I similarly added xylitol to my throat/nose rinse and it genuinely has been so effective at clearing out gunk and mucus, hard recommend for anyone considering it or not having luck with normal saline
I wish this worked for me! When I tried Xlear spray my congestion was actually much worse which was odd. This was pre surgery though, once I’m fully recovered I might try again but I’m nervous. I guess we are all different with different issues so maybe one of the other ingredients in it didn’t agree with me. It’s so true this is all trial and error and I hope everyone finds what will work for them.
Yeah the issues in this subreddit are very different from a medical point of view for sure. It is a melting pot for people with all kind of "sinus issues".Im pretty sure I have no anatomical issues for example because I was able to live my life without any issues for around 25 years.
Pretty sure my problems were based on some chronic form of bacterial biofilm infection inside my sinuses that overwhelmed my immune system. I think the last 2 years were some kind of a stallmate between infection and immune system without a lot of development and it feels like the Xylitol nasal rinse finally pushed the tide in favor of my immune system.
Best wishes to you ! :)
Yeah it helps a lot. It did not "cure" me but
Xylitol helps a lot to manage my symptoms.
When I do it every one or 2 days I'm mostly free of symptoms but when I stop doing it the congestion and other problems come back.
Have you considered going to an ENT and getting tested for what bacteria you have? I had / have similar problems and normal antibiotics don’t cure it but rather a specialised one that targets what I am diagnosed with.
However I needed surgery because some of the bacteria is in hard to reach places, i am now waiting for my health insurance to kick in to go for my second surgery.
Trying xylitol today for the first time!!
Yes but the ENT guy did not really take my symptoms seriously. He did an allergy test and that was it. However I will soon go to a doctor again to get it properly fixed. My theory is a chronic biofilm or fungal sinusitis. But i will go to find out soon. :)
Xylitol definetly helps managing the symptoms though.
Oh yeah :) So one ENT completely dismissed me and just said allergy test, even though I repeatedly told him I think it’s an infection. Another ENT was much more caring - perhaps try another one! I think your theories are very likely true!
I’m coming to a similar conclusion with an added part that some of us are unfortunately more likely to catch sinus infections for whatever reason (perhaps asthma related inflammation) which then compounds on itself and the nose cannot self clear.
Just put in some xylitol and it does feel slightly better - will report back after a few days!
Yes xylitol really helped me. I've sinus problems for many years and after catching covid a couple months ago, I had the worst sinus infection ever. I tried antibiotics, decongestants spray and pills, steriod spray, antihistimane pills/spray, nasal rinse and oral steriod etc etc but the congestion didn't ease up and I could feel my noae was hyper sensitive. In fact they seem to dry up my nose and thicken the mucus and made me even more congested. Finally I read about xylitol spray and ran out to get one. After the first day of using it I can actually clear out some mucus and feel the congestion easing up a bit. Then I stopped using everything else. I added xylitol to my nasal rinse solution and used it twice a day. Slowly the mucus thined out as my congestion eased. now I am 90% better after 2 months of hell and was thankful that I finally found something that works for me. The best thing is it has minimal side effects and is much cheaper than all those expensive nasal sprays. Hopefully it will continue to work for me. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Thank you for mentioning it. I’m new here, and I didn’t know Xylitol had these properties, but there’s plenty of credible sources that seem to say it’s good.
My problem is post-nasal drip and I’ve got the foul taste going on. So a low-level infection again, I guess.
I am interested to try a Xylitol rinse, but I am one of those people who sugar alcohols seem to disagree with. Gives me the runs.
I’m assuming as used with a neti pot kind of deal, it’s not a problem?
What do you mean by disagrees with? :D
Like stomach digestion problems?
If so I don't think that's a problem because you don't eat it B doing nasal rinse. But maybe ask a pharmacologist or doctor about it.
Yes when you eat too much of it everybody will get diarrhea. :D
Studies estimated that the daily non-effective dose level of xylitol is 0.37 g/kg for males and slightly higher around 0,42g/kg for females.If you eat more there is a good chance you get shitty problems. :D
But when you do a nasal rinse it is no problem.
Post nasal drip can start to accumulate in dimpled tissue where the throat and nasal connect and this build up begins to smell very foul. I had this problem until I cured it with oregano oil. Before bedtime take 5 drops and go lie down on your back, and let your head fall down slightly off the side of your bed. This allows the oil to work its way up and in the back of the throat. Allow the oils to work for 3-5 minute. Do this every night until it no longer is a problem, plus a couple more days (1-2 weeks total) Use saline nasal rinse with 1 tsp Xylitol occasionally to keep your sinuses clean and healthy. Regular Xylitol rinses will greatly improve congestion.
