We don’t have sinus infections too often in my home, but occasionally a cold gets worse and does become a sinus infection. This especially happens when either the cold is ignored or the cold symptoms are suppressed. Recently, my husband was under a lot of pressure at work and couldn’t attend to a cold he had developed. Even though he hadn’t used over the counter conventional cold medications in years, he felt that he needed to feel better quickly so that he could continue to meet the demands at work. So he tried a pharmaceutical medication for quick results. The cold didn’t go away, though. The symptoms had simply been suppressed (so it seemed like he was cured) and by the weekend, the cold had developed into a sinus infection. My husband was really suffering now, and asked me for sinus infection natural remedies.

One of the most important things to remember with any illness is that sugar prevents the immune system from being able to act. It pretty much disables it and at the same time feeds the infectious organisms. So when the doctor gives your child a lollipop for being such a good boy in the office, he is guaranteeing that you will return. Avoid eating anything sweetened with sugar if you want to help your body, and that includes sweetened medicines. It is amazing how many medications, especially for children, are sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Usually, sinus infection natural remedies will not be sugar sweetened, if sweetened at all.

Avoid dairy when you have excessive mucus. Dairy tends to be mucus forming, even raw dairy. And germs tend to thrive in thick mucus. To help thin out the mucus that is already there, you can apply steamy hot packs to your cheeks and drink hot teas and homemade bone broth. Tea that contains eucalyptus, thyme, oregano, ma huang (also known as ephedra), and/or spicy plants such as horseradish will help clear the sinuses and kill germs.

Take Vitamin C. Vitamin C is vitally important to the immune system, and for it to really get revved up during an infection you need lots of it. Certain foods are high in this vitamin, such as citrus fruits, peppers, dark leafy greens, tomatoes, strawberries, and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts). However, in order to get the large amounts of vitamin C needed, you would need to be fresh juicing these foods several times a day (do not buy commercial juice as it is heated in order to pasteurize it and heat destroys the natural vitamins) or eating lots of raw salad. I would definitely recommend getting some of your needs met this way, but adding in some supplemental vitamin C that you bought from a health food store would be helpful during this time.

Eat fresh garlic. I know, I know. Who eats garlic cloves? I do not recommend just chewing on a garlic clove every two to three hours. This is what I recommend: put a garlic clove through a garlic press or mince it very finely, then mix it up with a teaspoon of raw honey and eat it. Mmmm. Much better. Still a little spicy, but not too bad. It is okay to follow it up with some tea or water, and it is okay if you split up the clove and only take half a clove every two hours. Don’t worry about the honey and whether or not that counts as sugar. Raw honey has some antibiotic properties of its own and doesn’t disable the immune system. Garlic is important because it is a strong antimicrobial. It will kill those germs and they won’t become resistant. You can use it over and over again and it will still be effective.

Include other helpful sinus infection natural remedies and supplements. Grapefruit seed extract is also effective at fighting infections and is sometimes used to kill household germs. It is derived from the seeds of grapefruits, which are large citrus fruits grown in southern United States. It must be dissolved in a glass of water and tastes even nastier than garlic, but is easier to prepare.

Silver hydrosol (colloidal silver) is helpful in combatting infections because it causes germs to suffocate. It is tasteless and also easy to take. It is best used as part of a multi-pronged strategy, such as what I have been describing.

Essential oils distilled from plants are also helpful agents, smell good, and are easy to use. The most helpful oils are those distilled from the eucalyptus, tea tree, rosemary, oregano, and thyme plants (some of these herbs were already mentioned above in my tip about tea). To use essential oils when you have a sinus infection, put ten to fifteen drops in an essential oil diffuser or a small pot of simmering water and breathe the steam for several minutes at a time. Alternatively, you can put a drop or two on a tissue and breathe in the oil that way. Do not take these oils internally. If you do, you will soon discover why it is not advised.

My husband was able to recover from that lingering cold-now-turned-sinus-infection in a short three days using the above regimen and combining most of the remedies listed here. He said the infection reminded him of why he stopped using drug store cold medicines in the first place, and we ended up throwing away the remaining pills. Using these sinus infection natural remedies might convert you too.