Journey with sinus (Part 1)

Earlier this month, I felt my throat was irritated but I wasn't coughing though. Since it persisted for a while, I consulted my GP. Uniform redness at the back of the throat but no inflammation or swelling. So I was given antihistamine and thymol.

It went away but came back about two weeks later with a vengeance: daily morning inflammation of the nasal membrane (I usually tell people it's "sinus" for simplicity but it's actually not accurate; accurate term is vasomotor rhinitis) and slight sorethroat. It appears my GP is a little stumped and so asked his daughter, who is a doctor herself, to provide second opinion.

She recommended the following:

(1) Avoiding milk and gluten. Allergic to these can manifest in this rhinitis.

(2) Take two capsules of fish oil daily and 1000 mg Vitamin C four times a day.

(3) Eat organic food

To be honest, I'm not comfortable with the last two as their cost is prohibitive. Moreover, such extremely high dose of Vitamin C is questionable as there is no research that conclusive validates its efficacy. In fact, research shows that dosage above 500mg is progressively wasted in the body and excreted as expensive urine.

Upon Ban's suggstion and affirmed by my sisters, I made appointment with Dr Sia, ENT specialist. He had no comment on (2) and (3) ("They are supplement, not treatment") although he let slip once that he too thought that 4 x 1000 mg Vitamin C was too much. At most, 1000 mg for him.

As for (1) he said I could opt for (but he didn't push for it) an allergy blood test that covers 35 allergens, inlcuding milk and wheat. So useful, and so I chose it, on top of opting for him to use a scope to look at my nasal passages and the throat. Nothing serious in it, just allergic reaction.

The test results supposed to take a week and I took up their offer of emailing the results to me. Meanwhile, I tried to stay away from milk and wheat. No lactose-free milk and pineapple tarts. Cry.

Comments

William said…
Yeah, too much Vit C will be excreted. And also bear in mind that LifePak also contains Vit C.
Anonymous said…
When taking too much Vit C, or any supplements,the excess will come out in the urine, hence, "expensive" urine. I too am not one for organic products (no prove that it is way better than the regular), nor cutting out any specific kinds of food unless either I can attest to its adverse effects, and/or results from a comprehensive allergy test. Dr. Sia, ENT seemed to be on the right track. Hope he gets to the bottom of it. Most doctors here do not recommend/prescribe supplements because they are not FDA regulated. They do however, recommend Calcium + D for those who have osteopenia. Those who are lactose intolerant, should be able to take lactose-free milk. Alternatively, you can look into getting Lactaid tablets -- take it before taking dairy products.
You can be tested for Celiac disease (gluten intolerance). If you do have celiac, you have to be on a gluten-free diet. If you test negative, then you have to cut out all foodstuff with gluten, then see how you feel. If you feel better, then possibly you are gluten sensitive. You can reintroduce some wheat, but you have to gauge it yourself.
Have you noticed if any particular food/drink acted as trigger factors? SR

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