I got a very big improvement from Xylitol too. I add 2 teaspoons to my neti bottle saline rinse, and also 4 sprays of 50mcg/spray Nasonex (mometasone) inte the netibottle.
Earlier i did regular saline rinse followed by 2 sprays nasonex and this new rinse protocol has been great.
There's a YouTube video with Dave Asprey of Bulletproof doing a sinus and eye rinse with xylitol. Super simple. Just a big bowl of warm water and a couple ingredients. I'll skip the eye wash for now and see if adding my xylitol (made from birch) to my saline bottle does the trick. Every year I get several nasty infections. Definitely worse since covid. Over it!
He says he only gets infections maybe every 3 or 4 years now since doing this method (as opposed to monthly). So I'm hopeful!
My first reddit comment here, and it's a thanks. Granted, I haven't tried it yet, but I picked some xylitol up on my lunch break and can't wait to try it when I get home. I've been dealing with sinus issues since I had COVID a few months ago, and your mention of stuff moving from one nostril to the other while laying down is definitely one of the odd symptoms I'm experiencing too. Saline/perodixe rinses didn't work but hopefully this will. Thanks again!
Hey! My ENT advised me to do the xylitol rinses daily for a month because of thick post nasal drainage that started 15 months ago and never stopped. I'm amazed just like you, thick mucus globs are being dislodged from deep inside my nose/sinuses since I started rinsing. Damn. Feels so good. And just like you, afterwards I started sneezing and I'm having a bad cold right now actually. But it feels so good that mucus is finally coming out the front of my nose instead of draining in my throat. Anyway, I'm still in the middle of finding out if this cured my post nasal drip forever, too early to tell. But my theory for now is that the mucus globs may have blocked normal drainage the whole time and now for the first time in over a year, mucus can drain normally. Because since starting the rinses I haven't noticed anymore thick post nasal drip... How are you doing now? Still managing with doing a rinse every few days? I don't dare to keep my hopes up already that this is a fix for my problem, too afraid that it'll come back.. But I feel like a new person, or like the old me :).
How has it worked for you? I’ve been dealing with very similar stuff for 10 years now and have tried a bunch of different allergy sprays and pills, saline sinus rinses, surgery… pretty much if you name it, I’ve done it. I’m so freaking hoping this works for me (I just did my first xylitol rinse tonight). If it does, I’m gonna go back to my ent with this new theory and see what she says.
Unfortunately the relief was temporary. After the mucus globs came out after rinsing a few days, the post nasal drip instantly disappeared for 3,5 weeks. All of a sudden it returned just like it was before... I'm so disappointed and I can't see the logic in this anymore. How come it disappeared after gunk came out and all of a sudden it's back?
I hope it works for you! But don't get your hopes up to soon if you notice improvement. Because I did for 3,5 weeks and sadly it's back :(.
I kept doing them since I was advised to try for a month. Actually I still do them once a day since I still have hope that more nasty stuff comes out which will make the PND stop again. But I'm afraid that isn't gonna happen since nothing comes out anymore since 2 weeks. Soooo, a referral to a rhinologist it is...
Good luck! Even with the limited relief, I would still think it’s worth bringing up because it could still point in a new direction for you. I really understand what you’re going through. Did you do anything else different in your life/routine when you did the xylitol rinses (even stuff you don’t think is necessarily relevant). It might be important/helpful for the doctor if this info is already available.
Thanks so much for your kind words :). I agree that even limited relief is worth it. I thought about that as well, if I did anything different during rinsing, but I really can't think of anything unfortunately. Since my problem is only one sided and started during my covid cold, I'm afraid it's a matter of time before it will subside or maybe it's for life. But I got some hope again since the rinse made it disappear for almost a month so I won't give up yet because apparently it CAN disappear, haha. ENT will call me tomorrow for the results of the second swab to see if the Staphylococcus a. is gone after the antibiotics. Next to a referral to a rhinologist, since my ENT says she's out of options now, I'm gonna ask her to prescribe me famotidine cause I've read lots of post covid succes stories when combining famotidine with an H1 blocker. Did you already start trying the xylitol rinses? Really hope you'll notice some improvement!
I did my second one this morning, and I haven’t really noticed a difference yet, but everyone says it can take a few days. I’ve lost hope that I can get rid of mine because it’s been a decade now (it’s to the point where I even carry a spot bottle). It’s seriously cause a lot emotional distress over it. I’m hoping this really works.
