Is Mucous Friend or Foe?

It’s interesting to read varies conventional, medical reports on mucus and find different answers. They all agree that mucus is our friend – unless we are really sick and overproducing it to the point we can’t breathe.

Accounts vary from saying we produce 1 quart, 1.4 quarts, 2 quarts, or a gallon a day. We can safely say we produce a quart or more of mucus a day. This mucus lines our mucous membranes from our nose and sinuses throughout our digestive tract.

Mucus traps the dust, debris, and pathogens we inhale. When we swallow, the mucus passes to the stomach where stomach acid kills the swallowed pathogens. This system works well unless the body becomes overwhelmed by a bacteria or virus. Then the normally runny mucus thickens and we have to contend with a stopped up nose, dripping sinuses, or lung congestion.

The color of mucus

When we become ill, mucus thickens and changes color. First it will change from clear to white. It may then change to yellow, green, brown, or red. Here again, we find differing answers regarding the color of mucus. One bit of good advice is to not jump to a conclusion about the color of mucous if that color could be the result of trapped particles such as pollen.

Many believe thick yellow or green mucus is a sign of infection, with bacterial infection being confirmed by green mucus. Many conventional medical sites claim the color is not at all significant. Several (Web M.D. being one example) explain that the green color comes from enzymes released by nutrophiles, white blood cells that combat pathogens – mostly bacteria and fungi. Which brings us back to the belief that green mucus is a sign of a bacterial infection. The CDC, however, has a vastly different claim for the green color.

                  When germs that cause colds first infect the nose and sinuses, the nose makes clear mucus. This                    helps wash the germs from the nose and sinuses. After two or three days, the body’s immune     cells fight back, changing the mucus to a white or yellow color. As the bacteria that live in the    nose grow back, they may also be found in the mucus, which changes the mucus to a greenish          color. 

How to manage mucus when you are ill

Fluids are essential in managing mucus. Drink lots of water. Your fluid intake is critical to keep mucus from being too thick and from drying out. Take hot showers, use steam (in the sink, a bowl with a towel over the head, or a sinus steamer). Eucalyptus drops in the water work well as an expectorant to help break up mucus and allow you to cough it up or blow it out, as do some herbs (see link to tincture recipe).

A neti pot

Another option is to use a neti pot to irrigate the sinuses. Be sure to use distilled water if possible. If not, make sure you boil and cool the water before use. A neti pot simple helps you to run salt water (often buffered with baking soda as well) through the nose and sinuses, hydrating and cleansing the tissues as it aids in breaking up mucus. For more information about the use of a net pot see the first source, and check the second one for strengthening the immune system. And check out the Herbal Snuff to clear sinuses and the Huff and Puff recipe to make an expectorant tincture). It’s imperative that you keep the liver functioning at optomimal levels, while keeping the immune system strong. We recommend Black Radish Complex and check out Bullet Proof Your Immune System.

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How To Use a Neti Pot For Sinus Infections

A neti pot is a device to aid in nasal irrigation, a practice of using salt water to flush out the nose and sinus tissues along with excessive mucous, dust, debris, and pathogens. This practice can also reduce swelling of the sinuses and nasal passages.

While you can put water in your hands and sniff it up your nose, use a spoon, or use a bulb syringe, a net pot gives you more control and does not force water into sinuses – it merely flushes them.

To make your own saline solution, use 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to 16 ounces (2 cups) of warm water.

Be sure that you use the following:

  • Distilled water or boiled water.
  • Real salt. Sea salt is not a good choice because it might contain traces of algae. Make sure the salt is fine and has no additives (no iodine or flavorings).
  • Baking soda without aluminum.

Heat the water until it is close to body temperature – around 98 degrees.

Irrigating the sinuses is a very old tradition of Ayurvedic medicine (2,000 – 3,000 years old), a daily practice for yogis. Though we do not recommend daily irrigation, the practice is very helpful at the onset of illness (along with gargling to reduce the number of pathogens in the throat) and throughout an illness if mucus is thick and is making breathing difficult.

To use the neti pot, simply lean over a sink, turn your face toward the hand holding the neti pot, place the spout in your upper nostril, and tilt the pot until the water runs in your nose. The water will run up your nostril and come out the lower nostril. You can direct the stream of water towards sinuses by how you tilt your head. Do both sides gently blowing your nose after each side is completed.

