More and more Australians are struggling with the sniffles during the winter months. But it’s not just the flu season to blame - cold, dry air is also irritating the inside of our noses. So, what’s the best way to clear our sinuses and breathe easier this winter?
Well, if the days get increasingly colder, more and more Assie is staging with the sniffles.
And it's not just because the flu season. Cold dry air irritates the inside of our noses, which then causes it to run. So what's the best way to clear our sinuses and breathe easy this winter? Here with all of the answers is sunrise at GP Doctor ginny Mansburg. Great to have you with us. So, first, nasal sprays, how do they work? How should we be using them?
I really rate these things.
There are different ones, so I kind of broadly stick them into three buckets. You've kind of got your nasal rinses. They tend to be saline, good for preventing inflammation of the nose. If it's a hy pollen count day or there's a lot of pollution, then you've got your decongestents. Also, when you've got a cold and your nose is blocked, there are things like oxymetazoline. You know you've seen those five days, use only no more after that, and then you've got your anti inflamma. Treats often have a bit of steroid in them. All of these are over the counter.
How you use it is super important because a lot of people just shove them up their nose.
It hits the back of your throat, you'll either swallow it your stomach doesn't need it, or you'll inhale it into your lungs. Again, some people, if you've got asthma, might help, But what we're trying to do is keep the stuff in your nose. So it is really important to kind of think of I dream of Genie. Cross your arms and actually use your right hand to put it into your left nostril, gone in that way, and your left hand to put directed into your right nostril. Lean slightly forward, and actually make sure it's staying in your nose.
So point towards your ear.
Yeah, so it goes at the side of your side, I don't know, not at the back, and not towards the septum in the middle.
Yeah.
Really, Okay, I think I've been because I do this. So if you're a hay favorite sufferer, you do these a lot, So we need to watch out.
What about inhalers, Yeah, you know, like kind of the vic stick or something like that.
A lot of people really rate these and like them. I don't think there's any medical evidence for them.
If you like them and you like the smell of Vix, or you enjoy eucalypse soil, feel free to go for it.
Ye, dissing Vix's brought us.
I know, I know, and I have a lot of sentimental attachment to them, But I don't think from a medical perspective you need them.
I think it's a comforting thing too. As a kid, remember your grandma would put the Vicks vapor ub on your chest unless.
You had exma and then oh yeah.
See that's a problem too. Well, that's a whole other segment. So these products, I mean over the counter versus prescription, what do I tell you?
Ninety nine percent of us are fine with the over the counter stuff.
There's a few people who've got.
Like chronic sinus infections, and probably under the care of an inanos and throat surgeon, they probably need the prescription stuff.
For the rest of us, what you get over the counter is great.
Okay, So how long should you be just soldiering on yourself without going to the doctor, And how then, when should you go the doctor when it's a really bad could look.
If it's just a cold, then we've got five days of a decongestant only, And the reason we say don't use it more than five days is after that you can cause more irritation. You can end up with a bigger problem than you have started within the beginning. So we only want to use that for five days and you're fine. I think that if you suspect that you've got a sinus infection, if you're worried that it might involve your teeth, some people really feel it in their teeth.
If you're worried that.
There might be something else going on, it is always worth going to a doctor. But if you want to chat to your pharmacist as well. You know, if you can't get into the doctor for another six weeks, have a chat to your pharmacist.
It's really interesting.
Yeah, sometimes you feel it in your jaw and Ginny, thank you, thank you,