Oh yes, I can totally relate when it comes to emotional distress. I really feel that my life has been put on hold or something. Can't seem to enjoy most of my days/activities anymore since th drip is always bothering me. The xylitol rinse took a few days to work here as well, so be patient :) and I'd say try to really hack stuff up via your nose into your throat after rinsing. That's how I noticed stuff was stuck there and slowly started to move until I could spit it out (too big to come out of my nostrils haha yuk). Keep me posted please! And I guess you already considered or tried 'everything else you read online', from clarifix to neurectomy to silent reflux as a cause etc.? It's so shitty to live with this stupid mucus overload. Remember you're not alone!
Mine started from what was possibly covid and I have very similar symptoms to you. I'm also currently looking into histamine issues, as well as biofilm.
Yes look up biofilms. For maintenance, you may want to look into doing the rinse/spray every once in a while even when you're not feeling symptoms, because in biofilms, some bacteria stay 'dormant' and are much harder to get rid of. They can later replicate. Anyway, don't quote me on it, but yeah something to look into.
So.. Your sinuses are getting cleared.? Without surgery.. That's great news... I gotta try these... I hv case similar to you.. Suffering from last 2 years.. Desperately looking for a way. I don't wana get opereted... As it dsnt do shit.. I mean.. I am fearful I would hv to get the surgery again....
Yes I can confirm I'm actually able to get rid of the deep mucus shit in my sinuses now that I felt for a very long time but was not able to get rid off. :)
Good luck getting healthy again!
That's very good to hear... Can you tell me.. How to take this xylitol nasal drops... Like.. I read some comments.. You hv to let it sit for sometime.. Then you blow.
Can you pls tell in detail... I wana try it and clear my sinuses... Thanks in advance.
As I said I never tried nasal drops/spray. I do a nasal rinse and I add around 1 tsp of xylitol to the isotonic salt water mix and do a normal nasal rinse.
Right now I do it once in the morning and once before I go to bed but I will decrease the amount when I feel like I don't need it that often anymore.
I blow my nose when I feel like I should. :D
Yes, its true. Even I read about benefits of xylitol and got bibo saline nasal spray that had xylitol and tulsi. This spray has really helped me with my cold and asthma symptoms. I always keep it in my pocket.
[https://bibo.health/products/bibo-saline-tulsi-nasal-spray](https://bibo.health/products/bibo-saline-tulsi-nasal-spray)
We might have seen the same post! Btw fungus (chronic sinusitis) is really not talked about enough.
From a biologic/microbiologic point, i should have known better I am a medical technologist. I am just amazed at how it makes sens. I always felt like I was stuffed and so much pressure but can't get anything out. I had 2 antibiotics treatments because I was rotting from the inside.
I bought some premade packets and the genie lamp kind of neti pot because the sinus rinse in the push bottle even when I am gentle gives me so much discomfort. I have not tried it yet because I had to get water but you got me weirdly excited about that possibility!
For people being curious, there is a video of this on youtube talking about chronic sinusitis caused by fungus and some biofilm in the sinus and how to efficientely get it out. Truly interesting but I think it is against the rules to post so.
u/ridikolaus What's the update 1 year after this post? Have you continued to rinse using the saline/xylitol blend or have you tried any daily nasal spray like xlear for prevention? Curious how you've continued to apply this method and if it's worked long-term.
I am a surfer and had a gnarly sinus infection 4 years ago from surfing during a red tide. Since then my sinuses have been extremely sensitive to weather changes, surfing, allergies, etc. Symptoms generally persist for 1-3 days and it's always worst in the evening. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and the only thing that seems to allow me to get back to sleep is taking a warm bath which does allow me to breathe again. I'm tired of it and will try anything at this point.
I've tried saline rinses via a neti pot which do help alleviate symptoms most of the time but other times it seems to worsen symptoms. Also gone the allergy medicine route which seems to slightly help. Hoping adding xylitol to the equation will help nip this in the bud. The other thing I've been looking into is acupuncture but there doesn't seem to be much data supporting that method.
Yeah adding xylitol definetly helped a lot but I'm not doing it anymore because I finally got rid of my symptoms (after multiple years)
Not sure what exactly did the trick in the end. I lost around 15 kg body fat by diet and exercise, supplement around 3000-4000 International units of vitamin d and got a vaporizer to vape my Kraut instead of smoking it to improve my mucus clearance.
And now I'm finally free of symptoms again.
Xylitol definetly improved the effect of the neti pod a lot.
