ClariFix - Surgical Treatment for the Persistent Runny Nose

Our office now offers ClariFix, a surgical treatment for the persistent runny nose due to non-allergic rhinitis as well as severe allergies . This procedure is performed in the office under only local anesthesia. Watch the video above to see how it works. Patient who are candidates for this procedure include: • Be over 18 years old • Suffer from an intractable runny nose in spite of medications (or desire to reduce the number medications to treat the runny nose) • Have no significan…

10/16/2018 0

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Suction Powered Nasal Irrigation

Most sino-nasal irrigation systems currently in use require passive drainage after flushing... typically into a sink. You squirt the saltwater into one nostril and the flush drains out the other side passively. However, there is a new system called " Navage " made by RhinoSystems that adds suction along with the flush. The upper chamber is where clean water is held. There are two nasal pillows that goes into each nostril. By pushing a button, the water gets mixed with salt and fl…

9/25/2016 0

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New Video on Sinusitis and Sinus Surgery Explained (Balloon Sinuplasty and Endoscopic Sinus Surgery)

A  new video  has been uploaded to YouTube that explains how sinus infections occur as well as how sinus surgery helps with this condition via balloon sinuplasty or traditional endoscopic sinus surgery . Sinus topics demonstrated in this video include: •  Chronic Sinusitis •  Endoscopic Sinus Surgery •  Balloon Sinuplasty

2/20/2016 0

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Color of Snot (Infographic)

1/29/2015 0

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Actress Kaley Cuoco Reveals Afrin Nasal Spray Addiction

Image by Tabercil of Wikipedia Actress  Kaley Cuoco  of  Big Bang Theory  fame revealed that she was addicted to Afrin nasal decongestant spray for years which ultimately made necessary her recent sinus surgery . This confession was made during Ellen Degeneres talk show Jan 2015 . “I was actually really addicted to nose spray. Like, Afrin. Like, for years... At awards shows I would have to pick out the right clutch so I could fit my Afrin in it, and I’d be under the table snorting it. …

1/16/2015 0

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Does Sinus and/or Nasal Surgery Help with Sleep Apnea?

Bluntly, the answer is not really... Although it may make sense that improving nasal airflow should help with obstructive sleep apnea , the reality is that it does not make a profound difference. Indeed, there was a study in 2014 that looked into this question. In this study , 3 groups of patients were looked at divided into patients with mild, moderate, or severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). These patients underwent sinus surgery , septoplasty , and turbinate reduction . What was found …

7/08/2014 1

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The Nose is a Jungle of Germs (even in Normal Healthy People)!

A fascinating study was conducted by Stanford researchers on the amount and types of germs found inside the nose in normal healthy individuals, whether they are staph carriers or not. In a typical nose in a healthy individual without any symptoms, the following "germs" can be found. Keep in mind that ALL these germs have the potential to cause a pathological sinus infection : • Corynebacterium • Propionibacterium • Escherichia-Shigella • Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA…

12/12/2013 0

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Nasal Spray Cure for the Common Cold?

Well maybe not cure per se, but at least effective treatment to reduce the duration and severity of the viral cold at least. Austrian researchers have reported on the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 211 patients suffering from early symptoms of the common cold. [ link ] Treatment of the non-placebo group involved using a nasal spray containing carrageenan (a sulphated polysaccharide found in red seaweed/algae) three times per day for 7 days. Cold…

12/07/2013 2

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Allergy Sufferers also Have More Severe Migraines

Many people suffer from migraines . Many people also suffer from allergies . What may have been suspected but is now clarified is that those individuals who suffer from BOTH allergies and migraines have much more frequent and severe headaches than those who do not have allergies. [ link ] Based on a survey response from 5,849 patients who suffer from migraines, over two-thirds also suffered from allergies. From this group, researchers found that the odds of experiencing more frequent headac…

11/27/2013 0

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Pediatric Sinus Development and Sinusitis

There is a tendency for any type of nasal drainage to be attributed to " sinusitis " in children. Especially in young children, "sinusitis" is a relatively rare cause for nasal drainage and congestion which is actually more commonly due to viruses and enlarged adenoids . The reason why sinuses play a relatively minor role in nasal drainage and congestion is because sinuses are not fully developed in children. It probably is not until around the age of 7 years old th…

11/02/2013 0

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Why Do Culture Results Take So Long? [video]

