I went for a ride last night, taking advantage of a break in the rain, even though I'm taking Sudafed for congestion. I was hoping the salty sea air and the endorphins would help aid in recovery. This is the first time I've been sick since I started riding 9 months ago.

Am I just making things worse or what?

I find exercise helps. I can't catch my breath with this cold, haven't been out in days.

Also- blow your nose one nostril at a time. Blowing both at the same time can force mucus deep into your nasal passages where an infection can grow.

If you truely have a sinus infection then you need to get on antibiotics. I'm the worst at thinking that I can fight it off and letting it go to long. Then it always seems to work its way down into my chest. The smart thing is to get it treated early on.

Checkout my blog for my recent bout with a sinus infection.

Is this true? Fascinating!

I am amazed at how effective a hot sauna is at relieving the pressure from blocked sinuses.
Kleenex is useless...take something in with you that's a bit sturdier!

Exactly.....I had a raging sinus infection that knocked me out for 9 days.

I know it sounds weird, but my doctor told me that.

Better sinus' than flu. My wife has a case of severe flu! Two nights to the emergency room! Stay away............so far away!

yep, big difference between sinus congestion and sinus infection.

I have tried more than once to ride while experiencing a sinus infection. For me it always seems to make it worse. I feel better while riding, and right after, but later I end up worse. Much, much worse...but that's me...

I don't understand that. You would force more air through one nostril. Perhaps he meant to take it easy.

If it truly is a sinus infection then you better take antibiotics before it makes its way to your lungs and causes pneumonia.

Excercise helps relieve flu symptoms. Go to the sauna and sweat your brains out. Take the coldest shower you can stand. Repeat. Will knock the flu right out. Be sure to get plenty of fluids immediately to avoid dehydration. If you have never done it before, you might want to take it easy. This was prescribed for me by a college classmate and it worked wonders for getting over the flu.

Exercise has never relieved any symptoms of or helped me get over a sinus infection.

When I have any kind of sinus problem riding always makes it worse.

And always rotate blowing the nostrils. For example left, right, left, right throughout the day.

Isn't there a difference between a bacterial and viral infection? I believe mine's the bacterial type, which is evidenced by the yellow colored mucus. A fever seems to be rare with this kind. I would not get on my bike with a fever.

I used to get infections 4-6 times a year before I started cycling. I'm tempted to believe that besides the excercise boosting my immune system, the fresh air and frequent hydration helps keep my sinuses flowing and less prone to infection.

Having said that, I don't feel any better or worse today.

May I suggest that people try a sinus rinse? I've done this with great success for the past year or so. There are a number of brands, and I've been using the Ayr brand. It's just a special squirty bottle, and packets of saline powder for the rinse water. Feels a little weird, a tiny bit unpleasant at first, but really can help. A respected doctor/newspaper advice columnist recently said that the sinus rinse is a viable alternative to antibiotics. Not always, obviously, but it's cheap and won't do any harm. Lots of info available online. Cheers! Steve

+ 1 on the saline spray. It may not help much after you have the infection but it keeps infections from developing by keeping things draining. I learned this because I had the mother of all sinus infections that lasted almost a year and no anti-biotic would help, end result was sinus surgery and as part of the recovery was to rinse the clotted blood, from my sinuses, with saline solution several times a day. I continue to use saline spray daily and have not had any colds, flu or illness for over 5 years now.

As far as riding with infected sinuses if you do I would keep a moderate pace do not overdo it dehydration is your worst enemy right now. your body is producing a lot of histamine from the white blood cell production and you really need to keep a lot of water and juices ,non caffeinated drinks, coming to replace the fluids your losing. if it is a bacterial infection you should see a doc and get on an anti-biotic now. certainly taking a couple of days off cycling won't distroy your conditioning getting laid up with bronchitis or pnuemonia will.

yeah, not pleasant!! I had an infection which was right up there with the worst pain I've ever had. It was caused by me blowing my nose REALLY hard when I had a cold. I felt a big pop, as some goo must've gone where it wasn't meant to.

I had antibiotics and I also had to snort warm salty water 4 times times a day

my infection was localised, so i otherwise felt ok.

I have found that Sinofresh spray has helped alleviate my sinus problems for most of my attacks, although it does not work everytime for sinus. It works especially well at alleviating cold symptoms and when used in conjunction with Coldeeze lozenges can provide much relief and shorten the duration of a cold significantly. Truly my secret weapon that I discovered after years of aggravating sinus problems in the Spring and Fall change of seasons.

Give it a try. It is sold over the counter at most major drug stores. There is a $5 rebate coupon option on the website.

https://www.sinofresh.com/

Yellow coloured mucous usually means that it is viral in origin.

If you were in a weakened state, such as a cold, or on antibiotics, it may be bacterial. If it just came on all of the sudden, when you were in relatively good health, it is probably a virus, and in this case antibiotics are useless, if not harmful.

When thinking of infection and your sinuses, do not forget about what they are sitting a few milimetres away from either.

You can ride, but don't go out and hammer. Rest a lot more than usual as well, or riding is going to make your sinus infection worse, and you'll likely get bronchitis.

some observations from a guy with a predisposition to chest colds. YMMV

+1 for the strict adherence to zone 1 while sick, if you ride at all. Just take it easy and you'll feel better faster.

Also, there's absolutely nothing that you can tell from the color of mucus.

It's true that the VAST majority of sinus problems are viral in nature, and symptomatic treatment is the way to go (decongestants, etc.). For riding I've found that I get some killer headaches and my HR gets higher than normal when I take Sudafed, and I get more dehydrated with decongestants, so I like to stick with non-systemic treatments like Afrin.

Even with bacterial sinusitis, a lot of cases get better on their own without antibiotics, but if you keep having pain in the sinuses (try pushing on the bones just below your eyes (maxillary sinus), the bridge/root of the nose between the eyes (ethmoid sinus) or the bony part of your brow (frontal sinus)) that isn't going away with decongestants and lasts more than a few days, you should really see a doctor. Also, if you're having fevers/shaking chills/etc., see a doctor because it may be more likely a bacterial thing, especially if you have fever spikes.

Basically, anything that doesn't behave like a cold should, i.e. gone in about a week without antibiotics, you should see a doctor.

Sure you can, not on its own of course, but there is a lot that you can tell.