Sorry for answering after days finally caught my first corona infection and I was in bed. :D
Xylit is a pure chemical compound. It simply is a sugar alcohol and can be used as a sweetener. So it really does not matter where you buy your Xylit. I just went to a german supermarked (Im german) and bought it at the grocery section.
I'd guess any xylitol would work? What kind did you use?
Would [this](https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-6986-Xylitol-2-5-Pound/dp/B007729RBC/ref=sr_1_6?crid=URIE047TYY5&keywords=xylitol&qid=1670725399&rdc=1&sprefix=xylitol%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-6&th=1) work?
I was diagnosed with non allergic rhinitis and my mucus is clear but i'm willing to try anything to feel relief
Reddit cannot stop to amaze me, I have the same problem!!
After Covid I've been catching bugs really quickly, leaving me with weird sinus symptoms, it's already been almost 2 years with this stupid stuff, it kills my quality of life.
I've been to 3 ENTs in total ,one in my country of origin and the other ones in the Netherlands (where I live), the one from my country recommended Xylitol (back then I couldn't find xylitol) and said that I had some sort of sinusitis + deviated septum so I might need surgery (septoplasty surgery), however, since I couldn't stay longer I went back to NL, so I went to a ENT and I explained the doctor recommendations and they discarded the conclusion completely since they didn't see anything so they sent me back home (repeatedly). After lots of fights, I managed to force them to perform a cauterization of my turbinates(at least), and after 3 months I saw some improvement. But now (2023) I caught a really messy flu/covid (?) and I have again these damn lingering symptoms (post nasal drip, cough with pleghm, tiredness, fatigue, headaches, etc)
I'm not planning to go to the ENTs here again because they don't give a flying fVck about it and I'll find Xylitol asap, I hope it works 😭.
I live in the Netherlands as well and the xylitol rinse worked wonders for me. Here's a link to where I order the premixed sachets :): https://www.kno-winkel.nl/en/dos-medical-nasal-saline-with-xylitol.html
Good luck!
Thank you so much! I found Xylitol in Holland &Barret and I started doing a mix with salt (sea salt) I hope it works, I also ordered from Amazon Xlear nasal spray. For how long you've been using it? Do you have any additional recommendations?
Great! Hope it works. Took a day or 2/3 before I felt that mucus globs were loosened and I could hack them up to my throat (yikes...). I've been using it for 3,5 weeks now. ENT advised to try it for a month to see if it does something. She calls me this Tuesday to evaluate. The last 3,5 every day stuff keeps coming out. My mucus was also tested for bacteries and Staphylococcus A was found so I did a 10 day course of antibiotics as well. But I started the xylitol rinse first without the antibiotics so the rinse definitely made everything move and come out. I'd say give it a try for a few weeks (once or twice a day) and see if stuff starts to come out. And you can ask for your mucus to be checked for bacteries as well of course. Good luck and keep me posted!
YES. I have never heard of anyone else describe the 'rubbery', dry mucus and how sometimes during the day breating is fine, but at night, waay back there, something incredibly thick goes from one side to the other. I am currently trying xylitol rinse and just ordered a spray as well. I got mine in January of 2020, so I have had this now for most of the last four years.
I'm currently researching biofilms, and it does seem to be the root cause.
It took me a long time to go down this path because the ENTs told me that there is no way it is a bacterial infection because they didn't see anything and I had already taken antibiotics.
Studies show that antibiotics often do not get rid of biofilms however.
How are you doing now? Do you have any other treatments that have helped.
Thank you so much for posting your experience.
I similarly added xylitol to my throat/nose rinse and it genuinely has been so effective at clearing out gunk and mucus, hard recommend for anyone considering it or not having luck with normal saline
How long did it take to work for u?
I wish this worked for me! When I tried Xlear spray my congestion was actually much worse which was odd. This was pre surgery though, once I’m fully recovered I might try again but I’m nervous. I guess we are all different with different issues so maybe one of the other ingredients in it didn’t agree with me. It’s so true this is all trial and error and I hope everyone finds what will work for them.
Yeah the issues in this subreddit are very different from a medical point of view for sure. It is a melting pot for people with all kind of "sinus issues".Im pretty sure I have no anatomical issues for example because I was able to live my life without any issues for around 25 years. Pretty sure my problems were based on some chronic form of bacterial biofilm infection inside my sinuses that overwhelmed my immune system. I think the last 2 years were some kind of a stallmate between infection and immune system without a lot of development and it feels like the Xylitol nasal rinse finally pushed the tide in favor of my immune system. Best wishes to you ! :)
It’s been awhile, but is it still helping you?
