CHRONIC SINUSITIS AND THE GUT
If you suffer from chronic sinusitis, you know it can make life very unpleasant - and not only your life, but also that of your spouse or partner. Why? Because you probably snore and are keeping awake, or waking up, your partner throughout the night. This can make for a very grouchy bedfellow. Then there’s the reliance on prescription medications and nasal sprays that, over the long term, stress your liver and do not really solve the underlying problem.
In fact over 90% of chronic sinusitis cases are NOT the result of bacterial infections!
Well then, what is the cause? Gastrointestinal inflammation! - particularly yeast overgrowth or intolerance. Not everyone with a yeast problem has overgrowth. Some merely have a stronger reaction to systemic yeast than others. In either case it’s a good idea to inhibit the growth of excess yeast in one’s gut. Some other symptoms of yeast overgrowth are: skin rashes, itching, allergies, headaches, gas, and muscular aches and pains.
The other problem with yeast is that it can form unwanted biofilms. Biofilms are microbial slime that develop in the body to protect the bacteria and fungi that are already present. There are good and bad biofilms. We like the bifidobacterial and lactobacillus biofilms. We do NOT like the candida (yeast) biofilms! They are very difficult for one’s body to fight off, and broad spectrum antibiotics can’t touch them, at least not significantly; thus the chronicity.
So what does one do?! As I’ve already mentioned, it’s back to the gut. We need to break through the harmful biofilms with specific enzymes and chelators (serratia peptidase, EDTA), kill the fungus and/or bacteria with strong antifungals and antimicrobials (oil of oregano, berberine…), re-seed the gut with appropriate prebiotics and probiotics (inulin, FOS, s. boulardi, bifidobacterium…), and alter our diets (eliminate or seriously limit sugars and starches) to starve the yeast.
The protocol usually takes about 3 months. But as I say to my patients, 3 months will go by whether you do the protocol or not. The difference is that after 3 months on the protocol you should feel a whole lot better: without following the protocol, same old, same old.