Nuances of Nasal & Sinus Self-Help

About the Book

The book's humorous cover portrays a man with sinus problems, who is nearly drowning in all of the stuff it takes to care for himself. This is meant only to draw people into discovering the book, and to underscore that humor can be a useful tool in coping and healing. It is not meant to belittle, in any way, the very real inconvenience and suffering that can result from nasal and sinus problems. Hopefully, no one will be misled into thinking the book is a satire! This is one fact-filled treatise!

This work is organized into three main parts. The first part begins with a delightful overview of the history of nasal hygiene, then goes on to describe general nasal anatomy and function in a manner that is understandable to anyone. Medical care for nasal conditions is then discussed with specific information for environmentally influenced conditions, especially tobacco smoking, infections, focusing on personal habits like hand washing , and holistic help for general nasal symptoms.

The second part is the best currently available reference on the myriad of devices and homemade and commercial nasal hygiene solutions known to man. Instruction on homemade solutions is accurate and complete, including the exact calculations for the amount of salt and water needed for making normal saline, as well as how to make really sterile solutions, and how to clean, disinfect, or sterilize the equipment used at home. With the recent proliferation of commercial products, this guide is essential for navigating the maze. Ms. Rudy includes an excellent unbiased complete description of each one, along with summaries of published key research on these products presented in a digestible manner.

The third part applies the background and product information to self-help guidelines for a variety of common symptoms and conditions including nosebleeds, colds, allergies, nasal dryness, smell and taste disorders, and sinus surgery aftercare. It also provides a section for notes or prescriptions for a personal regimen of nasal self-care. A number of useful appendices provide comparative lists of nasal hygiene products, sources of products, and further information resources. An extensive bibliography and detailed subject and author indices complete this excellent resource book.

Comments

"This handy, easy-to-read guide is ideal for the person who has suffered chronic nasal or sinus symptoms with little relief. It presents a delightful historical perspective on nasal hygiene methods. Health professionals will find it a valuable resource book in caring for their patients with chronic rhinitis or rhinosinusitis."

Helene Krouse, Ph.D., APRN, BC, CORLN, FAAN
Assistant Dean and Professor
Adult and Otolaryngology (Rhinology) Nurse Practitioner
Wayne State University School of Nursing

"This book presents the best discussion of general nasal care currently available, focusing on the devices and solutions available for use in the nose. It will serve as an outstanding reference for laypersons, physicians and other health care providers for years to come."

Donald A. Leopold, MD, FACS
Chairman, Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
Rhinologist and Sinus Surgeon
University of Nebraska

"This book establishes the standard of care for nasal hygiene"

Robert S. Lebovics, MD, FACS
Otorhinolaryngologist
Wegener's Granulomatosis Assoc. Medical Consulting Board
New York, NY

"This highly informative text provides thorough answers to many of the common questions of people with chronic sinusitis. It addresses nasal irrigation, solutions and devices in an especially comprehensive manner. People with short-term and long-term nasal and sinus problems will find this book very useful in guiding their self-care. Sinus sufferers will find it indispensable."

William E. Bolger, MD, FACS
Rhinologist and Sinus Surgeon
Bethesda, Maryland

"While television and magazine ads often direct us to 'Talk to your doctor ...', this book is a 'Talk to your nurse.......' treasure!

Heather Rebic, BS, RN
Media Review Columnist for ORL, Head and Neck Nursing
Pittsburgh, PA

"We use nasal irrigation in all of our rhinitis and sinusitis patients. I have never seen any source more informative about nasal irrigation."

Michael Kaliner, MD
Internist and allergist
Institute for Asthma and Allergy
Silver Spring, MD

".....a unique encyclopedia (on nasal irrigation) for those who love the nose and who love to breathe. I recommend it to people who wish to know more....."

Hana R. Solomon, MD
Pediatrician
BeWell Health Products, Inc.
www.nasopure.com

".....By applying the information from this book after my second sinus surgery, along with taking immune globulin every 4 weeks, I have been able to avoid sinus infections for a year. Being free of sinus disease has allowed me to focus on correcting other bothersome health problems....."

F.M.
Adult with primary immunodeficiency
New Jersey, USA

".....I could see this text as a well-thumbed family reference book, and equally valuable in my doctor's office. It contains all the information a person needs to manage the misbehaving nose....."

Estelle Skinner
M.S. Audiologist
Towson, MD

About the Author

Susan F. Rudy, MSN, CS-FNP, CORLN is a leading family and otolaryngology nurse practitioner in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. Area.

Ms. Rudy has practiced otorhinolaryngology (Ear, nose and throat) nursing for over twenty years, since graduating from the Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing in Danville, Pennsylvania, and then earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. She attained certification as an adult nurse practitioner in 1992, then a family nurse practitioner in 1998, through the George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. She has held otolaryngology nursing and nurse practitioner positions in inpatient, outpatient, and operating room arenas in private, public, and government health care facilities, including the Geisinger Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. She was the first nurse practitioner to serve as an Instructor in the Department of Otolaryngology for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine from 1995 through 1998, during which time she codeveloped and implemented a curriculum teaching primary care otolaryngology to general internal medicine residents (doctors). Ms. Rudy is a long-standing active member of the Society of Otorhinoloaryngology and Head and Neck Nurses (SOHN) through which she holds the specialty nursing certification (CORLN). She has served on the Editorial Board for the journal, ORL-Head and Neck Nursing since 1987, and has served as its Associate Editor since 1997. Ms. Rudy also holds memberships in the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) and the Association for Practitioners in Infection Control (APIC). She has published and spoken widely on otolaryngology medical and nursing topics and is known for her research critiques as well as for her writing and teaching abilities with the lay audience.

