as much as possible. Close windows and if you are lucky enough to have air conditioning at home, make good use of it. It filters out the allergens and keeps temperatures steady.

To keep your environment from drying out excessively, use a humidifier. If dust mites and molds give you allergies too, humidity may be a problem. What then? I guess somewhere in the middle, not too dry and not too wet.

If necessary make use of decongestant nasal sprays and prescription antihistamines. Ask your doctor for non-sedating ones so you can still lead a normal life without nodding off.

Allergy shots or immunotherapy for up to 5 years reportedly stop allergy symptoms or reduce them drastically for years.

Drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated. This strengthens your immune defences and thins nasal secretions. Fluids include water, hot water with honey, herbal and regular tea. For those who imbibe, alcohol does not qualify as a fluid. In fact alcohol worsens your situation by causing swollen sinus membranes, with beer being the worst offender.

The changing pressure of air travel adds to your woes. If you have no choice but to fly, use decongestant drops or inhalers just before you take off to ensure open sinus passage ways.

Nasal sprays and inhaling steam keep your nasal passages moist.

When blowing your nose, do so gently to avoid causing damage to your sinuses.

Chronic sufferers should steer clear of cigar and cigarette smoke, strong smelling chemicals and similar environmental allergens.

If you are prone to sinusitis, swimming for a long time in chlorinated water aggravates your condition by irritating your sinuses.

Key to preventing sinusitis is clearing your nasal passages because stagnant mucous is the ideal breeding ground for an infection. Do so by irrigating your nasal passages daily.

This simple but extremely effective practice flushes out all irritants, allergens, viruses and bacteria from your sinuses before allergic reactions appear and before bacteria have to a chance to multiply and engulf your immune system.

It also helps when hanging out with anyone who has a cold -- irrigate when you can to minimise your chances of catching anything and it turning nasty.