The truth about turbinates (and sinusitis)

I had a horrendous sinus infection in 2006, and got Prednisone for it, and various other drugs, and finally it went away. Fortunately, my allergy test didn&#x27;t indicate much in the way of allergies. Before that, I had regular bouts of cold-like symptoms, was on Claritin, etc. etc.<p>Then I heard something which (cliché alert!) changed my life: it&#x27;s sinus-rinsing. I discovered that it&#x27;s <i>not</i> some woo-woo alternative therapy; lots of people do it, and your doctor will probably give it his or her blessing. You can get the kits in any drugstore (I use NeilMed). Everyone hears &quot;sinus rinsing&quot; and says &quot;Neti Pot&quot; and that&#x27;s fine, although I think its major advantage is its Eastern-sounding name. I just use the squeeze bottle. Be sure to use distilled water. The powder is just saline and baking soda, which makes it not burn the inside of your nose.<p>Since I started this, I get <i>maybe</i> one cold a year, and it goes away in a week and a half or so.<p>What&#x27;s the technical, scientific explanation for this? &quot;It clears the crap out of your nose&quot; pretty well covers it.

Seems obvious that a structure present in pretty much ALL humans has some evolved purpose.<p>If you want to scare yourself, search for &quot;empty nose syndrome&quot; and you&#x27;ll find horror stories of people feeling like something is horribly <i>wrong</i> after surgeons removed their turbinates (often without telling them, while doing another procedure like deviated septum) ... some even end up committing suicide.<p>Chesterton&#x27;s Fence comes to mind:<p>&gt; The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”

I had turbinate reduction after a series of never-ending sinus infections. Lessened the symptoms somewhat, didn&#x27;t abate. Went to an allergist, found out I was allergic to pretty much everything outside, went on immunotherapy for 5 years, haven&#x27;t had a sinus infection yet. Best thing I ever did for my health.<p>Moral of the story: Surgeons like to do procedures. ENTs are surgeons. Act accordingly.

Anecdotally, I had a deviated septum correction and turbinate reduction (not complete removal.. I think they were cauterized down?) surgery last spring. It was mildly uncomfortable for a day or two after the surgery. Before the surgery I was a chronic snorer and couldn&#x27;t breathe through solely my nose when running&#x2F;cycling. I would get awful daily sinus headaches that would make it really difficult to focus on coding. I now no longer snore at all and can breathe through my nose all the time and am a lot more comfortable during aerobic exercise and my headaches are mostly gone. I still use antihistamines and sinus rinses to keep the rear part of my sinuses from bothering me.

Only one data point, but I know someone that had radio-frequency turbinate reduction. They were suffering from constant sinus pressure and migraines that correlated with sudden changes in barometric pressure. An MRI revealed abnormally large turbinates. As far as procedures go, the RF reduction was very mild with minimal post-op. Their doctor errors on the side of caution, preferring to start small with the treatment and repeating the procedure if necessary. The first treatment worked wonders, greatly increasing QOL and nearly eliminating the migraines. It&#x27;s been over a year and my friend is still very happy with the results.

Rinsing with baby shampoo is the only thing that has ever long term helped my sinus inflammation. It’s been amazing.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nysinuscenter.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;08&#x2F;baby-shampoo-for-your-sinuses&#x2F;amp&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nysinuscenter.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;08&#x2F;baby-shampoo-for-your-...</a>

If you like this reasoning absolutely read: A Hunter-Gatherer&#x27;s Guide to the 21st Century<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Hunter-Gatherers-Guide-21st-Century-Challenges&#x2F;dp&#x2F;0593086880" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Hunter-Gatherers-Guide-21st-Century-C...</a><p>There is so much knowledge about how our modern world is causing much of our health problems.<p>Wisdom teeth: food to soft Myopia: not enough exposure to UV light while growing<p>Whe should know these things way before we think of medication and chirurgy. And yes, use science and technology to improve our lives when appropriate.

Whelp, my chance to shine. I had my turbinates surgically removed as part of sinus reconstruction. About a year after I got my face smashed really well.<p>Reading the surgery notes later I found out the surgeon gave me cocaine! This is apparently old fashioned but normal.<p>The biggest consequence is that in the nostril that isn&#x27;t blocked by my bowed septum, I can stick my finger a lot further up.<p>Ask me anything!