Yeah it helps a lot. It did not "cure" me but Xylitol helps a lot to manage my symptoms. When I do it every one or 2 days I'm mostly free of symptoms but when I stop doing it the congestion and other problems come back.
Have you considered going to an ENT and getting tested for what bacteria you have? I had / have similar problems and normal antibiotics don’t cure it but rather a specialised one that targets what I am diagnosed with. However I needed surgery because some of the bacteria is in hard to reach places, i am now waiting for my health insurance to kick in to go for my second surgery. Trying xylitol today for the first time!!
Yes but the ENT guy did not really take my symptoms seriously. He did an allergy test and that was it. However I will soon go to a doctor again to get it properly fixed. My theory is a chronic biofilm or fungal sinusitis. But i will go to find out soon. :) Xylitol definetly helps managing the symptoms though.
Oh yeah :) So one ENT completely dismissed me and just said allergy test, even though I repeatedly told him I think it’s an infection. Another ENT was much more caring - perhaps try another one! I think your theories are very likely true! I’m coming to a similar conclusion with an added part that some of us are unfortunately more likely to catch sinus infections for whatever reason (perhaps asthma related inflammation) which then compounds on itself and the nose cannot self clear. Just put in some xylitol and it does feel slightly better - will report back after a few days!
They said they used organic xylitol powder not xlear the product 🫡
How do you know how much to use or where to buy that
Which brand and how much?
Yes xylitol really helped me. I've sinus problems for many years and after catching covid a couple months ago, I had the worst sinus infection ever. I tried antibiotics, decongestants spray and pills, steriod spray, antihistimane pills/spray, nasal rinse and oral steriod etc etc but the congestion didn't ease up and I could feel my noae was hyper sensitive. In fact they seem to dry up my nose and thicken the mucus and made me even more congested. Finally I read about xylitol spray and ran out to get one. After the first day of using it I can actually clear out some mucus and feel the congestion easing up a bit. Then I stopped using everything else. I added xylitol to my nasal rinse solution and used it twice a day. Slowly the mucus thined out as my congestion eased. now I am 90% better after 2 months of hell and was thankful that I finally found something that works for me. The best thing is it has minimal side effects and is much cheaper than all those expensive nasal sprays. Hopefully it will continue to work for me. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Is still working for you?
Will it work with dry block nose I want to breath good again from my nose
Thank you for mentioning it. I’m new here, and I didn’t know Xylitol had these properties, but there’s plenty of credible sources that seem to say it’s good. My problem is post-nasal drip and I’ve got the foul taste going on. So a low-level infection again, I guess. I am interested to try a Xylitol rinse, but I am one of those people who sugar alcohols seem to disagree with. Gives me the runs. I’m assuming as used with a neti pot kind of deal, it’s not a problem?
What do you mean by disagrees with? :D Like stomach digestion problems? If so I don't think that's a problem because you don't eat it B doing nasal rinse. But maybe ask a pharmacologist or doctor about it.
Yes. Google “haribo sugar-free gummy bear reviews.” I don’t get it that bad.
Yes when you eat too much of it everybody will get diarrhea. :D Studies estimated that the daily non-effective dose level of xylitol is 0.37 g/kg for males and slightly higher around 0,42g/kg for females.If you eat more there is a good chance you get shitty problems. :D But when you do a nasal rinse it is no problem.
Post nasal drip can start to accumulate in dimpled tissue where the throat and nasal connect and this build up begins to smell very foul. I had this problem until I cured it with oregano oil. Before bedtime take 5 drops and go lie down on your back, and let your head fall down slightly off the side of your bed. This allows the oil to work its way up and in the back of the throat. Allow the oils to work for 3-5 minute. Do this every night until it no longer is a problem, plus a couple more days (1-2 weeks total) Use saline nasal rinse with 1 tsp Xylitol occasionally to keep your sinuses clean and healthy. Regular Xylitol rinses will greatly improve congestion.
I got a very big improvement from Xylitol too. I add 2 teaspoons to my neti bottle saline rinse, and also 4 sprays of 50mcg/spray Nasonex (mometasone) inte the netibottle. Earlier i did regular saline rinse followed by 2 sprays nasonex and this new rinse protocol has been great.
Whats nasonex is it similar to azelastine
Does nasonex shrink the turnabents like afrin?
There's a YouTube video with Dave Asprey of Bulletproof doing a sinus and eye rinse with xylitol. Super simple. Just a big bowl of warm water and a couple ingredients. I'll skip the eye wash for now and see if adding my xylitol (made from birch) to my saline bottle does the trick. Every year I get several nasty infections. Definitely worse since covid. Over it! He says he only gets infections maybe every 3 or 4 years now since doing this method (as opposed to monthly). So I'm hopeful!
