Q: I went to the doctor today and he told me that I have a sinus infection. He prescribed Antibiotics, Clarinase, Otrivin nose drops and Nasonex. He said the Otrivin and Clarinase will drain out the sinus since it will be hard to treat the infection with the anti-biotics if they aren’t drained. I don’t want to take the medication but I need to get rid of this infection.

I have been doing the sinus wash but I find that my right nostril is blocked most of the time. Sometimes when I blow my nose, it seems to be stuck and doesn’t come out. At times the mucus is clear and other times, bright yellow. This is two weeks now that I have been dealing with this. Not sure if mucinex is sold here in my country. I did increase my vitamin uptake.

What else can I do?
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A: You can flush your sinuses with nasal washes (neti pots, big syringe things, etc. – check your local pharmacy). Basically, you use warm salt water to clean out your sinuses. You can brew some garlic tea to use as well – this can be somewhat harsh.

That said – I find this helps me at the beginning of a sinus problem and at the end but in the middle it doesn’t do much for me since my front sinuses are not the problem – it’s always my back/middle sinuses that clog up and the washes do nothing for them (for me anyway).

Increase zinc, Vit. D and Vit. C to help your body fight off the infection.

Doctors usually prescribe antihistamines. They work but they are immuno-supressents – so, essentially, while they make the reaction go away, they supress your natural immune system. This doesn’t help in the long run.

When I have a sinus problem I boost my vitamins, use the nasal wash and take Musinex. The Musinex helps the sinuses to drain and that helps get the infection out (and also helps prevent infection in the first place).

Now, if you are miserable (and you probably are since you went to the Dr.) then you might want to go ahead and use the medications to get yourself well – medication does work many times. Just try to avoid taking it long term since it is likely that you don’t need it long term. If you take the antibiotics then be sure to get a good probiotic to counteract the impact on your gut.

Next time – when you feel something coming on, use the nasal wash, boost the vitamins and take musinex. That seems to work for me.

Q:
you say to eat two meals a day because your body needs time to digest so i am assuming you mean breakfast and dinner since skipping lunch would give time for the body to digest and sleeping would give the body time to digest dinner.

or does it matter? can i skip breakfast and eat lunch and dinner or just breakfast and lunch. i’m just curious to hear your thoughts on this. i have also read a book called the Warrior Diet which i find very interesting because it advocates eating very small amounts throughout the day and having one big meal at night. i actually followed it for about a week and i feel pretty good but at the same time i do not think it is practical to stay on it for too long.

A:
It’s fine to eat three meals a day. Two-three is ideal. I tend only to eat two meals a day because I am just not hungry enough to eat more than that. If you do choose only to eat two meals, it is up to you if you want to eat breakfast and dinner or lunch and dinner. I usually eat around 9:30-10am and again around 5:30-6pm.

The key is to eat enough at one meal so that you aren’t snacking between meals. It’s good that the digestive system has time to do its job and then to rest in between. If you eat 5-6 meals a day, there is no time for it to rest.

This is an excerpt from one article:
Snacking & Eating More than 3 Meals Per Day

Your body only needs 3 square meals per day, and some people do better only eating 2 meals per day. Snacking between meals or eating more often is not healthy.

Your body needs the time between meals to digest, absorb and utilize the nutrients without having its energies directed towards digesting more food. If you eat enough food at mealtime, two to three times a day, it will sustain you until the next meal.

Here’s a question I’ve received from a reader:
Q: Since Vitamin D isn’t even a vitamin and acts as a steroid hormone in the body ( much like prednisone ), wouldn’t that mean it suppresses the immune system instead of boosting it?
The reason I ask is, I met someone who had terrible psoriasis and had been put on every med imaginable for the condition. This went on for years and it never got better….until she met a functional medicine doctor who told her to stop ingesting vitamin D and stay out of the sun. Then like magic, the psoriasis started to disappear. This doctor told her the Vitamin D was suppressing her immune system and not allowing it to fight off a bacteria in her system.
I thought psoriasis was caused by an overactive immune system, but if vitamin D was suppressing it, why did the psoriasis clear up when she lowered her D levels in her body?

A: Psoriasis and all other kinds of skin diseases, eruptions, moles, etc. are caused by toxins coming out through the skin, which is one of the body’s best ways to detoxify since it protects vital inner organs. “True” vitamin D from fish liver oils and foods helps the body’s entire detoxification processes, working along with other nutrients and “good” fats I recommend – no nutrients work in isolation of many others. In fact many readers have cured all kinds of skin problems using our program, including getting rid of skin tags, rashes, rosacea, moles, psoriasis, etc.