# Do any of you others also have sinus issues?



## Sandy A

Im wondering if there is a relation here, can't seem to get my head clear, and with all else, this is quite annoying.


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## bobtheman

yes i will garuntee many of the people will reply that they have sinus issues. personally, me and my father feel these diseases are caused by some type of infection that is throughout our body systemically, not just the gut.  

also, due to the nature of the disease many people will tell you that yes they have problems with their sinus, but thats becuse cd/c is a malfunction in the immune system therefore we have more chronic sinus issues. 

i personally have nose bleeds that come and go and last extremly long ontop of always having a stuffy head. no broken blood vessels found, but i find that highly unlikley since i have broken my nose a number of times


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## ibdoer

I've always had sinus issues. I'm constantly snorting nasonex to keep me open.


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## Mark63

Hi,

I've had a lot more since I've been using Humira. Thought I was getting colds all the time, but mostly feel ok apart from the stuffy/runny nose and occasional sinus pain.

Mark


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## Splasher

I am so glad i found this post and i am not the only one, my sinuses have been flaring up terribly for a week now and i had to go to my GP for anti-biotics i felt so bad. I have been sneezing constant for about six months though and had sore gums with sinuses but over the past week it lead to weakness and bad headache pain and just feeling crappy. I am not disagnosed with anything yet but have app with my GI specialist next week, do you think sinus issues is worth mentioning to him?


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## Cat-a-Tonic

I have sinus issues too.  Whenever I get a headache, it always turns into a sinus headache (doesn't matter if it starts out as a different type of headache) and Tylenol Sinus is the only thing that helps.  I broke my nose when I was a kid and it was never set properly so it healed badly, and my sinus issues started then, although they got worse when I was in my early 20s.


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## Keona

i never got sick - not even a cold or flu but i have had about 3 serious sinus infections few and far between...
it has only been recently that I have noticed I will wake in the middle of the night or early am congested.  It doesn't last long though and I was wondering if I was having an allergy to a cat I recently acquired.  I haven't been around cats much.. i wouldn't have remembered if it weren't for this post - so yes, but not a big issue for me


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## AndiGirl

I have horrible sinuses!  I have a deviated septum that needs to be fixed, but I've been dragging my feet.  My allergies also contribute a lot to my sinus discomfort, on top of cold Alaskan winters and pressure changes.


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## Keona

Im packing my bags and going to visit you in Alaska Andigirl.. Alaska looks beautiful!!! and I love winter scenes..icebergs..etc... must wreak havoc on your crohns though...wow...


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## AndiGirl

We've got room if you want to visit, Keona.    The Crohns hates winter!


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## Keona

K... Im on my way 
do you see icebergs??


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## AndiGirl

We are not far from the Portage Glacier.  I have lots of pictures of Alaska in my profile. Come check it out.


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## Sandy A

Thanks for replying everyone!  I was kinda thinking that was gonna be the response, it makes sense to me that its all related.  A cat scan 2 yrs ago revealed all my sinuses were full of fluid, and with antibiotics and every other kind of thing, still not real clear.  Got one of those electric sinus rinsers (like a neti pot) that helped a bit, but this time I think I introduced a bacteria using it after it had set a while (not too smart!)  and now have a sinus infection!


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## ChampsMom

Great question!  I'm so glad to see all the responses!  My 14 year old (dx Crohn's last year) son blows his nose ALL THE TIME!!  I swear this kid had more snot than any one I know!  

Re: Bloody noses- that's a scary one for me to hear (praying it's not indicative), as my 11 year old has had constant nose bleeds for years now - he has not symptoms for Crohn's.  We've been back and forth to the doctor (fearing other issues) and the results have always been the same, "he's a nose bleeder." :/


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## AndiGirl

I think it's interesting that you've mentioned bloody noses.  I've been plagued with them in the past.  I used to attribute it to the deviated septum.  There was one time that I was suffering with my allergies something fierce.  I was a college student living in Fairbanks, Alaska which is known for it's extreme heat in the summer and very cold winters.  There were many blooming things that were causing me to suffer.  My eyes watered and I had dark circles underneath them from my allergies.  I was a tour guide who worked on a riverboat.  I was about ten minutes into my shift on that 90 degree day when my nose started bleeding.  It was more like projectile bleeding.  It must have bleed for about 45 minutes.  The deckhands had to help me out by getting plenty of tissue and ice packs to cool me down and try to stop the bleeding.  The passengers saw me with the blood all over, the ice, and the darkened eyes.  One of the older gentlemen said what others must have thought after looking at me.  He said, "Let me at him!  I'll knock him around for you."


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## supercellbaebe

My right sinus is constantly blocked!  I always wake up in the morning and can bearly breath out of my nose.

I think I know what causes this though, or at least I thought I did.

