Monday, October 31, 2005

sinuses

Steroid nasal spray: it's a wonder drug.

More than one distinguished science writer of my acquaintance has suggested to me that this may be the placebo effect. But that's fine. I'll take the placebo effect. Just so it works and I can breathe like a normal person and manage to be more than 10 feet away from the nearest box of tissues.

9 comments:

J.Po said...

Is there an equivalent for ears? My ears have been blocked for a week following a nastastic sinus blockage. Yick.

towwas said...

Ew, yuck! I wonder if steroids would work for ears. I suppose the problem would be getting them to the eustachian tubes...after that, they'd probably work their anti-inflammatory magic.

Stacey Pelika said...

I used to use Flonase but was then told by a dermatologist that steroid nasal sprays can lead to little burst blood vessels on the outside of your nose. So there is a dark side...

towwas said...

Hm, yeah, I knew it could have vascular effects, but I hadn't heard of that. Well, I'm going to stick with it for a while anyway. Because I like breathing.

grrrbear said...

Besides, don't you get the same effect from drinking too much too? People will just think you're the second coming of WC Fields.

Stacey Pelika said...

Nah, the drinking thing is actually activated rosacea (says the person with rosacea). Alcohol is a major trigger for some people (e.g. my now deceased grandfather was a ruddy faced alcoholic - thanks for the rosacea, grandpa!), and the swollen nose is a sign of very advanced, untreated rosacea. WC Fields and Bill Clinton are kind of the rosacea poster boys, with Bill being the example of what good treatment can do for you.

towwas said...

Huh! Who knew?

Annie said...

Hey, have you heard about this weird new treatment that involves irrigating the sinuses each and every day with saltwater? It's supposed to be pretty uncomfortable, but very effective for allergies and sinus problems. Here's a link to an article...

towwas said...

Yeah, I've been irrigating, actually - gross, but seems to help a little. Actually, it's not even all that gross. I'm going to go do it now, in fact.