Sinus Pressure: The Allergy Connection

How many times have you heard someone say, “I think I’m catching a cold”? Certainly many times. In fact, most of us have said that or made a similar statement. Now when someone I know tells me I usually reply, “Could it be allergies?” Because many of those “colds” are probably allergic reactions to the environment. As I look back on my childhood days, one cannot help but marvel at the sheer possibility that all those spoonfuls of cod liver oil my mother faithfully administered—-in its full natural flavor, as it was made commonly on those days–to prevent my getting a “cold”, while not a bad idea, probably not necessary since my frequent runny nose, cough, and postnasal drip were likely caused by allergens. Even, perhaps, because of the thick smog that had developed in the big city where I grew up.

While studying my sinus problem several years ago, I came to the conclusion that the two main causes of my problem were: certain foods and environmental allergies. Anytime I allowed myself a milkshake or a large serving of ice cream, I would have a serious runny nose within hours. And every time I drank a large glass of cow’s milk 3 or more days in a row I had the same result. I would stop drinking milk for several days or stop eating ice cream and the sinuses would go away within a few days. The apparent correlation became so obvious that I finally decided, several years ago, to stop using these foods on a regular basis, and of course my sinuses cleared up indefinitely.

Then spring came and when the weeds and their flowers, and the trees and their own flowers appeared once more in our area, the same allergic reaction that I had had to the aforementioned foods, began to reappear, except that I was not. use them. So, it became apparent that I was allergic to certain pollens and probably other allergens. I was tested for pollen allergies and sure enough, there were several pollens that I was very allergic to. With these results in hand, the only choice I had was either to move to a place where there were no pollens I was allergic to, probably quite an impossibility, or to start receiving regular allergy shots. I opted for the latter.

Several years passed and we moved further north where rugs are more commonly used than in the Southwest and I started getting “cold” symptoms again. At least that’s what we thought at first. Since I was using almost no cow’s milk and had resumed allergy shots, my wife and I wondered what could be the cause of the postnasal drip etc this time. So I went back to an allergist in our new area. After doing some tests, he found out that I was very allergic to house dust. In the process of getting tested for allergies, I discovered that not all house dust is the same. Some dusts contain large amounts of dust mite droppings. These types of mites thrive in a humid and warm environment, such as the one produced by the human body while lying in bed, where the mites eat mostly microscopic particles of human skin that are rubbed there and on the carpet. Tests showed that he was severely allergic to that type of house dust. My doctor then gave me detailed instructions on how to protect my bed from the little vermin and their droppings. The devastating allergic effects were beginning to subside, especially when antigen from dust mite droppings was added to my allergy shots.

There definitely can be an allergy connection to sinus pressure and other sinus problems. My case is not unique. If one suffers from ongoing sinus problems, it might not be a bad idea to consider testing for environmental and possibly food allergies, especially if your health insurance covers these tests.