In this article I’m going to share the best sinus support strategies that I've gathered in more than a decade of clinical practice helping people recover from sinus infections, chronic sinusitis, and sinus allergies.
If you haven’t read my original article, The Key to Getting to Getting Rid of Sinusitis and Sinus Infections, I highly recommend that you start there to learn about the how and why behind sinus problems - and most importantly, about the best way to get rid of them.
The tips and tricks that I’ll cover in this article are very valuable to know about for maintaining good sinus health, and to accompany sinus treatment for a faster recovery. If you’ve been dealing with a stubborn or chronic sinus problem, the fastest way to kick it is through clinical treatment with my herbal clinic. And the next best thing is my standardized Sinus Protocol.
The more help you get via my clinical support with Chinese herbal medicine, the less you’ll need to worry about sinus self-care like diet and lifestyle modification. Sometimes diet and lifestyle changes are unavoidable and have to be part of your treatment plan. But if you want to do less lifestyle modification, then starting with clinical treatment with my herbal clinic is going to be your best bet.
Sinus Self-Help Strategies
Ok, now on to these essential sinus care strategies.
I’m going to start with the most important, but least fun things first, diet and lifestyle, and work our way into the more fun things.
An important disclaimer about diet and lifestyle.
There are two important concepts to understand regarding diet, lifestyle and how they interact with chronic health problems: complexity and threshold.
Complexity
When it comes to chronic health issues including sinus problems, they are most often the result of a complex web of factors interacting to create the problem you’re dealing with right now. The answer is never as simple as one causative factor. If it was, your problem would already be solved and you wouldn’t be here reading this article. The sinus problem you’re dealing with is complex, and so it’s important to look at all the factors that can worsen it.
I often hear people expressing things like, “I ate dairy for 20 years and I didn’t have sinus problems. So dairy can’t be the cause.” I agree, dairy isn’t the sole cause. But it is undeniably a factor. Where you are at now in life, a complex constellation of factors has led to a sinus problem - and so now dairy matters. Once your sinus problem is resolved, it may not be an issue anymore.
Threshold
Another common thing I hear is, “I tried reducing dairy for a period of time, and it didn’t get rid of the problem. So it can’t be that dairy is the problem.” So again, it’s complex. Dairy isn’t the sole problem, but it is a factor. Often people will try lots of self-help strategies, but it’s not enough to noticeably feel better.
This is because though those are helpful, they haven’t helped you enough to reach a certain threshold where the positive change is noticeable. There is a sweet spot where you feel good enough that you can notice big changes from self-help strategies. But if you feel too bad, you won’t notice these positive changes. And then on the flip side, when you feel really good - and it’s been years since your last sinus problem, you may not notice the negative effects of these factors either. That’s the other side of the threshold.
Diet Tips for Sinus Health
So you already know I’m coming down hard on dairy right? I’m sorry to say that it’s true. This part is all about telling you that delicious things you love are contributing to your sinus problems.
Sugar, dairy, and alcohol are the biggest dietary offenders for sinus problems. If you’ve read my original sinus article you’ll already have a sense of why.
Sugar
Sugar suppresses normal immune function, and sugar feeds fungal and yeast pathogens. It’s the last thing your microbiome needs for healthy balance.
This includes added sugar like white sugar, honey, etc. But it also includes excessive sugar of any kind. To your microbiome, sugar is sugar - and it doesn’t matter if it’s white sugar or a banana. Fruit has other redeeming qualities like vitamins, minerals and fiber - but an excess of fruit can still be a problem.
Dairy
We all know dairy is so good, so this is a hard truth. It doesn’t matter if you’re lactose intolerant or not, allergic or not. Dairy is simply the best phlegm-forming food there is.
If there was a game show where you could win a million dollars by producing the most phlegm among contestants - eating as much dairy as possible would be the best way to get that win. And on the flip side, dairy is the worst way to congest your sinuses with excessive phlegm.
Milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream are typically the worst offenders, the most phlegm-forming. Sour cream, yogurt, and hard cheeses less so - but still phlegmy. Butter is mostly fat and doesn't cause phlegm formation for most people.
Alcohol
Alcohol breaks down into sugar, so it’s a factor for sinus problems. For most people yeasted alcohols like wine, beer, and cider are the most problematic for sinus issues.
Distilled alcohols like vodka, tequila, whiskey, gin etc will still be problematic (especially if added to a high-sugar cocktail) but less so than beer, wine and cider. Distilled spirits all start their lives as yeasted alcohols, but the distillation process alters them in a way that makes them less problematic. I’m not a brewing expert at all, I just know how people respond to these things from clinical experience.
Lifestyle Tips for Sinus Care
Your sinus health is dependent upon your immune function, and your immune function is dependent on many factors like: getting good sleep, managing stress well, eating a balanced diet. I would say we all know about those, so I’m not going to cover those in detail here. If you're struggling with sleep and stress, clinical Chinese herbal medicine treatment can also help you in those areas. Here I’ll cover a few sinus specific items that are important.
Keeping your head and neck warm
This is science-backed traditional wisdom that used to be passed down from your grandmother. But in 2025 it may be your great-grandmother, or great-great grandmother who knew about the importance of keeping your head and neck warm. So in our culture it may be nearly forgotten wisdom. But it is essential to heed this advice if you want to speed up your recovery from sinus issues.
