Sinus infections are drippy and painful — an all-around headache, quite literally. When symptoms arise, patients often rush to the doctor for a prescription, usually an antibiotic, to put an end to the suffering.

But it turns out you’d do just as well to take a sugar pill and treat yourself with standard drugstore remedies. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis, the antibiotics typically prescribed by doctors work no better than placebo for reducing symptoms of infection.

“Patients don’t get better faster or have fewer symptoms when they get antibiotics,” Jay F. Piccirillo, professor of otolaryngology and the study’s senior author, said in a statement. “Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection — most people get better on their own.”

What’s a person to do about the sinus congestion and unbearable pain and pressure? Keep reading for natural ways to get sinus infection relief.

• Get steamy: The heat and steam from a hot shower does wonders for congestion and sinus pressure. Close the bathroom door and run the shower on superhot for a few minutes, staying in the bathroom to breathe in the steam. Lower the temp and hop in, allowing the hot water to gently massage your sensitive sinuses. If you don’t want to get in the shower, you can also place a towel over your head, and lean over a pot of superhot water, breathing in the vapor.
• Try a Neti pot: To loosen up mucus and help it make its way out of your sinuses, give a Neti pot a try. Follow the instructions, adding noniodized salt and warm sterile (not tap) water to the pot. Mix it well, place the spout in one nostril, lean over the sink, and gently flush out allergens and mucus. If you’re really clogged, try using it after a hot shower. If this freaks you out, use an over-the-counter nasal saline spray instead.
• Hot compress: If the pressure is getting to you, run a washcloth under hot water, lie down and place the folded hot compress over your eyes. Gently press along your sinuses, massaging the sensitive areas to loosen up mucus.
• Sleep with a humidifier: If your symptoms are worse at night, keep your head slightly propped up with some pillows and sleep with a cool mist humidifier on your night stand. A night of breathing in moist air can greatly improve symptoms in the morning.
• Drink up: Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. Staying hydrated can help loosen thick mucus, so you’re able to blow your nose effectively. We recommend this ginger tea for working through symptoms related to colds.
• Get sweaty: If you’re feeling up for it, do a high-intensity cardio workout that gets you hot and sweaty, preferably on your own so you don’t risk getting others sick. This is a great way to get congestion relief.
• Reduce triggers: If you suffer from chronic sinus infections, it may be allergy-related, and worth a trip to an allergist. After dealing with a six-month-long sinus infection, I realized I had developed an allergy to my cats.
• Get Chiropractic Adjustments: Chiropractic adjustments to the neck and upper back not only boost your immune system, they can also help open up the sinuses and allow them to drain.

Time Article (the study showing antibiotics don’t work) and the suggestion are from here.

With cold and flu season almost here, the next time you’re sick, you may want to thank your fever for helping fight off infection. That’s because scientists have found more evidence that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better. This research is reported in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

“An increase in body temperature has been known since ancient times to be associated with infection and inflammation,” said Elizabeth A. Repasky, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Immunology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. “Since a febrile response is highly conserved in nature (even so-called cold blooded animals move to warmer places when they become ill) it would seem important that we immunologists devote more attention to this interesting response.”

“Having a fever might be uncomfortable,” said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, “but this research report and several others are showing that having a fever is part of an effective immune response. We had previously thought that the microbes that infect us simply can’t replicate as well when we have fevers, but this new work also suggests that the immune system might be temporarily enhanced functionally when our temperatures rise with fever. Although very high body temperatures are dangerous and should be controlled, this study shows that we may need to reconsider how and when we treat most mild fevers.”

Science Daily

Seeing a chiropractor or engaging in light exercise relieves neck pain more effectively than relying on pain medication, new research shows.

New research, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, found that chiropractic care or simple exercises done at home were better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics.

After 12 weeks of Chiropractic care, the people in the non-medication groups did significantly better than those taking the drugs. About 57 percent of those who met with chiropractors and 48 percent who did the exercises reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group.

A year later, when the researchers checked back in, 53 percent of the subjects who had received Chiropractic care still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, similar to the exercise group. That compared to just a 38 percent pain reduction among those who had been taking medication.

In addition to their limited pain relief, the medications had at least one other downside: people kept taking them. “The people in the medication group kept on using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period, up to a year later,” Dr. Bronfort said. “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”

He also expressed concern that those on medications were not as empowered or active in their own care as those in the other groups. “We think it’s important that patients are enabled to deal with as much control over their own condition as possible,” he said. “This study shows that they can play a large role in their own care.”

Read the article in the NY Times.

Taking just a little bit too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) over the course of days or weeks is more likely to be fatal than taking a single, massive overdose.

Taking only slightly higher than recommended doses can cause potentially fatal liver damage. Tylenol overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., leading to 26,000 hospitalizations and nearly 500 deaths annually, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

For one thing, people who have taken a slow Tylenol overdose may not be aware that the drug is the cause of their symptoms – like abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting – so they don’t report it when they enter the emergency room. Secondly, doctors may not find high enough levels of acetaminophen in these patients’ systems to identify the drug as the problem.

Heavy drinkers and older patients were at highest risk of staggered overdose. Alcohol alone can damage the liver and those who drink more than three drinks a day are advised not to use drugs that contain acetaminophen.

Why risk your health when Chiropractic has been shown to help eliminate many causes of pain.

Time Article

Congrats to Kathy. She’s a 53 year old woman, who after 3 heart attacks has realized she needs to be proactive in her health.

As we enter this holiday season, enjoy and celebrate reasonably and prepare for a fresh start in 2012. Simple daily choices can have a profound affect on your health.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s survey of more than 2,000 adults found that even though Canadians know how to protect their heart health, the majority can’t or won’t commit the time to do so.

“Eight out of 10 people know that heart disease and stroke can be prevented, postponed or treated by making healthy lifestyle choices but they are focusing on the barriers rather than the opportunities,’’ said David Sculthorpe, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

The key is to make healthier choices a part of every-day living. Take the stairs instead of an elevator, for instance, or walking rather than hopping in the car to drive a very short distance.

Other recommendations include:

The foundation offers the following steps to improve heart health:

• Getting 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity per week reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes by 30 percent. Break it down into bouts of exercise, 10 minutes or more in length.
• Eating five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by about 20 percent. Low vegetable and fruit consumption can shave 1.3 years off a person’s expected lifespan.
• Controlling high blood pressure can cut the risk of stroke by 40 percent and of heart attack by up to 25 percent. High blood pressure can shave two and a half years off a person’s expected lifespan. A recent study showed that Chiropractic adjustments can help keep blood pressure low. So be sure to get adjusted.

Two Chiropractors who are among the first-ever named to the international event’s medical staff recently returned from Guadalajara, Mexico, having attended to the medical needs of athletes at the 2011 Pan American Games.

During the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Dr. Shapiro, attended to the Chiropractic needs of hundreds of athletes competing in taekwondo, judo and wrestling. Throughout this time, treatments was given for all forms of sports-related traumas, ranging from abrasions, sprains and contusions to even the severe spinal injury suffered by one competitor.

The Chiropractors worked hand-in-hand with the athletes, coaches, trainers and organizers to ensure Chiropractic was available to those who wanted it.

“Each of us took great pride in helping these world-class, international performers prepare for events, sometimes only moments before competitions. Their total trust, reliance and appreciation were certainly high points of this very rewarding experience, which I hope to repeat in upcoming years.”

Full article