When people's elimination paths are not working properly or blocked (such as bowel, urinary system etc...) for whatever reason, this causes over toxicity of the system (system being your body).   

An over toxic body will use any other means of eliminating toxins such as nasal passages, skin (acne, over sweating eczema etc...).  

I think in IBD because the bowels aren't functioning properly this is why the sinuses get totally over loaded with toxins and end up getting blocked.  

Sometimes I feel like I have a sore throat and cold and sound all bunged up, but it is only for an hour or so in the morning, then it goes when I do some yoga or stretching exercises.  

xxx


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## Sandy A

That makes sense supercellbaebe!  Thanks!


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## sunflower

For many years, my sinus problems and Crohn's flares would go hand in hand.  I would have allergy attacks, they would turn into sinus problems, then pretty soon I would have a Crohn's flare.  I am aggressively treating the allergies now, so we will see how that goes.  When I went for allergy testing a few years ago, I was allergic to everything.  When I went this spring, I didn't react to anything!  It was strange.  My allergist is treating me for allergies anyway, just no shots right now.  May add them if I continue to have problems.  My GI always said that when my immune system gets upset about something, it can trigger a flare.  I think that is true.


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## muppet

Not only do I have chronic sinus issues, but I used to relieve them with Vicks Sinex, before they reformulated it.  I used so much of it just to be able to breath and relieve the pressure in my head that I've damaged the lining of my nostrils and almost completely lost my sense of smell.

I can barely taste food and can't smell a gas leak or a dirty diaper.


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## PeedyWheels

I never had seasonal allergies until my 30's.  After being on Remicade for the past several years now, my allergies are worse than ever.  Had blood testing for everything, came up with Eggs and Ragweed.  However, our amune system can simply not fight off the inflamation and we have a lot of it because of our Crohns.  Simply put, steroids are the only thing working for me.  So I have come to the conclusion I have to be over reacting to more food than what showed up.  Has anyone ever drank wine or booz and their head stuffed up?  yup, mine does.  So, Im going to try to eliminate or very much lower my intake of sugar and yeast in my system and ask the doc for some Candidia pills to kill it off.   I have tried everything else...


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## Jessica

In high school I had such bad allergies that I got those shots for a few years.  3-4 yrs I think.  Been told by the ENT doc that I have sinusitis.  Blah blah.  Oh, cyst/polyp/wtf ever it is.. in my right maxillary sinus.  I go through about a box of tissues a week or more.  Live on dayquil/nyquil.  Been a few years since I've had the cyst/polyp/wtf ever checked.  Doing that in the next week or so.

Can't you see that I love my sinuses?!    :heart:

Oh yea, and the bloody tissues no longer cause me pause.


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## Carrie630

my sinuses always have trouble.  even when I don't think they're stuffed up they clearly are, because I'll lean forward and have sudden drainage out my nostrils


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## PeedyWheels

My ENT had me talked into surgery.  Then I was on Prednisone for my Crohns and taking other allergy meds... went back in, did another CT, my sinus was clear.  Surgery called off!  My ENT said the membrains in our sinus and nose are so darn sensitive and once they swell up, its horrible to get them to calm down, especially being on Remicade.  The tricky part - figuring out what the triggers are.


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## McStew

Similar to everyone else writing - I have had major sinus issues.  Probably for about the past 4 years has it been really bad.  Sometimes I can't sleep I'm so uncomfortable....itchy eyes, the roof of my mouth is itchy, lots of flem, blocked nose, itchy ears, sneezing, wheezing....ugh!  Oddly enough, it only seems to go away when I have a cold or get sick.  I generally don't take anything in particular for my colds, but the sinus (or rhinitis) seems to go away when I have a cold - sneezing just feels different, and I don't feel itchy.  I went to a GP/Herbal practitioner once, and she told me that she definitely thinks the allergy thing and crohn's went hand in hand, and it wasn't just coincidence.


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## prudence-cat

I have chronic sinus problems and NB ANDIGIRL having deviated septum fixed didn't solve the problems.


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## Sunshine Cat

Cold compresses on your neck and the top of your head usally works for me. If you alternate hot and cold compresses it can break up blocked sinuses. I have been suffering from sinus problems for over 20 years and still can't get rid of the problem. I've tried nasal sprays and sinus pills but the relief is only short lived and sometimes they end up working against you. Does anyone else have a treatment that works for them?:ytongue:


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## PeedyWheels

I go on short rounds of steroids, helps get the inflamtion down.


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## Amy

I am on Humira. I have a deviated septum that has had an ulcer on it for so long that it perforated thru yesterday. I feel it's a crohns ulcer! Sick about this!


