Still some pain

I was hopeful when the storms moved through at 3 am that that would be the end of the sinus stuff, but it started up again this morning and got progressively worse until about 10:30, when I decided to take a couple ibuprofen. (Standard disclaimer: I don't like putting any extra pharmaceuticals in my body, given the to-me shocking number of meds I HAVE to take in order to avoid big problems (hives or abnormally high blood pressure).

Twenty minutes later, the pain had gone from nearly unbearable to nearly not there. I can still feel a dulness in my forehead (well, it's an improvement to have moved from my teeth, because any pain around my teeth worries me that I have a stealth crack or decay - despite having had a clean checkup a month ago - or an abscess, which was the first thing I worried about, which is really NOT logical, given the clean checkup of a month ago).

I'm hoping that means it's just inflammation from allergies/pressure changes and that there's no actual bacteria or anything involved. (Sinus infections can be bacterial, which are the kind antibiotics can treat, but sometimes they are viral and you just have to wait for them go away, and sometimes they're fungal, and then you're really in trouble unless your immune system figures out how to kick it to the curb). I don't have a fever - I checked this morning - so hopefully it's just my sinuses being annoying.

But yeah. Definitely taking another dose of ibuprofen before bed. I find I can cope with pain, especially tooth or head pain, lots better when I'm trying to be awake and doing things than I can when trying to sleep. I may start taking Mucinex again for a few days to see if I can urge anything that may be in my sinuses to leave....and drink more water, I need to do that.

ETA: I probably need to continue with the irrigation for a few days, maybe do it when I get home today:

The most effective first-line intervention, said Dr. Palmer, is nasal irrigation using a neti pot or saline irrigation bottle, which helps flush out mucus and any inflammatory bacteria or allergens in it. “If you took all the people who say they have chronic sinusitis in the world, and you put them all on nasal saline irrigations, a big proportion would not have any symptoms anymore,” he said.

(from this article)

That probably explains why I felt SO MUCH BETTER right after doing the irrigation yesterday afternoon. I'll have to get onto boiling more water as soon as I get home....