To purchase a neti pot, salt, solutions, etc. see Green Lifestyle Market.

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Natural Cure for Sinus Infections

There’s nothing quite like a sinus infection. You get to experience non-stop pressure and pain. Your face hurts. Your head hurts. Possibly, your teeth hurt as well. Left untreated, the infection can involve the bones of the face and in rare cases, can actually spread to the brain.

Our sinuses are open spaces or pockets above and beside the nose that are lined with mucous membranes. Each time we breathe in through the nose, mucous acts as the first defense against pathogens and foreign substances we inhale. Small particles are trapped by mucous, which is continuously swept towards the throat by cilia, tiny hair like structures. Mucous is swallowed and stomach acid neutralizes most of the pathogens that reach it.

Sinuses become infected when they cannot drain properly. When sinus tissues swell, mucous becomes trapped and the sinus fills, causing pressure and pain and creating a perfect environment for an infection to breed.

Sinus infections can be viral, bacterial, fungal or a combination; they can be acute or chronic.

How To Avoid Sinus Infections

If you suffer from recurrent sinus infections or chronic sinus infections, Candida is likely to be a part of the problem. At the very least, you immune system needs help. A truly healthy diet will help heal the infection and rebuild your immune system.

Diet

Eat real food, not processed food. Your diet should consist of 80% raw, fresh, organic produce, more vegetables than fruit. Be sure to include healthy fats. Omega 3 essential fatty acids are an important addition to your diet, and they reduce inflammation. (Reduction of inflammation, and swelling that accompanies it, allows the sinuses to drain. Avoid all artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives as well as MSG, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and GMOs. And here’s what may be the hardest part: stop eating sugar. Sugar feeds Candida as well as viruses and bacteria. In addition, each time you eat sugar, it takes your immune system a good three days to recover.

Avoid all allergens. Many people who aren’t aware that they are allergic to dairy, find that eliminating it from their diet stops a cycle of chronic sinus, respiratory, and ear infections. (To learn more about a healthy diet, see the links below. )

Detox

To heal your immune system, you need to cleanse your body. A good cleanse will help kill off Candida, parasites, and pathogens. You need to rebuild the balance of your gut so the healthy bacteria keeps Candida and bad bacteria and the toxins they exude in check. If your sinuses are the only thing your immune system has to deal with, it will do a much better job of healing any current or future infection. (To learn more about how to detox, see the link below.)

How To Treat Sinus Infections

Sinus Irrigation

Flushing the sinuses with saline solution can aid in reduction of swelling and remove excess mucous along with debris and pathogens. A neti pot (click to purchase here) can aid you in sinus irrigation. To make a saline solution, use 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to 16 ounces (2 cups) of warm water.

Be sure that you use the following:

  • Distilled water or boiled water.
  • Real salt. Make sure it is fine and has no additives (no iodine or flavorings).
  • Baking soda.

Doc Shillington’s Herbal Snuff Recipe (or click to purchase)

If you are suffering from an acute sinus infection or a chronic sinus condition, Doc Shillington’s Herbal Snuff can get those healing herbs right into the spot where they will do the most good.

This recipe is by parts, whether teaspoons or tablespoons or more…

  • 7 parts Goldenseal Root Powder
  • 7 parts Bayberry Bark Powder
  • 1 part Cayenne Pepper Powder (Habanero Cayenne is best)
  • 1 part Garlic Powder

Grind as finely as possible and mix well.

To use, snort a very small amount, about half the size of a match head. Use several times per day until all symptoms have disappeared. Be forewarned – this will burn, but it works.

Update!

Now I sip on Mother Earth Organic Root Cider whenever I feel anything in my throat or sinuses that could indicate a cold coming on. It’s the best thing we’ve put on the market to date, and that’s saying a lot! If you find yourself getting sick regularly, or dealing with chronic sinus issues, you’ll love this. It tastes horrible, but you’ll stuff love it. Try it. Take a dose every day, and if you feel any potential infection coming on, sip on it throughout the day. As always with GLM, if you don’t love the results, get your money back.

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