Hydrocortisone

[gertie]

Has anyone taken this? How did it effect you? I'm considering trying it to get rid of a sinus inf that nothing else has helped. I'm afraid it will cause me to retain fluid & start my vertigo again. thanks.

[jlmahon]

Have the docs tried all possible antibiotics? I wouldn't think a steroid would help an infection - I would think it would make it worse if it was an actual infection, as steroids suppress the immune system, therefore keeping the body from fighting the infection. I used to get sinus infections all the time until I started cleaning my nasal passages at least twice a week. I purchased one of those neti pots and use a saline solution to irrigate and clean my sinuses. I haven't had a sinus infection in years. Have you tried this?

[gertie]

What you say makes sense. I've tried antibiotics & had bad reaction to all of them. I have been irrigating sinus a few times a day for almost 2 months but it hasn't helped. Ent put med in my sinus but it didn't help. My TMJ is probably the reason sinus won't drain. I need a good cranial osteopath but not one available here. Thanks.

[flop]

What are your symptoms - do you have purulent discharge (yellow / green / foul smelling mucus)?

Who suggested the hydrocortisone, was it the ENT doctor? Your PCP? An idea from someone else?

Sometimes sinus infections can be hard to tell apart from allergic sinusitis. Infections are best treated by antibiotics, nasal rinses or if nothing else works surgery to washout the sinuses and create a drainage passage (I had this done a couple of years ago). Allergic sinusitis has similar symptoms but the mucus is clear / white / cream coloured. Allergies are best treated with anti-histamines, singulair, steroid nasal spray or in severe cases steroid drops (nasules).

What sort of sinus rinses are you doing? I have found that using a Neilmed squeezy bottle is more effective than a neti-pot as you can get a higher pressure on the water stream so get the water higher up the nasal passages.

If it is a sinus infection then it is most likely that hydrocortisone tables will make the infection worse (you shouldn't take steroid tablets if you have any untreated infection). Steroids damp down the body's immune response so your body would stop trying to fight the infection.

If it is allergic sinusitis then technically hydrocortisone would help but it is rather taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut - there are other treatments (as above) that should be tried first.

Hope you get some relief soon,

Flop

[Jan]

It think the point of the steroids would be to reduce the sinus swelling, allowing the infection to drain.

When my son was younger, he had chronic sinus infections. After months of antibiotics, we were sent to an allergy specialist. He determined it was a sinus infection and not allergies, and put him on: more antibiotics, an antihistamines, a decongestant, and steroids, all at once. The doctor said sinus infections can be difficult to treat and that antibiotics are often needed for a very long time to address one. He said he was going to go after the infection with the big guns. After completing all the above, he has not had a sinus infection in 8 years. He used to have them every time he stopped the antibiotics.

[Jan]

A sinus infection or allergy can cause dizziness even in people without POTS. Getting rid of it may help improve other symptoms you have attributed to POTS.