As we get older, many of us develop health issues like sinus problems. Our immune system gets weaker with age, opening us up to more illnesses and conditions. A weakening immune system or changes to our overall body chemistry also makes us more susceptible to allergies we never had before. These allergies can lead to sinus problems, even for those who never had sinus problems.

I for one fit into this category. My immune system is quite suppressed due to living in constant pain and having multiple sleep disorders, meaning I usually get less than 4 hours sleep in an 8-hour period, leaving me in a constant state of fatigue. Not only do I find it far too easy to catch whatever bug is going around, but I’ve developed some allergies and sinus troubles that I never had before. But I’m fortunate enough that some over-the-counter allergy medications help, as does using a neti pot on a regular basis.

But my beloved wife has had chronic sinus problems her entire life. Her sinuses have been so bad that some of her sinus infections have lasted for over 2-years. What has made it so difficult to treat is that she is allergic to many of the drugs used to treat sinus infections.

Earlier this year, she developed a very painful tooth and went to the dentist. He x-rayed her tooth and found nothing wrong, but did say that the roots of her teeth went up into the base of her sinus cavity. She was sent to a great ENT (ear nose throat) specialist.

The ENT used an endoscope to look up into her sinus passages and discovered that one of them was so narrow he couldn’t get the scope up all the way. He said it was too narrow to allow the sinuses to drain and said that she needed sinus surgery.

Any surgery is scary to many and it was to her. However, on the day of surgery, I took her to the hospital, they put her under and about an hour later, she was in recovery. The procedure was simple, according to the doctor. They basically drilled a new sinus passage for each side of her nose. The surgery was several months ago and for the first time in her life, she has not had any sinus problems.

She also had problems with her ears whenever she changes elevation or goes in an airplane. Even driving here locally with the small hills in northern Kentucky, her ears would plug and not un-plug. Since her sinus surgery, she doesn’t have near the problems with her ears and the tooth pain has gone away.

I’m sharing this so that others with chronic sinus problems and possible toothaches that aren’t tooth related, can see if their problems may be similar. If so, then possibly a simple surgical procedure could eliminate most of the sinus problems. We highly recommend looking into it.