Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ali.eppy]

hi.
this is the second winter in which i am in korea and suffering from severe sinusitis. quite frankly it is too much to bear. last year, the doctors here had me on a rediculous cocktail of meds which included (but was not limited to) antibiotics, steriods, decongestants with pseudoephs, pain killers, inhalers, and vasodeconstrictors. despite all of that, it still took two plus months to get rid of the hellish sinus infection.
i would very much rather submit myself to ingesting such an absurd mix of drugs again... honestly, the may alleviate the symptoms but only temporarily....
i feel like crap.
does anyone else suffer from such severe sinusitis here and what do you do?????????

also... where can i find a neti pot. i will try asking in the pharmacy tomorrow... but at this point i'm desperate.

the thought of putting up with this for another month makes me want to buy a plane ticket back to texas right this minute.

in severe pain and frustration,
a

[keseki]

yup, i had a crazy sinus infection for like 6 weeks in november/december. i even had all this liquid collecting in my inner ear. i had to go to the ENT every day to get it drained via a needle in my ear. fun fun times!

anyway, if you cant find a neti pot, just go to the pharmacy and get a massive syringe and some salt water. the syringe has this 'nasal attachement' on the end to make it fit nice and snug in your nose. just use one of those a few times a day with a humidifier and that's all you can do really.

have you had xrays done? you may have a deviated septum which is making things worse...

[Straphanger]

Make friends with a Canadian and get yourself some Buckley's Mixture (yuckley's). Get the original - there's no medicine in it. It's menthol and camphor.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31m4HPZsmLL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

Available from fine retailers in the US and Canada. I'm American, and I haven't spent a winter without it since I was 19 getting hammered in the bars in Huntsville.

[MissT]

[intl girl of mystery]

I had the same thing for about two months, but frankly it was never miserable enough for me to consider using one of those =p

[dr. love]

We have an excellent Oriental Medicine ENT specialist at our hospital who has a 4 week treatment program for sinusitis.

It requires some changes in your diet, a herbal medicine program, and weekly acupuncture and moxibustion treatments. It is very effective.

We are located in South Eastern Seoul at Godeok St. (line 5)

call 02-440-7304 for appointments (Dr. Sengeun Lee, ENT Center)

[Jane]

I think I saw neti pots at the Body Shop, but not one hundred percent sure.

I am pretty sure, however, that they sell them on Gmarket.

[Yesterday]

[Lost]

I just got out of the hospital after having all 8 of my sinuses cleaned out (to put it nicely/ wasn't pretty). To be honest.....I had great care.....better than in Canada......I had the same surgery 8 years ago in university, so I know.

The hospital suggested the syringe or an enema syringe and irrigate your sinuses with saline solution twice a day .

In regards to the the Oriental Medicine..........I had allergies tests done only weeks ago.........funny thing was that I found out that I am VERY allergic to MUGWORT. I also found out that they love this stuff in oriental medicine. Something to be aware of.......I thought it was some magic potion etc, from Harry Potter.....but its a common flower here which they use in medicine and cooking.

[jkelly80]

Bump. Anybody seen one recently?

[seouldivah]

OP, go to an ENT at a big hospital. The ENT will know some English or enough to understand. I usually have sinus infections twice a year that last two - three months- so yeah, I am sinus sick 4-6 months out 12. INSIST on a FULL course of antibiotics and FINISH THEM, dont allow the ENT to give you a three day course and then tell you to come back if you are feeling ill. Also try the nasal saline solutions that are available over the counter at the pharmacy. Use hot compresses on your face to ease the pain and fluid build up. Hope you feel on top of the world again soon!

[seouldivah]

**REPEAT POST** APOLOGIES!!!

[grnmle]

Feel your pain. I am just getting over a sinus infection; first I have ever had.

I am not really sure why it was so bad. The doctor told me it could have been environmental. Now I am concerned about things like mold (there was some on my windows), yellow dust (nothing can be done about that) and the air in my school (I don't know how clean the heating/air conditioning ducts are in my building).

Pain in the ass. Try anti histamines.

[SeoulMan6]

I too have suffered from sinusitus. At the pharmacy, they used to give me stuff that didn't work. Finally, I started asking for (and checking the box before I left) for pseudoephedrine 수도에페드린. Allegra is a good one that has pseudoephedrine. It's good stuff.

Secondly, running a humidifier 가습기 in your apartment 24-7 helps. They're not too expensive and definitely worth it.

[healed]

Nasal drainage with the neti poti or syringe (hey I even pour it in with a tiny cup sometimes), is very effective. But on the Oriental clinic note, I received several acupuncture treatments last year for springtime allergies and they really worked. I'd definitely recommend going that route.

Look at the site, Earthclinic.com, for more information on natural treatments. (Hydrogen peroxide is great in the ears and nasal passages too.)