Do you or does a child of yours suffer from chronic ear infections? Ear fullness? Hearing loss? Sinus congestion? Are you looking for an alternative treatment other than allergy shots, steroid nasal sprays, allergy medication, antibiotics?
Chronically clogged ears is not only annoying but can be a cause of hearing loss, can lead to frequent antibiotic use, surgeries to help drain the ears or clean out the sinuses, as well as decline in school performance and/or diagnoses of attention deficit disorder (ADD) or learning disabilities. Standard treatments are allergy medications, surgeries, hearing aides, medications like Ritalin or Adderall for subsequent diagnoses like ADD that can actually stem from the hearing loss or chronic sinus congestion.
I’ve seen this in my practice time and time again where a child is diagnosed with ADD and it is recommended for the child to be put on stimulant medications because of their poor school performance and lack of concentration. When I see these patients in my clinic they are chronically congested, mouth breathers, and not sleeping well. These patients, adults and kids, have symptoms of anxiety and complain of brain fog. They have had many rounds of antibiotics, are on allergy medications or shots, have had tympanostomy tubes or sinus surgery, are on medications for sleep, anxiety, and/or focus but none of it seems to be working fully. So, what can be done for patient’s like this?
FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO SINUS CONGESTION
In functional medicine our aim is to address the cause of the symptoms or diagnosis. Not simply put a band aide or medication/procedure on top of it. Why? Because if we address the cause we get long term relief…So what does the functional approach include?
DIET EVALUATION: The foods we eat can cause sinus pain, pressure, and congestion. Our diet recommendations are based on patient history and symptoms at the time of the evaluation but foods like dairy and sugar are common culprits. Also eliminating processed and other inflammatory foods is important. With kids this can be challenging as sometimes they are picky eater and we do not want to be too diet restrictive in childhood.
ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION: A thorough discussion of past and present exposures that could be activating the immune system is a big part of the functional medicine evaluation. Certain toxins like mold and mycotoxins are commonly colonized in the sinuses leading to chronic allergy symptoms and mucous production. As well as looking at other factors like infections, pesticides, and other chemicals that can impair or activate immune responses.
STRESS EVALUATION: Making modifications for external stressors is very important. Stress short term is beneficial but long term stress breaks tissues down and leads to immune system impairment which allows for foreign invasion by bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
SLEEP EVALUATION: Sleep is the time when the janitors come and clean out the brain from the exposures and inflammation during the day. If we are not getting adequate sleep our anxiety and stress increases which causes us not to sleep – it’s a vicous cycle. Inadequate sleep leads to a build up in inflammation in the brain which can activate immune responses in the brain causing brain fog and the inability to concentrate.
MOVEMENT EVALUATION: It is imperative to move daily. Movement causes lymphatic cleansing and sweating is a great form of detoxification lowering the toxic load. Daily movement is also a stress reliever.
DEVELOPING A PERSONALIZED TREATMENT APPROACH
After we thoroughly evaluate and identify what are the causes of the sinus congestion we can move onto developing a personalized treatment approach that includes a diet, stress management, sleep and exercise prescription as well as utilizing botanical, neutraceutical and sometimes pharmaceutical treatments that address the cause of the symptoms.
WHAT CAUSES CHRONIC SINUS CONGESTION?
Gut dysfunction and toxic or infectious exposures/overloads. The gut houses the majority of our immune system which is regulated by our bacterial balance. Any stimulation in the gut from fungus, parasites, viruses, bacteria, or toxins can disrupt our immune functioning. Throw it into overdrive. This is where mistakes are made – foreign invaders are allowed to thrive and take up residence and pathogenic bacteria are allowed to grow. This leads to systemic inflammation and the development of symptoms and chronic disease.
Step 1: Identify the triggers
Step 2: Treat the triggers
Sounds simple right? Well, its a complicated process because the body needs to feel safe to effectively eliminate infections and toxins. When the body is burden by infections and toxins it is constantly in fight or flight mode and internally running for safety. This process needs to be done a step wise approach priming the body for detoxification and the “fight” that is to come as to not overload the system leading to a worsening of the condition.
If you or someone you know suffers from chronic sinus congestion and would benefit from a long term solution schedule a FREE consult today 🙂
