Exercise and sinus congestion

Dorothyk351

Does anyone else have issues with having really bad sinus headaches and congestion after exercise? I have also noticed it completely wipes me out ,makes very tired rest of the day .... any suggestions how to help with this ?

happyhappyjoyjoy10

Hi I sometimes see same issues if I work out my legs hard or total body type workouts. I've been able to reduce getting sick by eating more protein throughout the day like 3x more then I use to . Also taking vitamins regularly including zinc , magnesium and ginseng. I think my body was getting sick in Pat cause I wasn't feeding it the right things...so now I eat good proteins and good carbs every 2 hours...I just want eating enough of the right things before. Haven't been sick in 3 years now. Hope this helps

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Dorothyk351 wrote: »

Does anyone else have issues with having really bad sinus headaches and congestion after exercise? I have also noticed it completely wipes me out ,makes very tired rest of the day .... any suggestions how to help with this ?

I find exercise helps mine. sounds like exercise induced rhinitis(but could be anything). which I do get except my nose runs instead of getting congested. talk to your doctor,he /she may be able to diagnose you and possibly find you something to take before/after exercise to prevent this.if it is EIR you will probably be given a nasal spray with a steroid in it(not to be confused with the "bad" steroids lol),or some kind of medication to reduce the inflammation and swelling.I have to use one every day(twice a day) to prevent being stuffed up,I also take magnesium and zinc but not for that reason. I dont see a difference in my sinus issues whether I take these supplements or not. I take them for other issues and meds I take rob my body of these vitamins.

Dorothyk351

Thank you for the advice ,I will definitely try the suggestions.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Dorothyk351 wrote: »

Thank you for the advice ,I will definitely try the suggestions.

dont take any supplements unless deficient in them or you take meds that deplete your body of them. also with meds dont take anything unless a dr says you have EIR, like I said it could be anything causing your issues, its best to see a dr to make sure you are properly diagnosed.

darbunk

I have sinus issues that can get worse during/ after exercise. I was using an over-the-counter steriod spray but my doctor said overusing steroid sprays can cause them to lose their efficacy. She suspected I had issues with post-nasal drip, causing me to have to constantly clear my throat when I run. She prescribed me ipratropium bromide. It really dried my sinuses (almost too much at first) but I'm used to it now and use it only when I am going to exercise (about 2 hours before).

Hope this is helpful info.

lorrpb

How long has this been happening? A few days or several months?

CMNVA

When the weather got cold here and I ran, I started to get sinus headaches. Seems to hit me at 40 degrees and below. It was pretty bad. I ran this weekend (it was over 50) and no issues. So for me there's something with the cold.

amarneu

I have sinus issues and would usually end up with a sinus migraine a few times a week. Prescription nasal sprays would help at the time, but seemed to just make things worse. Cutting out dairy helped significantly and then reducing other foods that lead to inflammation - sugar, grains etc. I would suggest doing an elimination to see if your body reacts more to one type of food than another, I found the whole 30 program to be helpful for me even after I had already cut out dairy

143tobe

I had chronic sinusitis for 2 years before finally going to an ENT doctor last year. It always started in fall and lasted until l late spring/early summer. (but I could always feel 'something' there. He prescribed a steroid spray which I was to use until empty (about 5 or 6 weeks). He did allergy testing and determined my problems might have been allergy induced, but by the time I was done with the round of treatment, it was summer so difficult to know how things would be when once again the weather turned. Well, I survived the winter. I did have a prescribed bottle of spray that I was to use at the onset of any nasal congestion. I only needed to use it for a few consecutive days this whole winter. The thing that changed the most over this past year was that I took daily vitamin and mineral supplements (after labs came back that I was deficient) and I took a daily probiotic. My overall health this year was awesome. My husband and sons didn't take vitamin and mineral supplements, but they did add a daily probiotic. They went from catching every little bug to rarely being sick. I always knew that probiotics are supposed to be good for you, but only recently in retrospect started to actually believe that they actually do help. So my advice would be definitely see your doctor, and either start taking a probiotic, or start doing some research about probiotics and gut health. I had no idea our digestive system had so much to do with our immune system and the rest of our bodies. You can also do a search on probiotics and sinusitus, I just googled a little while ago and found some interesting articles on the subject.

**edited to add, the 2 years when I was having my sinus issues, working out was almost impossible as any movement of my head caused horrible pressure and I was just miserable. The fact that I can actually breath out both sides of my nostrils at the same time (and deeply!) is actually pretty amazing.

***Also wanted to mention...even before my 2 year CS problem, my husband and I used a Netti Pot a few times a year. I just now realized that neither of us have needed to use one a single time this past year. Whether that is due to our consumption of probiotics, I truly cannot say, but that is the only thing that we both have changed this past year.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

amarneu wrote: »

I have sinus issues and would usually end up with a sinus migraine a few times a week. Prescription nasal sprays would help at the time, but seemed to just make things worse. Cutting out dairy helped significantly and then reducing other foods that lead to inflammation - sugar, grains etc. I would suggest doing an elimination to see if your body reacts more to one type of food than another, I found the whole 30 program to be helpful for me even after I had already cut out dairy

sounds like you had allergies or intolerances to those things causing your issues,. I still say seeing a dr or ENT would be best to rule anything out. If she has nasal allergies it could be the exercise causing a flare up because increased blood flow, if she doesnt have allergies normally then it could be something else. and what causes inflammation for some will not be the cause for others. Myself,I have no issues with grains,dairy or sugars and I have RA and other health issues.I dont have any more inflammation eating these things than not eating these things,as for the whole 30,it usually takes more than 30 days to figure out if you are allergic to any one food/ group. you have to eliminate it for awhile,gradually add it back in and then see where you are. allergy testing can do the same thing.you can have allergies or intolerances to certain foods. as a person who is allergic to just about everything(except food),ruling out these things is sometimes a long drawn out process