Table of Contents and Excerpts

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Lists
• Foreward
• Preface
• PART ONE: Overview of Nasal Hygiene and the Origins of Nasal
• and Sinus Disease
• 1: The History of Nasal Hygiene
• 2: The Structure and Function of the Nose and Sinuses
• 3: The Nose and the Environment
• 4: Infection Control in the Home and Community
• PART TWO: Devices and Potions for Nasal and Sinus Self-Help
• 5: Devices for Adding Wetness to the Nose
• 6: Gravity-Flow Devices for Nasal Cleansing: Then and Now
• 7: Low-Pressure Devices for Nasal Cleansing
• 8: Electrically Powered Irrigators for Nasal Cleansing
• 9: Nasal Aerosol Dispensers and Nebulizers
• 10: Homemade Potions for Nasal Cleansing
• 11: Over-the-Counter Potions for Nasal Wetting and Cleansing
• 12: Products to Open a Stuffy or Blocked Nose
• 13: Infection Control for Devices and Potions
• 14: Nasal Placement and Use of Bottle and Device Tips
• PART THREE: Self-Help for Nasal and Sinus Symptoms
• 15: Self-Help for the Stuffy, Runny
• 16: Self-Help for the Dry Nose
• 17: Self-Help for Nosebleeds
• 18: Self-Help for the Nose After Nasal or Sinus Surgery
• 19: Self-Help for a Smell or Taste Disorder
• 20: My Chapter: You want me to do WHAT?
• APPENDICES
• A: Description of Testing Methods for Home Recipes and Other Fluids
• B: Household and Laboratory Conversion Factors and Definitions
• C: Useful Comparative Lists of Nasal Hygiene Devices
• D: Product Vendors
• E: Self-Help Groups and Information Resources
• Related to Nasal and Sinus Problems
• F: Alternative Medical Healers
• G: Chapter Reading Levels
• H: Annotated Suggested Reading List
• Bibliography
• Index of Authors
• Subject Index
• About the Author
• Order Form

excerpt from Preface

Otolaryngologists and allergists who most commonly recommend nasal hygiene to their patients, most often subscribe to one or two methods which they advise for the majority of, or for all of their patients. In some cases, they are unaware of other methods, but more often they are trying to simplify life for their patients and for themselves. They choose and recommend a method or a select few methods they believe to be available, effective and acceptable to patients.

As a nurse, then nurse practitioner, for over twenty years, the author has had the chance to spend time in helping people adjust to the idea of cleaning the nose, then work through the where, when, why, and how of it. The author's clinical practice settings have provided interactions with people who have rare disorders as well as common ones. This has included experience working through many unique situations, such as various lifestyles and disabilities that impact on motivation and compliance, while applying the medical skill of being able to examine the entirety of the nasal cavity (nasal endoscopy) before and after cleaning to assess the effectiveness. This experience has led to a detailed understanding of the many individual variations that can come into play with tolerance, cost, lifestyle (including work and travel), personality, past personal and medical history, and unique individual and postsurgical anatomy. Thus, need plus curiosity have led to exploration, which has uncovered and developed the information for this book.

This work does not cover detailed anatomy and physiology, nasal lavage for specimen retrieval, needle puncture or other surgical cannulation of the sinuses for lavage, or sinus irrigation done during sinus surgery.

excerpt from Chapter 20: My Chapter: You want me to do WHAT?

Disbelief is sometimes a reaction of people who are asked to begin nasal irrigation or flushing. Hopefully, anyone who needs to start doing nasal irrigation, who was put off by the idea before reading this work, is less so now. Like anything, getting started may take a little faith, trust, courage, and discipline, but it soon becomes just another part of a regular day for however long you need it! For many people, it is just as routine as brushing teeth or combing hair.

If nasal irrigation or flushing is for you, here are some tips for helping you to get used to, and to stick with the practice:

1. Keep all the irrigation and cleaning supplies you will use in one place. Store them in a place and manner that keeps the number of steps and time for assembly and clean-up to a minimum.
2. Choose the simplest effective method. Ready-to-use prepackaged fluids are the very easiest to use (Taccariello et al., 1999). Single dose dry mix packets (Table 11.2) are also easier than measuring dry ingredients, and erase any concern about germs growing in stored fluids. Symptom improvement is one measure of effectiveness that you can judge on your own. However, some people may also need a healthcare provider's advice on the effectiveness by looking into the nose or doing other tests like sinus scans.
3. If you are put off by the first method you try, do not give up! Try to figure out exactly what does not seem right, then work with your prescriber to change to a different device, potion, position, or time of day, until you find what works for you.
4. Plan ahead for day trips or longer overnight trips. You may need a different device or potion while on travel.
5. Remember, it takes 30 days to form a new habit. If you need to do long-term nasal irrigations, begin by committing to doing it, no matter what, for thirty days. After that, stopping may take more effort than keeping on (Ian, 2003)!
6. Hopefully, feeling better will be your reward! Enjoy!

For readers who are experienced veterans in nasal irrigation, hopefully you have found at least one new useful ti