Sinusitis impact on skin

It’s that time of the year again. Temperature is dropping and the flu gets a hold on people. Sinusitis is a condition that exists in 2 variants; acute sinusitis and chronic sinusitis. Both can have a serious impact on your life. You are very lucky if your congestion only takes a couple of days, but quite often it takes longer and is uncomfortable.

Sinusitis explained (source)

A bad cold is often mistaken for a sinus infection. Many symptoms are the same, including headache or facial pain, runny nose and nasal congestion. Unlike a cold, a sinus infection symptoms may be caused by bacterial infections. It often requires treatment with antibiotics (drugs that kill the germs causing the infection).

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses. It is often caused by bacterial (germ) infection. Sometimes, viruses and fungi (molds) cause it. People with weak immune systems are more likely to develop bacterial or fungal sinus infection. Some people with allergies can have "allergic fungal sinus infection."

Sinusitis explained by American Medical Association

More medical info about Sinusitis can be found here

Solutions

There is quite a lot you can do to support your body fighting of your Sinusitis.

1. Steaming

Steaming, the good old hanging, with a towel over your head, above a bowl with hot steaming water. The steam helps reducing de congestion. Steaming also works great for your skin. The heat opens up your pores and helps with declogging them. After steaming the skin turns slightly red and it feels smoother already. Be cautionaus to let the water cool down after boiling to avoid getting burned. I don’t know whether this is scientifically proven but there are people that claim that adding a essential oils, like eucalyptus, to the water affects their sense of smell. So just to be safe and not sorry later on I keep my water clean.

2. Nasal irrigation/ Nose wash

Nasal irrigation (dutch: neusdouche) will help to clean your sinuses and fight an infection. You'll irrigate your sinuses with a saline solution as it's mild for your body. Just using water can give a burning sensation. You can make your own saline solution by desolving regular table salt in water. You could use this 3 times a day. Sometimes you get prescribed Flixonase capsules which you can add to the saline solution. Nasal irrigation can help to get the Flixonase to get deeper into your sinuses.

3. Adaptive skin care

When I have sinusitis it will immediately show on my cheeks. The skin is working extra hard to get rid of impurities through the pores resulting in black heads. So the skin needs extra attention to clear out the pores en to increase cell turnover. I tackle this by using a mild physical scrub, glycolic cleanser, kaolin clay mask and antioxidant serum.

Rituals of Sakura scrub - Rituals

A physical scrub is normally may be not your go to product, at least it isn't mine, but it helps me to get smooth cheeks and get rid of dead skin. I only use this once a week, otherwise it's too aggressive for my skin. I love the Ritual of Sakura shower scrub from Rituals. It’s a mild scrub containing organic rice milk. Rice milk extract makes your skin soft and gives a healthy glow. I love it for being so mild and making my skin soft. I always use it to fight impurities.

Peptide Glyco Cleanser - Dermaquest

A glycolic cleanser I use twice a week, whereof once right after the scrub. I put it on damp skin and leave it on while washing my hair. The steam of the shower helps to be effective but not too intense. Then I use my foreo brush on top to massage it deep into the skin. Leave it on for an additional couple of minutes and rinse off. The products I use is the Peptide Glyco cleanser from Dermaquest. You only have to use a little bit so it lasts for quite some time. Love the tingling sensation, it always feels like it is working deep into your pores. And the Luna Play Plus from Foreo. This one is a bit more expensive than the cheapest one but it works on replaceable AAA batteries and is waterproof.

Luna Play Plus - Foreo

Also I use a Kaolin clay mask for 20 minutes which leaves my skin feeling remarkably softer and cleaner. I’m not sure how often you could do this but I apply it once a week and when my skin is really bad then twice a week. I love the clean and soft skin I have afterwards. It feels like I really put in an effort to take care of my skin and that I succeeded. I use the mask from Alex Steinherr series from Primark but I don’t think you can get it anymore. For me the series are proof that with great ingredients a product don’t always have to be expensive. Ingredients are more important than price. Alex’ background as a beauty expert made me feel confident she would bring amazing products in the market. But you could use any Kaolin clay mask as long as it contains the Kaolin clay.

Serum 10 - Skinceuticals

An antioxidant serum I use almost every day during Sinusitis depending on how my skin feels, to reduce inflammation and support the skin to repair itself. I use the Serum10 from Skinceuticals. My beautician loves the Skinceuticals serums and I have to agree. They are amazing for my skin.

4. Hydration

Further I make sure that my skin stays hydrated. So I drink a lot of water, I use hydrating products on my skin and I use humidifiers in the house. I usually use the humifiers you put in your radiator as it’s cold and by putting on the heater the air indoors gets more dry so the air humidity will be restored with this ones. It works as a kind of self regulating system. You could also use electrical humidifiers of course.

5. Lymphatic drainage

When you have a puffy face and/or want to help your body to drain off the intruders, you could use lymphatic drainage. There are multiple ways to do it. You could do this by hand, use the - now so hot and trendy - face rollers or Gua Sha. Later on I'll write a post about this.

This is all from personal experiences, and won’t guarantee that this is the best option for you. Every person is different and react different to influences, products and treatments.

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