foul smelling/tasting mucus in sinus

The only thing that is going to get rid of an infection is an antibiotic. You need to go to the doctor. You can usually get a normal doctor visit for only $50. If you need to, ask them to make payment arrangements. Or, see if you qualify for free medical care through the government. Especially with a sinus infection, you need to get this treated. The infection can move to your brain causing a lot more complications.

This reply may have come 3 years later than the last post, but the poster above me doesn't know anything.

No, a bacterial sinus infection cannot grow into a brain infection, it is impossible.

As for antibiotic treatment of a sinus infections, the doctor will take that $50 for the checkup, thank you very much, and tell you to go home. He may prescribe you a saline water treatment that you can buy OTC without a doc, or you can make yourself. Antibiotics are not only extreme overkill for this, but they would do more harm than good. They would kill the infection along with the normal flora colonizing the sinuses (no healthy sinus is sterile) making it even easier for foreign, pathogenic bacteria to colonize the inside of your nose after the antibiotic treatment is through. Secondly, sounds like the original poster also has the common cold - antibiotics would do nothing against it as it is a virus.

If you find you have foul smelling mucus, it's nothing to worry about unless you for some reason have an open wound in your nasal chamber. Just keep clearing your nose every time you feel the urge to, flush it with a saline solution from time to time, and wait for it to clear up. Again, you can make the solution yourself or buy it from a pharmacy for under $2 for 3 ounces, but pre-made stuff has preservatives in it - which aren't inherently bad in themselves- are nonetheless something you don't need in your nose.

Then again, there could be complications of a sinus infection which could lead to meningitis. But these complications are rare and far between and usual you would know if you have them, like a compromised immune system due to HIV or an abnormal nasal/mucosal constitution. You should also consult your doctor if you have a chronic sinus infection, which seems like something the OP does not have.

In VERY rare cases could that happen. Hahaha... I thought with modern medicine, more people were informed about the overuse of antibiotics. Antibiotics for a sinus infection are completely not necessary. If your immune system is healthy, it will take care of it on its own. A decongestant, box of tissues, and plenty of fluids is all you need, my friend.

Now... If you're looking to help create more strains of antibiotic resistant S. Aureus... Hahaha... You'll want to side with "Mr. Antibiotic."

Have a great day...

If the sinuses become infected, it is likely that they are blocked due to inflammation caused by allergies or other irritants; it is difficult to clear up an infection in a blocked sinus with or without an antibiotic, due to the relative isolation of the pocket of infection. If you go to an ENT he/she will, every time, prescribe an antibiotic. In my case, I was prescribed two antibiotics, plus three days of prednisone for the inflammation and vicodin for the pain. The pain can be absolutely debilitating. The whole experience sucks big time. The last two times I got this infection, the antibiotics didn't work and the ENT eventually did a procedure where my sinuses were punctured with a syringe and flushed with a saline push. All the gross infected mucus ran down the back of my throat. That REALLY sucked.

Guest wrote:


Well its a good thing that your advice comes 3 yrs later. Obviously you think u know it all. Check your facts b4 posting advice. First of all a sinus infection that is BACTERIAL in nature will not normally subside WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS. Also, an untreated bacterial sinus infection can most certainly spread to the brain causing menengitis. I think maybe your intentions are good, you are just using a text book from the victorian era. Maybe a demon is in his nose and needs to be exorcism. There IS a big problem with over prescribing antibiotics. I have also never met anyone who could diagnose a medical problem over the web, 3 yrs after the fact.

Hiya, I don't know about brain infections or whatever but I personally know all about that gross sinus issue. I did the whole doctor thing, through to an ENT specialist with the anti biotics and the saline treatments, even had an MRI to establish whether I had munted sinus's, alas nothing worked and no definitive diagnosis was made. Somewhere along the way I started taking an anti histamine every day (phenergan) and whadayaknow NO MORE SINUS yucky stuff. This of course is my own remedy and certainly not that of a medical professional, just a smart girl who figured out a fast, effective and cheap solution all by herself :o)

Ok so I looked at this posting bc I am having a similar issue... and thanks to everyone except the "smart girl" in the last reply I found nothing useful bc people have to be immature about everything at all times...I honestly do not understand why you had to bicker about who was right or wrong bc guess what in the medical field there is usually always more than one correct solution...I kno bc I work in the medical field and I have since I was 17yrs old... my conclusion is I am going to go to the ENT dr and have them test my mucus and look at my nose. AND also while I am waiting to get an appt with said dr I am going to try the "smart girl"s approach. Sooo hopefully it will work. Thxx "smart girl" =] =] =]

Actually if you've worked in the medical field since you were 17 that A) sinus infections almost NEVER turn into brain infections and 2) antibiotics are over-prescribed and almost always not necessary.  Sinus infections will go away on their own without the use of antibiotics in most cases.  Chronic infections definitely would require a doc to look at you.  I have gotten antibioitics for some infections due to the severity exactly twice.  The rest of the time OTC stuff did the trick.

what OTC products? suffering with said symptoms and cant afford the time off to visit DR, but really wanna sort this out ASAP.