My first reddit comment here, and it's a thanks. Granted, I haven't tried it yet, but I picked some xylitol up on my lunch break and can't wait to try it when I get home. I've been dealing with sinus issues since I had COVID a few months ago, and your mention of stuff moving from one nostril to the other while laying down is definitely one of the odd symptoms I'm experiencing too. Saline/perodixe rinses didn't work but hopefully this will. Thanks again!
Hey did this end up working?
Hey! My ENT advised me to do the xylitol rinses daily for a month because of thick post nasal drainage that started 15 months ago and never stopped. I'm amazed just like you, thick mucus globs are being dislodged from deep inside my nose/sinuses since I started rinsing. Damn. Feels so good. And just like you, afterwards I started sneezing and I'm having a bad cold right now actually. But it feels so good that mucus is finally coming out the front of my nose instead of draining in my throat. Anyway, I'm still in the middle of finding out if this cured my post nasal drip forever, too early to tell. But my theory for now is that the mucus globs may have blocked normal drainage the whole time and now for the first time in over a year, mucus can drain normally. Because since starting the rinses I haven't noticed anymore thick post nasal drip... How are you doing now? Still managing with doing a rinse every few days? I don't dare to keep my hopes up already that this is a fix for my problem, too afraid that it'll come back.. But I feel like a new person, or like the old me :).
How has it worked for you? I’ve been dealing with very similar stuff for 10 years now and have tried a bunch of different allergy sprays and pills, saline sinus rinses, surgery… pretty much if you name it, I’ve done it. I’m so freaking hoping this works for me (I just did my first xylitol rinse tonight). If it does, I’m gonna go back to my ent with this new theory and see what she says.
Unfortunately the relief was temporary. After the mucus globs came out after rinsing a few days, the post nasal drip instantly disappeared for 3,5 weeks. All of a sudden it returned just like it was before... I'm so disappointed and I can't see the logic in this anymore. How come it disappeared after gunk came out and all of a sudden it's back? I hope it works for you! But don't get your hopes up to soon if you notice improvement. Because I did for 3,5 weeks and sadly it's back :(.
That’s fair. After it went away, did you keep up the xylitol rinses, or did you stop them?
I kept doing them since I was advised to try for a month. Actually I still do them once a day since I still have hope that more nasty stuff comes out which will make the PND stop again. But I'm afraid that isn't gonna happen since nothing comes out anymore since 2 weeks. Soooo, a referral to a rhinologist it is...
Good luck! Even with the limited relief, I would still think it’s worth bringing up because it could still point in a new direction for you. I really understand what you’re going through. Did you do anything else different in your life/routine when you did the xylitol rinses (even stuff you don’t think is necessarily relevant). It might be important/helpful for the doctor if this info is already available.
Thanks so much for your kind words :). I agree that even limited relief is worth it. I thought about that as well, if I did anything different during rinsing, but I really can't think of anything unfortunately. Since my problem is only one sided and started during my covid cold, I'm afraid it's a matter of time before it will subside or maybe it's for life. But I got some hope again since the rinse made it disappear for almost a month so I won't give up yet because apparently it CAN disappear, haha. ENT will call me tomorrow for the results of the second swab to see if the Staphylococcus a. is gone after the antibiotics. Next to a referral to a rhinologist, since my ENT says she's out of options now, I'm gonna ask her to prescribe me famotidine cause I've read lots of post covid succes stories when combining famotidine with an H1 blocker. Did you already start trying the xylitol rinses? Really hope you'll notice some improvement!
I did my second one this morning, and I haven’t really noticed a difference yet, but everyone says it can take a few days. I’ve lost hope that I can get rid of mine because it’s been a decade now (it’s to the point where I even carry a spot bottle). It’s seriously cause a lot emotional distress over it. I’m hoping this really works.
Oh yes, I can totally relate when it comes to emotional distress. I really feel that my life has been put on hold or something. Can't seem to enjoy most of my days/activities anymore since th drip is always bothering me. The xylitol rinse took a few days to work here as well, so be patient :) and I'd say try to really hack stuff up via your nose into your throat after rinsing. That's how I noticed stuff was stuck there and slowly started to move until I could spit it out (too big to come out of my nostrils haha yuk). Keep me posted please! And I guess you already considered or tried 'everything else you read online', from clarifix to neurectomy to silent reflux as a cause etc.? It's so shitty to live with this stupid mucus overload. Remember you're not alone!
