Treating Nasal Congestion and Sinus Pressure

Nasal congestion and sinus pressure have many causes: colds, flu, allergies, and sinus problems, to name a few. Whatever’s triggering them, the symptoms can be a pain -- literally.

These tips may help make congestion and sinus pressure a bit more bearable -- and help you breathe a little easier.

Nasal Congestion and Sinus Pressure: Home Treatments

What’s actually causing that stuffed up feeling? When you’ve got a cold or allergies, the membranes lining your nasal passages become inflamed and irritated. They begin to produce excess mucus as a way of flushing out whatever is causing the irritation, such as an allergen.

When you’re stuffed up, you need to focus on keeping your nasal passages and sinuses moist. Although people sometimes think that dry air might help clear up a relentlessly runny nose, it actually has the opposite effect. Drying out the membranes will irritate them further.

So to keep your nasal passages moist, you can:

• Use a humidifier or vaporizer.
• Take long showers or -- very carefully -- breathe in steam from a pot on the stove. 
• Drink lots of fluids, which will thin out your mucus and may help prevent your sinuses from getting blocked up. 
• Use a nasal saline spray – simple unmedicated salt water – to help prevent your nasal passages from drying out. 

To further ease your nasal congestion and sinus pressure, here are some other things you can try at home.

• Irrigate. It may seem odd, but the time-honored technique of flushing out nasal passages with salt water has some good scientific evidence behind it. The water washes out mucus and other debris – including allergens or germs – while keeping your nasal passages moist. There are many different approaches. You could just use a syringe, a neti pot, or one of the more elaborate and expensive nasal irrigators available in stores. Use distilled, sterile or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.
• Use warm compresses on your face. Sitting with a warm, wet towel on your face may relieve discomfort and open your nasal passages.
• Prop yourself up. At night, lie on a couple of pillows. Keeping your head elevated may make breathing more comfortable. 
• Avoid chlorinated pools. Although you might think the moisture will help, the chlorine in pools can irritate the mucous membranes in your nasal passages.

Nasal Congestion and Sinus Pressure: OTC Medicines

Over-the-counter drugs can also play a role in controlling your symptoms. 

• Decongestants. These medicines may help reduce the swelling in your nasal passages and ease the stuffiness and sinus pressure. They come as nasal sprays, like naphazoline (Privine), oxymetazoline (Afrin, Dristan, Duramist), or phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine, Sinex, Rhinall). They are also available as pills, such as phenylephrine (Lusonal, Sudafed PE, Sudogest PE, and others) and pseudoephedrine ( Sudafed, Sudogest). Follow the directions for using them correctly and safely. Don’t use an oral decongestant for more than a week without checking with your doctor. Don’t use a decongestant nasal spray for more than three consecutive days as it may cause worsening congestion. Do not give decongestants to children under 4.
• Antihistamines and other allergy medicines. If allergies are behind your nasal congestion and sinus pressure, controlling them will help reduce your symptoms. Look for allergy medications that contain both an antihistamine to help relieve sniffling and sneezing along with a decongestant to help relieve congestion and sinus pressure. Again, read and follow the label and talk to a health care provider or pharmacist. Also, in children, you should always use products intended for their age.
• Pain relievers. Although they’re not helpful for nasal stuffiness, pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen sodium (Aleve) can help ease the pain caused by sinus pressure. When taking any over-the-counter medication, be sure to read and follow the label closely and not to take more than the recommended dose.

Nasal Congestion and Sinus Pressure: Seeing Your Doctor

Although there’s a lot you can do to ease your nasal congestion and sinus pressure, there are limits to what you should do on your own.

A rule of thumb: if you have nasal congestion and sinus pressure for more than seven days, you should see your doctor. By that point, the odds are higher that you could be dealing with a condition that needs medical treatment. Obviously, go to the doctor sooner if your symptoms are severe.

Keep in mind that the tips above will still help relieve your symptoms, no matter what the cause. It’s just that they may need to be accompanied by other medications or treatments to help control the underlying problem.