Note: Because of the iodine connection, I'm repeating these particular paragraphs taken from a post I made in the "Hay Fever" thread.
To provide some kind of segue from that intriguing and helpful episode Woodsman shared above ;), I'll quote one of the iodine-naive product reviewers cited at the end of this post:
[This iodine product is] great for the short term, but feel weird if you start using it habitually
I have been battling with chronic sinus congestion all my life. It improved greatly when I gave up dairy and gluten about 8 years ago. However, after taking various antibiotics for a MRSA infection, it became much worse. I'm convinced it's a fungal infection which gained dominance once all the bacteria was killed via medications. I don't think it could be an allergic reaction for 2 reasons: because the congestion is always only on my left side, and my chiropractor told me I had a collapsed sinus on that side (which I've verified by facial manipulation which gives immediate relief).
After trying many things over the years, I settled on a regimen of stinging nettle capsules to reduce inflammation and irrigating my sinuses with colloidal silver plus a little xylitol as a buffer. The silver is the one thing which has consistently brought immediate relief (giving credence to my fungal infection theory). Also, at alternate times, I use a nasal rinse (sea salt plus a little baking soda) to wash away any allergens.
After reading the recommendations in a recent SOTT article http://ndnr.com/bacterialviral-infections/alternative-treatment-for-chronic-sinusitis/ I've also begun taking 1200 mg of NAC 3 times a day which thins mucous so it drains, which has been especially helpful.
Two months prior to that, I had eased my way up to 20 drops of 10% Lugol's iodine solution, supplemented with 3500 mg Vit. C and 100 mg Selenium, but this didn't help my congestion.
Two years ago, my general physician put me on oral anti-fungal meds (Terpenatine) for 6 weeks, which completely cleared up toenail fungus, but had no effect on my sinuses. My ENT physician explained that was because oral anti-fungals were not very effective in the sinus area because of poor transport due to limited blood vessels there.
So it appears that topical treatments work best, which has been my experience (e.g. silver rinse). So I was eager to try the deep sinus rinse with an iodine dilution that was recommended in the article cited above. This consists of dipping the face into a bowl containing water, sea salt and a mild dilution of iodine (1 drop per quart!), and eventually learning to sniff it in and out of the sinuses.
But before I got around to trying that, I discovered a great product which exposes the sinuses to iodine via it "botanical oils specially treated through the exclusive J-R iodization process"
The name of the product is "Ponaris", a nasal emollient "included in NASA's medical space kit". It's manufactured by Jamol Laboratories, Inc. in Emerson, New Jersey. It specifically claims to relieve hay fever, as well as chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, epistaxis (dried out sinuses), and sinus rebound from drugs or smog. The oils used are Pine, Eucalyptus, Peppermint and Cajeput in a cottonseed oil base :/. Each drop contains 150 micrograms of iodine.
I'm thrilled to report these drops have relieved congestion more effectively than anything else I've found. The effects are almost immediate and last for hours.
Here's the Amazon link with reviews:
_https://www.amazon.com/Ponaris-nasal-emollient-30-Pack/product-reviews/B000NB5BFA/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_paging_btm_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=4
Sample reviews:
This was recommended by the top nose and throat doc in Las Vegas several years ago. It has been a wonder for me and everyone I told about. No drugs but effective results with all congestion and allergy issues. Especially for me with long history of sinus issues because multiple broken nose issues. Friends that are totally into natural and healthy life styles find this their go to solution for nasal and allergy issues.
Great for the short term but
feel weird if you start using it habitually. [sounds like the typical effect following initiating iodine supplementation]
Recommended by my ENT doctor and I would not go without it during allergy season. It makes the difference between sleeping soundly and constant awakening for stuff nose problem.
My ENT recommended this to me 10 years ago and I've been using it ever since. It's fantastic!