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## Gypsy

My sinuses have been terrible! Chronic infections and horrible pressure that turns into migraines. My UC flares mildly but concurrently. I never thought about the sinus being related to my UC before. Thanks for this awesome question!


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## ThanksP

I get them bad in the winter.  I make sure to keep a humidifier in my room 24/7 for the season and it really helps.  But I still get bad sinus infections.  Each time I get one, the effected side swells up to the size of a baseball and it causes excrutiating pain.  I've noticed since starting Remicade, the infections are harder to get rid of.  I also learned NEVER to mess around with a small sinus infection right before an infusion.  I thought I had my sinus issue under control, had my Remi infusion, and that night my cheek swelled up.  

I have one right now and the antibiotics and nasal spray isn't working.  It did for the first few days but it's Day 9 and back to being in pain.


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## PeedyWheels

ThanksP said:


> I get them bad in the winter.  I make sure to keep a humidifier in my room 24/7 for the season and it really helps.  But I still get bad sinus infections.  Each time I get one, the effected side swells up to the size of a baseball and it causes excrutiating pain.  I've noticed since starting Remicade, the infections are harder to get rid of.  I also learned NEVER to mess around with a small sinus infection right before an infusion.  I thought I had my sinus issue under control, had my Remi infusion, and that night my cheek swelled up.
> 
> I have one right now and the antibiotics and nasal spray isn't working.  It did for the first few days but it's Day 9 and back to being in pain.



You may have too much moisture in your house/room.  Mold can grow.  I recently went through this in my house, I keep my house and bedroom at least half what the room temp is or lower, which means if my room temp is 70, I dont want the humidity in the room over 30%.  Rinse your sinus a neti pot and even steam your nose over a hot kettle, but that high humidity in your house is not good.  I just had may air quality checked in my house and it was bad because I was doing the same thing.


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## ThanksP

PeedyWheels said:


> You may have too much moisture in your house/room.  Mold can grow.  I recently went through this in my house, I keep my house and bedroom at least half what the room temp is or lower, which means if my room temp is 70, I dont want the humidity in the room over 30%.  Rinse your sinus a neti pot and even steam your nose over a hot kettle, but that high humidity in your house is not good.  I just had may air quality checked in my house and it was bad because I was doing the same thing.


My humidifier is set at 40% which is optimal humidity for a bedroom and it never goes over 40%.  I'm not worried about mold being an issue especially since this year (and others) I got my first sinus infection before I brought out the humidifier for the winter.  Here's a quick link about humidity in your home http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/maintaining-humidity-levels/index.html    and http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/humidifiers-cool-mist-warm-review.html  Low humidity levels can wreak havoc on the sinuses in the winter.

Now, I'd be a fool if I used it in the spring, summer, or fall :thumright:


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## AmandaNG

I have always had moderate sinus problems and would often get sinus infections following colds.  Then, I had a sinus infection for basically 6 straight months after starting Humira.  I went to an ENT (ear, nose, and throat doctor) and had a CT scan, which showed narrow sinus passages and a moderate deviated septum.  My ENT said that my anatomy combined with the Humira was likely causing my sinus issues.  I had sinus surgery last June to repair my septum and open up my sinus passages.  The surgery was pretty painful, but I have not had any sinus problems since.  I was able to re-start the Humira when I flared in November and have not had any sinus infections.


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## jwfoise

I just found this discussion.

I've had sinus problems since I was in my teens (I'm now 53).  Never thought they might be related to my UC.  Interesting....


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## Irene3

So glad I saw this thread. I too have candida issues, and had a couple of sinus infections a couple months back. I never really thought about allergies though, even though my gp said, that hay fever can come with crohns, because of our imune systems. But I never had allergies so I didn't think much of it. Iv been on many lots of prednisone, especially the past year, and I'm finding a simple flu, can be so horrid and hard for my immune system to get over. 
   Weaning steroids the last couple times, bought on so many side effects, that I just thought it's the candida flaring really bad, with some of the shocking headaches. Goes hand in hand with candida steroids and refined sugar (I crave sugar especially when I'm unwell), so I never considered that allergies could be part of the headaches. As is I'm having my eyes looked at this week(Havnt in ages and I know that's bad with crohns), and then Iv got a dentist appointment, but now when I next see my Gp I'll be asking him wether it's worth taking an antihistamine, or have some allergy testing.
   So thanks guys, hope you all get well soon, and thanks for all the info


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## Peanuttt

*definitely!!*

when I was 15 I had so many sinus infections they sent me for a ct scan and the[SPECIAL][/SPECIAL] results came back that I have a huge mucus retention cyst that fill the entire sinus cavity (the one under the eyes top of the cheek!! Since then I get sinus infections a few times a year... its miserable!!


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## Mary:)

Yep bad sinus issues especially after starting Humira.


