Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you're reading this review, I have to assume you are going through some similar trials and tribulations with chronic sinus problems. If not, you may wish to skip the graphic detail in this review. (It's necessary to share the severity of the problem I have had in order to describe the benefit this product has begun to impart.) About two decades ago I suffered from chronic sinus/tonsillitis infections. I went on so many courses of antibiotics by the time I entered college that I lost access to just about every antibiotic a doctor could prescribe thanks to dangerous outbreaks of hives. Early on, I kept being misdiagnosed with allergic rhinitis and even went though two years of allergy shots, which did not relieve my symptoms (of which horrible fatigue was a daily reality). It wasn’t until I narrowly missed a traffic accident thanks to peripheral vision loss that I underwent vision tests and an MRI that showed my sinus infection was so severe that the inflammation had impinged my optic nerve (a rare complication of chronic sinus infection). As I have gotten older, problems have crept back up on me despite undergoing two sinus surgeries some 20 years ago. I controlled symptoms successfully for about five years with a Neti pot, but if I skipped a single day's use, I would develop the tale-tale infection symptoms. After I moved to a dry climate, nothing was doing any good anymore. I invested in a whole-house humidifier which at least gave me relief from the 24/7 headaches. But the infection continued to worsen. Finally, I saw an ENT (ear/nose/throat specialist). He ordered a CT scan but was convinced, based on the initial consultation, that I was having allergy symptoms. He told me to use Nasonex, which like the Flonase I had used in the past, ultimately made things worse. (I suspect my infection at this juncture is not bacterial but fungal, for which steroid nasal sprays are akin to piling logs on a fire.) Nonetheless, I was desperate for relief and complied against my better judgment with his Nasonex suggestion. It wasn't until a year later, when I could not longer tolerate the formation of blood clots in my nose, that I obtained a copy of the CT he had ordered. I learned the hard way that it is important to read (request) your own test results as a patient because there are things that can be missed, otherwise. The radiologist very plainly stated I had "sinus disease" but the ENT never told me! This experience suggested that some 20 years later, ENTs don't really have anything new in their tool chest to offer chronic sinus infection suffers. If anything, they have less to offer those of us with sinus disease because they are not as apt to prescribe antibiotics and, even though studies have shown that many sinus infections are fungal in origin, they are reluctant to treat for that too. Why? Because anti-fungal drugs are incredibly hard on the liver and can't be given for any length of time without close monitoring (blood tests), whereas antibiotic resistance is so feared by physicians that, in the words of one doctor I saw, "We don't even prescribe antibiotics for sinus infection anymore except for patients who have a fever." Long story short, I knew I needed another answer — and I was on my own to find it. Having nothing to lose, I purchased this product. While it doesn't immediately unblock a stuffy nose — it is not a nasal decongestant — the results have improved with each passing day of successive use. My guess is that if you suffer seasonal allergies you may not notice a significant improvement — antihistamines will probably be more helpful, in that case — whereas if you have an infection, this product is going to make a difference if you stick with it on a daily basis. Within a week, I can breath better than I could with nasal steroids. Why? Because my nose is no longer being blocked by scabs that were attempting to form around the inflamed tissue. It's too early to tell if this is really a "cure" vs. providing symptomatic relief. Still, this is a godsend in a bottle. Although I am a regular vitamin/supplement buyer, I had never heard of this product and did not stumble across it until I began searching for an alternative to saline nasal sprays here on Amazon. Doctors are understandably reluctant to prescribe antibiotics or antifungals for sinus infections, which are notoriously hard to treat. But rather than ignoring such patients — allowing their quality of life to deteriorate — they should at least be willing to tell their patients about this product. I would encourage anyone who has an experience similar to mine to bring this product to their doctor and suggest that they pass on the word. What I would have given to know that there was something I could do other than saline and suffering!