One of the most common questions I get after obtaining a culture of pus whether from the ear or the nose is how long it takes before the culture results are back... especially when MRSA is a concern. Does it take a few hours? 24 hours? Days? Disappointingly, it can take up to 5+ days if not longer. You want to know why? Well, rather than explaining, watch a  6-minute video  that explains the numerous steps that goes into providing a diagnosis after a culture has been obtained... in th…

4/02/2013 0

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The Facial Triangle of Danger (Even Death)

Image by SpooSpa from Wikipedia If you draw a line between the eyebrow to the corners of the lip, a triangle is created which delimits a region esoterically known as the "danger triangle". Why is this region considered dangerous? It's because infections within this region can lead to infections of the brain (rarely). Why? The blood supply within this triangular area communicates with the cavernous sinus found at the bottom of the brain. This anatomic structure is a major …

3/05/2013 0

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Does Acupuncture Help With Allergies?

Image from Acupuncture For All According to one study , it does... Performed by researchers in China and Korea, they divided 238 patients suffering from allergies into 3 groups: active acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and no treatment. They found that acupuncture, even if it was sham, did help significantly with nasal allergies. However, only active acupuncture helped with not just nasal allergies but also allergy symptoms beyond the nose! Of course, when considering all the other researc…

2/09/2013 0

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Sinus Mass Chance Finding (Incidentaloma)

The New York Times published a great story on the dreaded incidentaloma on Jan 17, 2013. An incidentaloma is essentially a chance finding of a mass most likely benign, that was incidentally discovered on a CT or MRI scan ordered for a completely different reason. With such incidentalomas, it leads to patient anxiety causing physicians and surgeons to order even more tests and procedures (which themselves may lead to other incidentalomas). The vast majority of such incidentalomas are "no…

1/18/2013 0

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How Long Does it Take for a Cough to Clear Up?

Hypothetically speaking, how long would it take for a cough to clear up if a person comes down with an acute respiratory infection ? According to a telephone survey of 493 adults, the lay-public expect the cough to clear up in 7 to 9 days. Now, is this one week guess actually true? Not at all... In reality, it takes about 17.8 days on average. This number was determined on a recent study that reviewed 19 prior studies that determined how long a cough lasts for. It should also be m…

1/14/2013 0

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Sinus Surgery Lawsuit Ruled Against ENT

A patient who had undergone endoscopic sinus surgery suffered detachment of the extraocular muscle resulting in double vision that required further surgical intervention. A jury found against the ENT and ambulatory surgery center rewarding $2.5 million dollars to not only the patient, but also the wife "for loss of consortium" . Damage to the eye and vision is part of the normal consent process for endoscopic sinus surgery when considering the geographic proximity of the eye a…

9/12/2012 2

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Yet Another Sinus Dilation Device - AerOS Sinus Dilation System

Sinus dilation has become all the rage in the past few years to treat chronic sinusitis , especially since CPT codes for this procedure has become available as of January 2012. The first company was Acclarent who coined the balloon sinuplasty term. Next was Entellus who produced their simpler system ( XprESS and FinESS ). Now, there is SinuSys who has produced a new way to dilate the sinus opening without use of a balloon like Acclarent and Entellus. It is currently pending FDA appro…

9/06/2012 0

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Oral Steroids No Help in Sinus Infections?

Media outlets such as Fox News reported yesterday that oral steroids do not help with sinus infections. This claim is based on a small study of 174 patients with clinical symptoms of an acute sinus infection and given either 30 milligrams per day of prednisolone or placebo pills for one week. Of note, antibiotics were not given. No significant difference in symptom resolution was found. Now why would one even think to give oral steroids for sinusitis in the first place? Steroids decr…

8/08/2012 0

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Motley Crue Bassist Facing Sinus Surgery

Dr. Feelgood may be just a song by Motley Crue, but the band's bassist, Nikki Sixx may be facing sinus surgery . Per his twitter comment  on June 27, 2012: "Spent a lot of the day at the doctors. The 80s and the damage done. Yes the sinuses are a mess. Eventual surgery. The price we pay." Typically, before sinus surgery is considered in a patient who is suffering from recurrent sinus infections , a workup is required followed by maximal medical management. A typical wor…

7/01/2012 0

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Dental X-rays Linked to Brain Tumors

In a study spanning over decades, researchers have found an association between dental x-rays and increased risk of a non-malignant type of brain tumor called meningioma. Of the four types of dental x-rays, only the full-mouth series was associated with this increased risk. More specifically, the risk was elevated with the aggregate number of full-mouth series in 10-year periods from approximately 15–40 years before diagnosis, with significant elevations in the 10-year periods beginning 2…

4/10/2012 1

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