This would have been great to read about before I had surgery. I had septo-rhinoplasty and turbinate reduction last year to help sleep apnoea. It was recommended by a sleep specialist who noted my nasal passages were ‘very small’. It was also recommended by two separate surgeons. It was still very hard for me to trust the surgeons, since there is a conflict of interest. Overall I was able to breathe freely through my nose for about a month and then the effect slowly wore off. Overall it is better but not life-changing or worth the gross pain and bleeding from surgery. My nose is still tender and aching a year later.<p>I think the article is spot-on. I always have a creeping feeling when doctors recommend surgery, as they make lots of money from cutting me open and the benefits may be dubious. I will try what this article recommends: trying to direct air through my nose at night.

It almost seems like according to this doctor, Oxymetazoline would be an acceptable <i>treatment</i> (as in, allow someone to get used to nose breathing at night for a long period of time).<p>I did have turbinate reduction recently, and it definitely gave me an improvement, but only about 30% I&#x27;d say. I no longer have 100% blocked nasal passages during the day, which I would during allergy season previously.<p>I have been using Oxymetazoline regularly, but I give myself a much smaller dose. Before nose spray and the procedure, in my case I would go to sleep with a partially clogged nose, and wake up with a fully clogged nose after a few hours. It was terrible, i&#x27;d have dreams of drowning and wake up gasping for breath. I sleep much better now. I don&#x27;t experience a &#x27;rebound affect&#x27; either.

I had something of a turbinate reduction surgery. More like a liposuction of the turbinate than a resection. The surgeon said it would be life-altering. It was, and it was a very good life alteration.

For anybody who has had chronic sinus infections, I have some advice: Try rubbing kimchi juice inside your nostrils.<p>The bacteria colonizes the nose well.<p>This is coming from someone who has a humidifier, did nasal rinses, bought various menthols products to rinse nose, stayed in a room with 99% humidity for hours a day, took antibiotics, sprayed xylitol nasal spray, took lozenge probiotics.<p>Barely made a dent.<p>The bacteria found in kimchi seems to slowly spread deeper and deeper into your nasal cavity.<p>I don’t want to hypothesize too much on why it works. I’ve discovered that most of the time we really don’t understand the causal mechanisms. And even if we do, years later the explanation changes.<p>I’ll just simply say a lot of people have suffered from chronic sinus infections and have found relief from this route.<p>But if kimchi juice isn’t your thing, you can order the actual probiotic online. Just search “sinus infection probiotic”.<p>If you do decide to use kimchi, make sure it has garlic and doesn’t have vinegar. The garlic promotes the growth of the specific bacteria you need while the vinegar destroys it.

I wonder how much this has to do with humans rarely needing to chew tough food any more (weakening the jaw, causing the mouth to open in sleep)<p>I had a lot of these problems growing up.

My nose is almost permanently running or clogged. Eventually I went to see an ENT who sent me for a scan and was surprised to find that I didn&#x27;t have an inferior turbinate on one side.<p>When I was younger I smashed my nose and had surgery so either that doctor removed the inferior turbinate during that surgery or I was just born without one.<p>Either way it seems to have left me in a snotty situation.

I had turbinate reduction and deviated septum repair surgery and it changed my life for the better. I sleep better, wake up more refreshed, and have more energy during the day.

&gt; Obviously, #1 (True obstruction) can be fixed if the obstruction is relieved, and that is another topic for another day<p>Uuuhh I would very much like to know what the author would suggest

All I see is Gravity&#x27;s Rainbow. Am I alone?

For those that have actual turbinate obstructions like I have had, there is a new drug that can prevent their regrowth, Dupixent. Something to look into if you have failed to control this problem. It can also relieve mild asthma symptoms, so for me it was kind of a 2 for 1<p>As well, there is a new kind of allergy shot you can get now, where you get the injections directly into lymph nodes, and they last for 3-5 years rather than needing shots weekly etc.

tape your mouth during sleep