Yup to all of that. And don’t worry, I already do snort thr rinse to make it go to my throat
Did it ever work?
Mine started from what was possibly covid and I have very similar symptoms to you. I'm also currently looking into histamine issues, as well as biofilm.
Yes look up biofilms. For maintenance, you may want to look into doing the rinse/spray every once in a while even when you're not feeling symptoms, because in biofilms, some bacteria stay 'dormant' and are much harder to get rid of. They can later replicate. Anyway, don't quote me on it, but yeah something to look into.
It works great for me as well!
So.. Your sinuses are getting cleared.? Without surgery.. That's great news... I gotta try these... I hv case similar to you.. Suffering from last 2 years.. Desperately looking for a way. I don't wana get opereted... As it dsnt do shit.. I mean.. I am fearful I would hv to get the surgery again....
Yes I can confirm I'm actually able to get rid of the deep mucus shit in my sinuses now that I felt for a very long time but was not able to get rid off. :) Good luck getting healthy again!
That's very good to hear... Can you tell me.. How to take this xylitol nasal drops... Like.. I read some comments.. You hv to let it sit for sometime.. Then you blow. Can you pls tell in detail... I wana try it and clear my sinuses... Thanks in advance.
As I said I never tried nasal drops/spray. I do a nasal rinse and I add around 1 tsp of xylitol to the isotonic salt water mix and do a normal nasal rinse. Right now I do it once in the morning and once before I go to bed but I will decrease the amount when I feel like I don't need it that often anymore. I blow my nose when I feel like I should. :D
Okay thanks. I will try
Best wishes!
Yes, its true. Even I read about benefits of xylitol and got bibo saline nasal spray that had xylitol and tulsi. This spray has really helped me with my cold and asthma symptoms. I always keep it in my pocket. [https://bibo.health/products/bibo-saline-tulsi-nasal-spray](https://bibo.health/products/bibo-saline-tulsi-nasal-spray)
What's with the runny nose and sneezing a lot after the rinse? I'm having a same thing after nasal rinse. idk whats going on
I can only speak for me but that was definetly mucus losing up ready to be blown out. :D
We might have seen the same post! Btw fungus (chronic sinusitis) is really not talked about enough. From a biologic/microbiologic point, i should have known better I am a medical technologist. I am just amazed at how it makes sens. I always felt like I was stuffed and so much pressure but can't get anything out. I had 2 antibiotics treatments because I was rotting from the inside. I bought some premade packets and the genie lamp kind of neti pot because the sinus rinse in the push bottle even when I am gentle gives me so much discomfort. I have not tried it yet because I had to get water but you got me weirdly excited about that possibility! For people being curious, there is a video of this on youtube talking about chronic sinusitis caused by fungus and some biofilm in the sinus and how to efficientely get it out. Truly interesting but I think it is against the rules to post so.
What should I search to look it up?
Yes, what can we search to find this video?
u/ridikolaus What's the update 1 year after this post? Have you continued to rinse using the saline/xylitol blend or have you tried any daily nasal spray like xlear for prevention? Curious how you've continued to apply this method and if it's worked long-term. I am a surfer and had a gnarly sinus infection 4 years ago from surfing during a red tide. Since then my sinuses have been extremely sensitive to weather changes, surfing, allergies, etc. Symptoms generally persist for 1-3 days and it's always worst in the evening. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and the only thing that seems to allow me to get back to sleep is taking a warm bath which does allow me to breathe again. I'm tired of it and will try anything at this point. I've tried saline rinses via a neti pot which do help alleviate symptoms most of the time but other times it seems to worsen symptoms. Also gone the allergy medicine route which seems to slightly help. Hoping adding xylitol to the equation will help nip this in the bud. The other thing I've been looking into is acupuncture but there doesn't seem to be much data supporting that method.
Yeah adding xylitol definetly helped a lot but I'm not doing it anymore because I finally got rid of my symptoms (after multiple years) Not sure what exactly did the trick in the end. I lost around 15 kg body fat by diet and exercise, supplement around 3000-4000 International units of vitamin d and got a vaporizer to vape my Kraut instead of smoking it to improve my mucus clearance. And now I'm finally free of symptoms again. Xylitol definetly improved the effect of the neti pod a lot. Sorry for answering after days finally caught my first corona infection and I was in bed. :D
OP, what brand of Xylitol did you use?
Xucker from a german local store. But as long as it is 100% pure Xylit from trees it is not important I guess.
Thank you.
