I don't know what's in the water at the beach this season, maybe from the Red Tide or whatever, but does anyone know why the water is causing so much congestion? After every surf this season I'm stuffed up for days. Trying to understand why, or if anyone has any ideas how to help it.
Rinse sinuses twice after surfing. Was getting an infection almost everytime I did not rinse, but now I do it every single time and no problems. Also, the water in SF is not very clean and even though the heavy currents move water away there is still some nastiness out there on any given day.
I've always had troubles with this. I flush with a neti pot as soon as I can after a session and that usually seems to do the trick for me. Later on, if I do notice a sinus starting to shut down I hit it with some afrin-type nasal spray. One dose is enough if I catch it quick. Do not go to sleep with a sinus shutting down. That seems to lead to an instant sinus infection for me come the morning.
I have the red tide allergy. I didn't get until about 10-12 years ago (early 30's). I don't think the conditions changed, I think my body is now sensitive to it. Sneezing fits, sinus blockage and then after I sleep, asthma. I had to get an asthma inhaler starting about 10 years ago. Sucks
It does not happen when the water is colder, no red tide.
Long one:
I'm stuffed up too (pretty bad today, actually). The problem is commonly known as 'Surf Sinusitis'. Good thread on it here - http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=990017&an=0&p...
I've suffered on & off with Surf Sinusitis for a while. My understanding is that water enters the frontal sinuses (see Burro's excellent picture above - they are the sinsuses above the eyebrows). Surf sinusitis happens when sea water rushes into your nose at sufficiently high pressure to enter the frontal sinuses (like when doing a faceplant).
Depending on the person's anatomy - the water may drain immediately, it may drain hours later, or it may just sit there - for a day, several days, even weeks. Those with poor drainage obviously suffer most. As the junk in the water remains in your sinuses, it leads to chronic sinusitis - causing colds, bacterial infections and the maddening feeling of constant pressure / congestion.
Possible solutions I've run across are listed below (feel free to add your own):
1. Bend over - only works if your drainage is good. Bend over forward until you are looking at your knees. Let the water collect in the nose, then stand upright again (if drainage is good, the water should come rushing out).
2. Lay head on its side - the frontal sinuses drain best when the head is resting horizontally. Again, only works if drainage is good.
3. Vacuum Technique - I read this off a medical message board. Supposedly if you lay on your side, hold your nose and continue to swallow, it creates a vacuum inside your parasinus area. Personally, I've had limited success with this one.
4. Push-ups - discovered this by accident. This works sometimes (but not for bad cases). Do push ups until you feel a good amount of pressure in your nose. Then lay flat on your stomach with your head sideways on the floor (cheek to the floor). Try it a few times.
5. Neti-pots / Nasal rinses - unfortunately, these only work if drainage is good . The central problem is that gravity just doesn't create enough pressure to penetrate the frontal sinuses (at least in my experience).
6. Squeeze Bottle Neti-Pots - haven't tried this yet, but may be more successful. With squeeze bottle neti-pots you may be able to create enough pressure (manually) to penetrate the frontal sinuses.
7. SinuPluse Elite Advanced System Irrigation System - haven't tried this yet either, but for someone with poor drainage, this may be the only non-surgical solution. Supposedly this creates enough pressure to penetrate the frontal sinuses and it actually works. If anyone tries this, please let me know how it goes. See - http://www.amazon.com/SinuPulse-Elite-Advanced-Irrigation-System/dp/B001...
8. Over-the-counter Cold/Allergy Medicine - Benadryl type OTC medicine may help by reducing sinus swelling which hampers drainage. Sometimes I take this before going to bed. Personally I'm not sure whether it helps.
9. Nose plugs - obviously, the advantage here is avoiding these issues in the first place.
10. Endoscopic Sinus Surgery - the end of the line. What you have to do when nothing else works.
PS - I am an attorney, not an ear, nose & throat (ENT) doctor. I have no medical training whatsoever. So I do not recommend any of the above. I only speak from my personal experience. Please consult your ENT.
I have sinusitis. I've had it for along time. Most of the time, surfing is actually helpful because it flushes my sinuses, albeit often 4 hours later in the form of globby saltwater head putty. However, when the water's shitty it makes it worse. I surfed Lindy yesterday and woke up today very stuffed up with a bunch of orange/green shit in my head. The water was dirty from rain yesterday and also looked red tide plagued. In the past red tide has gotten me sickish or minimally, stuffed up. Too bad yesterday's quick lunch session was primarily composed of mediocre and soft shoulder high rights and a shooting gallery of flailing boards and kookish wave hogs. The college uber-bros that kept referring to the ocean's hue as "period water" were super fun to listen to as well. Definitely not worth today's congestion...
Yeah I thought I had a stroke when I woke up the other morning and the whole side of my face was completely numb and droopy. Turns out it was some pinched nerves caused by the sinus thing. I suspect it was from red tide. It is prominent this year and I wasn't avoiding it much.
PS - hurricane raises a good solution that I left off my list. Re-surfing.
I love it when the water stuck in my sinuses gushes out at random time frames post surfing. Like filling out paperwork and all the sudden a stream from my nose water-logs what I was working on.
Also the best moneyshot comes from the nose.
I used to work delivering pizza at a place on the Jersey Shore at a restaurant about a block from the beach. I could surf on my shift as long as there were no deliveries. One day during a hurricane swell, i came in right after taking a pretty good pounding and ran back to see a full house, jumped behind the counter to help out and dumped my sinuses all over the counter when 2 (hot) girls were ordering. Just kept going like nothing happened. The girls paid, left and never came back to get their food...
The fix, as prescribed by some old OB / Mavs legend:
Go for a surf,
Drink an IPA,
Take a couple of aspirin,
Smoke a cigar.
Tabasco and or Sriracha sauce on some good Mexican or Chinese food and the sinus problem is gone. Works for me ;-)
But seriously, I use Sinus Rinse by NeilMed weekly before and after sessions, and it works.
My personal favorite drainage episode was after surfing on a OH+ day. I was at Trader Joe's and bent over to pick up a loaf of bread, at which point my sinuses emptied on the floor. A few people were freaked out and asked if I was OK. I just smiled.
I've had sinus issues since surfing in the red tide the other week. Never has sinus issues in the past before that. Really interesting that others have noticed the same
@SaltyChump, I had exactly the same thing a few weeks ago, just before boarding a plane. Something happened in my sinuses, felt some weird pressure in my head and stuff started tingling in the side of my face. Almost didn't board as I thought I was having a stroke.