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## Judith

Yes, my sinuses constantly feel awful too. I take Claritin, Mucinex, Sudafed, Flonase, Ayr, sub-lingual immunotherapy drops, use Neti-Pot and just finished a month worth of Avelox. I have 3 inhalers for my lungs but they actually help my sinuses a bit.  I also get the inside of my nose waxed so there is no hair to hold the allergens. It helps my sinuses quite a bit. The downside is I know the allergens are now going straight into my lungs.....

I constantly get ear infections too. The fluid retained in my ears makes me dizzy and nauseous. Joy. I cannot wait to move back to southern California where there is less pollen.

Has anyone ever had tubes placed in their ears? Did it help? Did you ever have any trouble with your hearing afterwards? Thanks guys.


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## Jessasha

Hi All,
I have had chronic sinus, Allergies, for most of my life, I'm now in my late 30's and I too have gone through a box of tissues a week..for most of my life. Been on injections to desensitize me to the grasses and pollens I reacted to but with no success.. Used Nasonex and vick sinex for years..I thought I was going to burn a hole in my nose with the amount I used. Taken every decongestant, antihistamine on the market... When you live day in, day out without being able to breathe it really affects your quality of life. I too blocked up every time I have a couple of glasses of wine.. mainly Red wine, I have put it down to the preservative 220 and the sulphites. I was put on 40mg Prednisolone when diagnosed in January and the first thing I noticed was my Sinuses cleared up, I can now breathe better than I have in my life. it really is amazing! I can't say if it's related to crohn's but I do know that the Pred certainly healed me in the sinus & Allery department.


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## Gra

*Sinus problems*

Yes, sinus problems since I was in my teens (I'm 64 now) till a friend recommended a particular Chinese herbalist - it took treatment over three years, but I have very few sinus problems now.

Gra


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## mogre

I have had wicked sinus headaches for years.  My allergist, who is also an immunologist, does not connect them with my Crohn's (which is mainly treated by my gastroenterologist) but with being allergic to dust mites and cats.  The cats are non-negotiable for my mental health, so I got the dust mite proof bedding covers and wash my laundry in a product called De-Mite (you can buy it on line) and I am so much better, we never went to plan B, which was desensitization injections against my cat allergy.  I was on inhaled nasal steroid for awhile (QVar) and it stopped the sinus headaches but had to discontinue as it thinned my nasal membranes to where I was getting nosebleeds.  Switched over to the lowest dose of Advair.  Sinus headaches have been a non-issue since the dust mite proofing, regardless of the state of my ileum.  I think having both is just because my immune system is hyper, so I have more than one condition at the same time, not that the sinus issues are part of the Crohn's.


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## BadGut

What a relief...I have had chronic sinus issues for the last 4 years.  I ended up with the infection in my Mastoid bone and had surgery on both ears for it.  I'm still having hearing loss issues and am trying to figure it all out.  My doctor is awesome, he actually has told me there are two other patients JUST LIKE ME, Crohn's and all.  I was shocked by that but now WOW all of you.  I know our Immune systems are to blame and I know that just about all of our medicines say "may cause infection" or "stop if have infection".  Remicade is probably best know for this but what are we to do with out the meds?  No medicine for me and I fall apart...just as Mike referred to I am feeling a little bummed about my Crohn's Flare-up and am ready to be "normal" again...
Ok I feel better!  Now I have been on Antibiotics for 5 months and don't see an end in sight.  But there has to be something to all this...right?
For me the daily sinus rinse has worked wonders, but like some of you I wake up clogged and can't breath.  I also have a rattle to my chest and cough (but chest x-ray clear), and put Bactrim Ointment in my ears & nose daily.  These have helped but not 100%.  Air Purifier helped me in the Texas Air...and my allergies seem to be at bay for now!   

Remicade 2000-2008, Cimzia & Methotrexate now.


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## BadGut

Judith said:


> Yes, my sinuses constantly feel awful too. I take Claritin, Mucinex, Sudafed, Flonase, Ayr, sub-lingual immunotherapy drops, use Neti-Pot and just finished a month worth of Avelox. I have 3 inhalers for my lungs but they actually help my sinuses a bit.  I also get the inside of my nose waxed so there is no hair to hold the allergens. It helps my sinuses quite a bit. The downside is I know the allergens are now going straight into my lungs.....
> 
> I constantly get ear infections too. The fluid retained in my ears makes me dizzy and nauseous. Joy. I cannot wait to move back to southern California where there is less pollen.
> 
> Has anyone ever had tubes placed in their ears? Did it help? Did you ever have any trouble with your hearing afterwards? Thanks guys.


I had the tubes in and they helped A LOT but they are only short term.  Usually the tubes will only stay in about 6 months and after 2 rounds of them my doctor said we had to go to a new plan.  I would recommend trying them!


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