Here’s why:
Your body temperature is one of your most fundamental defense mechanisms. Your ideal body temperature is around 98.6 F - and that is not a random number.
All manner of nasties - rhinoviruses (the common cold viruses), fungi, and bacteria that you’re exposed to every day - cannot thrive and grow at that temperature. But drop the temperature of your head and neck just 2 degrees down to 96F, and the growth rate of rhinoviruses (for example) increases exponentially!
This is what your great-great grandmother meant when she said “careful you don’t catch a chill”. “Catching a chill” (aka reducing the temp of your head for even just a couple hours) takes your body’s temperature defense mechanism down, and invites respiratory pathogens to throw a party.
If you are someone who generally runs cold, less than 98.6 F, you are going to be more prone to respiratory infections. But don't worry, we can help you thermoregulate with herbal medicine.
If you’re someone who goes out in cold weather frequently without a hat or scarf, you are setting yourself up for an increased risk of sinus problems. Not drying your hair also results in evaporative cooling on your scalp which will cool your head and sinuses.
If you live in 80-100 degree weather, this doesn’t matter as much (as long as you aren’t cranking your AC). But if you live somewhere chilly, dressing warm is a very simple way to reduce sinus problems.
Takeaways
In cold weather rock a big hat, a warm one
Wear a scarf, cover your neck and throat
Dry your hair after getting it wet
Don’t go out in cold weather with wet hair
Put a hot pack on your forehead and top of head to warm the maxillary and sphenoid sinuses. Hot packs can be as simple as a small rice-filled pillowcase that you put in the microwave. Also known as “hotties” or for some reason “cuddlewubs”
Eat warm, immune supporting foods like congee and chicken soup.
Congee is a hot rice porridge that can be made a thousand ways. This is a good basic recipe for a green onion congee.
Chicken soup is an amazing food for immune support. Take a whole chicken (the bones are very important), throw it in a pot, slow cook for 6-12 hours. Follow whatever recipe you like. I recommend leaning on spices like fresh ginger, green onion, garlic, thyme, and oregano.
Saline Rinse
If you’ve been dealing with sinus issues for a while, you’re surely no stranger to the neti pot saline rinse. But there’s some important tips I’ll share, that a lot of people don’t know about, to make sure you’re doing something beneficial and not counter-productive.
Saline rinses are valuable for rinsing allergens and pathogens out of the nasal passages, and for helping to loosen up phlegm.
Use warm water. Like we covered before, you don’t want your nasal passages to be cold. Be careful that the water isn’t too hot, but it should feel warmer than your body temp.
Use a buffered solution. The saline rinse has to have the proper salinity and pH to not cause additional irritation. When I was in my 20s, I just threw random amounts of salt into a neti pot and called it good. That’s not a great plan. You can buy a buffered solution like SinuAir, or make your own with sea-salt and baking soda, just make sure you follow directions. If it burns, you’re doing it wrong.
Don’t tilt your head too far over. Your ear opposite the neti pot should not be significantly lower in elevation than the neti pot. If it is too low, you will be more likely to get water to go down into your Eustachian tube, where it is not wanted.
Don’t blow your nose hard after saline rinse. Use only gentle pressure to blow your nose after a saline rinse. If you blow too hard, you can force water back into your Eustacian tubes.
Add a small drop of baby shampoo if you’re feeling brave. This may burn, even when a small amount is used. This can help to emulsify and loosen phlegm and biofilms in your nasal passages.
Sinus Steams
In many ways, I think sinus steams are more appropriate for people dealing with sinus issues. Saline rinses wash your nasal passages, but they don’t rinse your sinus cavities. In fact, you wouldn’t want them to. The sinuses are air-filled sacs in your head, and that’s how we want them to be - filled with air.
A sinus steam uses aromatic and volatile compounds from herbs, carried by steam into the sinuses, to combat infection and inflammation. It also isn’t adding a bunch of water into your head to drain out later, like a saline rinse can.
To perform a sinus steam, you boil a pot of water, add herbs or essential oils, remove from heat and gently inhale the steam for 5-10 minutes. You can drape a towel over your head to create a little steam tent.
There are many ways to make a sinus steam at home, or you can also use my specific Sinus Steam formula.
Essential Oil steams. The simplest sinus steam is to add a few drops of essential oil of something like Eucalyptus. This is a common traditional practice in Australia. Be careful not to use too much. Essential oils are very strong, and can irritate and burn sensitive tissue if overused. Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Thyme, Spearmint are good choices.
Herbal steams. You can make sinus steams using herbs from your garden. Grab some fresh herbs from your garden, chop them up. Bring your pot of water to a boil, add the herbs and turn off the heat. Let sit for a minute or two and then start steaming. When choosing herbs, you are looking for aromatic herbs. Rosemary is a great choice, and a great plant to have in an herb garden. Mint, oregano, and thyme are all great to use as well.
Sinus Oil
Like a milder and more convenient version of a sinus steam, using a sinus oil like Pranarom's Sinus Formula can be very helpful. This sinus oil uses aromatic oils diluted in olive oil so that you can apply it to the outer edge of your nostril. (or mustache if you have one). This allows you to gently inhale the vapors over several hours.
コメント