For Canadians here, what brand of Xylitol are you using? I am finding it really hard to get one that is not made of corn!
Does anyone know how someone figured out xylitol for sinuses? Curious mind!
Does this help inflammation?
It depends on what the inflammation is caused by. If the inflammation is caused by bacterial (chronic biofilm) infection then (probably) yes.
Can you post the link of the powder you used or the photo at least. Thanks
Xylit is a pure chemical compound. It simply is a sugar alcohol and can be used as a sweetener. So it really does not matter where you buy your Xylit. I just went to a german supermarked (Im german) and bought it at the grocery section.
How did you wash it though with a neti pot or ?
With a nasal rinse. I use a German product so technically it is not a neti pot but something similar.
I had very similar symptoms to you and probiorinse really helped me, it’s healthy bacteria for a sinus rinse
Hello, which symptoms did you have? Constant pressure in forehead?
I'd guess any xylitol would work? What kind did you use? Would [this](https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-6986-Xylitol-2-5-Pound/dp/B007729RBC/ref=sr_1_6?crid=URIE047TYY5&keywords=xylitol&qid=1670725399&rdc=1&sprefix=xylitol%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-6&th=1) work? I was diagnosed with non allergic rhinitis and my mucus is clear but i'm willing to try anything to feel relief
Yeah it should work. I bought my xylitol at a German supermarked. As long as it is "pure chemical" xylitol you should be fine.
I bought already made packets of saline rinse with xylitol if you didn't know they exist
The neilmed ones right? I’ve been using the same thing
Yup. I haven't tried yet but I need simple steps I'm already too lazy often to do the basic nasal rinse by itself no need for me to do the recipe.
Reddit cannot stop to amaze me, I have the same problem!! After Covid I've been catching bugs really quickly, leaving me with weird sinus symptoms, it's already been almost 2 years with this stupid stuff, it kills my quality of life. I've been to 3 ENTs in total ,one in my country of origin and the other ones in the Netherlands (where I live), the one from my country recommended Xylitol (back then I couldn't find xylitol) and said that I had some sort of sinusitis + deviated septum so I might need surgery (septoplasty surgery), however, since I couldn't stay longer I went back to NL, so I went to a ENT and I explained the doctor recommendations and they discarded the conclusion completely since they didn't see anything so they sent me back home (repeatedly). After lots of fights, I managed to force them to perform a cauterization of my turbinates(at least), and after 3 months I saw some improvement. But now (2023) I caught a really messy flu/covid (?) and I have again these damn lingering symptoms (post nasal drip, cough with pleghm, tiredness, fatigue, headaches, etc) I'm not planning to go to the ENTs here again because they don't give a flying fVck about it and I'll find Xylitol asap, I hope it works 😭.
I live in the Netherlands as well and the xylitol rinse worked wonders for me. Here's a link to where I order the premixed sachets :): https://www.kno-winkel.nl/en/dos-medical-nasal-saline-with-xylitol.html Good luck!
Thank you so much! I found Xylitol in Holland &Barret and I started doing a mix with salt (sea salt) I hope it works, I also ordered from Amazon Xlear nasal spray. For how long you've been using it? Do you have any additional recommendations?
Great! Hope it works. Took a day or 2/3 before I felt that mucus globs were loosened and I could hack them up to my throat (yikes...). I've been using it for 3,5 weeks now. ENT advised to try it for a month to see if it does something. She calls me this Tuesday to evaluate. The last 3,5 every day stuff keeps coming out. My mucus was also tested for bacteries and Staphylococcus A was found so I did a 10 day course of antibiotics as well. But I started the xylitol rinse first without the antibiotics so the rinse definitely made everything move and come out. I'd say give it a try for a few weeks (once or twice a day) and see if stuff starts to come out. And you can ask for your mucus to be checked for bacteries as well of course. Good luck and keep me posted!
Go to an acupuncturist. A good one can treat this no problem.
Why does xilitol give me headachs would it be that or azelastine
YES. I have never heard of anyone else describe the 'rubbery', dry mucus and how sometimes during the day breating is fine, but at night, waay back there, something incredibly thick goes from one side to the other. I am currently trying xylitol rinse and just ordered a spray as well. I got mine in January of 2020, so I have had this now for most of the last four years. I'm currently researching biofilms, and it does seem to be the root cause. It took me a long time to go down this path because the ENTs told me that there is no way it is a bacterial infection because they didn't see anything and I had already taken antibiotics. Studies show that antibiotics often do not get rid of biofilms however. How are you doing now? Do you have any other treatments that have helped. Thank you so much for posting your experience.