Almost never is not a chance the person who falls into the that category wants to find him/herself in without having sought the help of a physician.


I would ask that anyone that thinks they are smarter than a physician or licensed health care professional try to get a license based on their "miraculous" knowledge base!

In an age where many doctors have become nothing more than drug dealers in exchange for perks from big pharma, I agree that most of us are on too many meds. The people are getting dumber and the bugs are getting meaner as a result.

Kid acts up in class, give 'em ritalin because it has nothing to do with the fact that they might just be bored. Can't get it up? Don't change your diet try some exercise. Take that blue pill and keep eating cheese burgers, smoking cigs and watching tv all night.

Oh and don't forget - ignore that hippie natural remedy stuff at all costs. It's all hocus pocus and does pharma and the gov't no good. Why eat a cheap plant when you can pay big $$$ for a synthetic chemical made in a lab with all thems side effects?

I've taken antibiotics exactly once in my life, and will save them for a time I truly need them to increase the chance they'll actually work.

Disclaimer: These are my thoughts, not yours. I'm not a doctor, herbalist or pyschologist, nor do I play one on the Internet.

 

 

Haha

I have had severe headaches, filthy green mucus that tates like eggs in the back of my throat, i feel like i have been in a fight and los tand its all in my left nostril and upwards. but reading this post has certainly made me feel better, never seen so much bitchiness. personally i was looking for an answer to the eggy tasting snot but instead i ran into a tirade of who knows more banter. personally don't know if it's viral or bacterial just gonna ride it through, feeling so lucky i don't have to pay for the doctors . . . High five to the NHS

hope everyone is feeling better soon

Same here except i have yellow discharge i guess or snot in the left nostril. I never get sinus infections but was given amoxicillin 500mgs on the 13th and tomorrow will be 10days and i have to say that i guess it cut down on the amount of discharge but now it seems very little but the little that is there seems potent. Like i tilt my head to the right and i get a shot of just a little bit at the back of my throat and it tastes nasty, sour like tangy eggy yucky weird taste. The smell is hard to narrow in the 10 days ago i thought it was ass smelling butt it's a weird taste now almost a regular snot but tangy and just stinky. LOL almost like a dead animal i got nothing hard to narrow the smell.

Well, I am definitely going through the exact same thing. Have been for a week now. Every morning I wake up with this thick, lumpy, GREEN, mucus with that foul smell. Throuhout the day it even changes colors from brown to green to yellow to light yellow. It has been doing this everyday until I go to sleep and wake back up again. I figure as the day progresses and I blow my nose more I clear more out. But once I got to sleep and don't blow my nose, the bacteria builds back up again.... just my unprofessional non-medical opinion. Personally I agree with some of you about Antibiotics being overprescribed; while that is true, I do think that in this case I'll take my chances and go the antibiotic route. Why? Because I have SEVERE allergies. Two years ago, around this time, my allergies were the absolute worse - worse than they've ever been. Well, because of my allergies I developed a sinus infection. You know what came next? A fever, fatigue, and aching bones like I had the flu. Guess what? This lasted for 2 1/2 weeks!! I didn't know then that something like allergies could resemble the flu! OTC allergy medications almost never works for me. I saw an allergist and never before has a Dr looked at me and said, "You're screwed!" He wanted to prescribe me steroids after that but I said nooooo. Every year I go through this same thing - sinus infection - one always being different than the one before. What I've learned to be the best way to get rid of it A LOT faster is to drink PLENTY of water (I prefer room temp because really cold water just clogs my nose back up) drink Honey and peppermint tea (natural organic honey from Wholefoods) the mint will help get rid of that nasty taste from sinus infections and the honey helps break up some of that mucus, stay away from dairy products and a lot of sweets (eat vegetables and eat soup) and last but not least take your antibiotics. If you're opposed to this idea then try natural garlic supplements. I've taken garlic in the place of antibiotics prescribed from a Dr before and they worked great. Granted I smelled like garlic bread but i'm pretty sure there are ways to combact that smell. But garlic is a natural antibiotic so Google around for that. Hope this somewhat helps! =)