I posted this on FB, but I'm soliciting opinions: when the fuck do you know it's time to go to the doctor for a sinus infection?

I've had bad allergies my entire life. (Like, Threat Level: You Are So Fucked.) So I don't know how to calibrate when it's time to see a doctor for sinus issues. When does "my sinuses are bothering me" turn into "this is probably a sinus infection and might eat my brain if I don't see a doctor"?

My sinuses have hurt for weeks, but let's remember: I have bad allergies and this is ragweed season. So yeah, that makes my sinuses hurt. Also my face is puffy in the cheekbone area, which I've been told is a sign of sinus infection, but I don't know if that's true. (This is puffy beyond fat face; I know what my face normally looks like, and this is puffier than usual.) And my snot is green-brown, BUT, again, I have bad allergies and I honestly can't remember ever in my life blowing my nose and having non-disgusting snot. (What color *is* it supposed to be, if you're healthy? I'm totally serious.)

But also I've been really run down and exhausted for about a week, and I can't track it back to anything else, so putting it together with the weeks of sinus pain and the puffy face and the gross snot, I thought maybe sinus infection.

But I seriously don't know if that might be in the ballpark. So, internet people who are in no way licensed to diagnose me: go ahead and diagnose me! Should I call the doctor? I really don't want antibiotics, because they fuck up my stomach and magical ladyparts, but I also don't like feeling like hell. So.

I think the latest wisdom is that antibiotics are not always useful for sinus infections. Even so, if I were in your situation, I would go to the doctor because I would want to know if I had an infection or not.

I think the latest wisdom is that antibiotics are not always useful for sinus infections.

Yeah, and they don't culture anything to see what bacteria (if any) we're dealing with, to select an appropriate antibiotic. So I question the usefulness of seeing a doctor.

I think if it was just that my sinuses hurt and my snot was gross, I wouldn't think about the doctor. But adding in how exhausted and run-down I am is what made me wonder if I needed to get checked out.

Steph, have you tried ... must look up spelling, but guafenisen? (Or something like that.) That's what my doctor always advises, as well as nasal spray. So you're basically clearing the gunk out, but not using antibiotics.

Okay, I was sort of close: guaifenesin. It's essentially Mucinex.

It's not just the infection that can become dangerous, but the stuff in your sinuses can build up and harden over time - my doc compared it to dried up peanut butter. And then they have to go in surgically and clean you out. Speaking from experience. Now I take Mucinex twice a day and use Flonase and rinse my nose out with a Neti pot to prevent having to go through that again.

All of which is a lead up to: I'd go to the doc, if only for a proper diagnosis and treatment options.

I don't see the downside for going to the doctor if you are feeling bad, have been for a while, and aren't completely sure why. Kinda what doctors are there for. Even if it is just allergies and there's no particular additional treatment you should be doing, it'd be better to have that confirmed.

ETA: I am not a great one for actually doing this myself. It rarely occurs to me that going to the doctor is an option. Which adds to the argument that when it does seem like it might be a viable option, it probably is.

Liese, peace to your family. And Teppy, go to the doctor. Even if he says "just keep doing what you are doing" it is good to know that.

A friend had surgery because her nasal passages practically stopped at her nose, which was constantly causing sinus issues. I told a colleague about it and he basically ran to the doctor to get the same procedure. Might be worth having a specialist look at it, Steph.

well, I am glad I know there are more seasons. you crazy kids who watched this in real time.

I have a couple friends who have had their sinuses roto-rootered. I'm kinda jealous but also not sure I could handle the disgusting aftermath.