Nose and its cavities are the first line of defense against the airborne gems/virus/dust/pollen/pollution. If the immune system is not functioning optimally at any time, for example, when dehydrated, physically stressed, etc, the infection will begin. The symptoms include congested nostrils, running nose, clear or green mucus, headache, cough, even fever. In Western medicine, typical treatment for sinusitis is the prescription of antihistamines or antibiotics that may relieve the symptoms, but do little to get at the cause of the condition. Continually treating the infections with antibiotics can weaken the immune system, casing further problems and usually ineffective.
Sinusitis in many individuals tends to become a chronic condition. The reason is that after each recurring infection, most methods of treatment fail to drain the sinus cavities completely of mucus and discharge. This creates an ongoing pattern of infection after infection. Then nasal polyps will develop and the nostrils become entirely congested which may need surgery.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been effectively treating sinusitis naturally for centuries with herbal and acupuncture modalities. TCM modalities can break this pattern, and are actually designed to boost, not damage, the body’s immune response. TCM practitioner first evaluates the symptom and more importantly, the patient’s health background. The majority of sinusitis at the time when the patients see the practitioner is due to wind/heat. Small amount of patients see doctor earlier enough may be present with symptom of wind/cold. Accordingly, the proper treatment plan will be formulated to eliminate the infection which may take one or more weeks depending on the presence of polyps.