If you have sinus problems, you know the physical misery that they can cause. In some cases they can also cause bad breath, which has many social ramifications - rejection, isolation, etc.

What's the first thing the average doctor reaches for when you or your child shows up complaining about a stuffy nose or sinuses problems?

It's probably a "Z-Pack" (Zythromax) or some other antibiotic. That choice just might be a huge mistake. It could ensure that the stuffy nose will become a chronic and worsening condition.

I've seen this happen time and again. I used to work in a doctor's office. I can't tell you how many people came back over and over again with stuffy noses and were given refills on antibiotics to take care of it.

Well now, researchers have realized sinus infections are most often caused not by bacteria, but by fungi. According to the Ear, Nose and Throat Deptartment at the Mayo Clinic, "most chronic sinus infections may be caused by an immune system response to fungi."

The Mayo Clinic's belated opinion is welcome news to the natural medicine community. The fungal/yeast connection to sinus infections has been argued by holistic health practitioners for decades.

Fungi are quite different from bacteria. So it's undestandable that treating fungal infections as if they were bacterial infections is going to be ineffective. But worse than that -- it can promote the growth of the fungi or yeast!

So here is the kicker. When bacteria is killed, it often allows various fungi in our body to grow more freely! This means that antibiotics could actually help fungal infections in our noses to grow!

Many doctors probably want to avoid dispensing antifungal drugs because their side effects can be rather potent and often ineffective.
For instance, fungal toenail infections usually require six months of constant treatment, only to see the fungal infection return soon after.

Besides, until now, medical schools have taught that fungi were not the cause of sinus infections. Another common approach for stuffy noses is to prescribe anti-histamines such as Clarinex.

Plus, doctors are often slow to change their prescribing habits. So many will probably continue to prescribe treatments that unwittingly increases the doctor's repeat business.

Once again, if your sinus infection is fungal or yeast related, anti-histamines would be an improper treatment. This might help to explain why so many of the treatments prescribed for sinus problems -that are incorrectly assumed to be allergies - have such poor track records as a treatment.

Fungi and yeast grow when there is favorable 'fertile ground' for the noxious creatures to grow. By keeping your sinus passages clean of the 'fertile ground,' the fungi and yeast are better controlled.

I treat my own sinus problems with a natural aromatherapy recipe that washes out the fertile ground without burning or further inflaming my sinus paassages. It seems to reduce or eliminate the inflammation, too. For instance, I haven't had a sinus headache in several years. A few sprays twice a day does the trick.

Many fungal and yeast infections are believed to start in the digestive tract. There are herbs such as pau d'arco and other natural substances that have been clinically shown to quell fungi and yeast without the risks associated with anti-fungal drugs.

The bottom line might be this: if you want to avoid chronic sinus infections, you must avoid antibiotics!

If you don't -- expect your sinus problems - and your children's - to return and to get worse.





Kelley Eidem is the author of "The Doctor Who Cures Cancer" and his new eBook, "It's Not Just For Sex." (http://www.itsnotjustforsex.com) His SinusClear recipe is available at: http://user10491.websitewizard.com/ModShow/ShowPage/97362/