why do i smell something bad in my nose??

[teebie]

why do i smell something bad inside my nose... its like a bad slimy smell...  and only i can smell it.. i cant sleep because of it.. pls help me...

[ENTMD]

Can anyone else smell it, or only you?  If not, this may be a problem with the nerves in  your nose.  Otherwise, infection, foreign body, even a tumor could be considered.  You may need to see an ENT doctor to make sure there is nothing serious going on.

[teebie]

only i can smell it.. is it dangerous?

[teebie]

only i can smell it.. is it dangerous?

[teebie]

but if i breath.. the bad odor comes out of my nose.. and sometimes people can smell it.. if they are near me..

[friggy]

I'd also recommend that you go to an ENT to get checked out for serious problems.

If, by chance, the doctor finds nothing, which is sometimes the case with Sinus Odor, then you may possibly have an anaerobic bacterial infection in the upper sinuses, which may or may not respond to regular antibiotic treatment.  Read my Journal about the Flip-Turn Sinus Flush, and read the comments about some of the successes (and failures) that people have had with this problem

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/2322

One of the last commenters, ihatesinusproblems, was unsuccessful with a saline sinus flush, but when he put Grape Seed Extract into the saline, he succeeded.  I haven't tried this personally., but it makes sense.

The Flip-Turn Sinus Flush is mildly risky, because you have to bend over to do it, preferably in a shower, but you can also do it outside on soft ground.

But, like I said, I don't recommend it until you've been to a doctor first. Good luck.

[ENTMD]

How exactly does putting "Grape Seed Extract" into your nose "make sense"?  Present the poor nasal odor person with some evidence and logic here.  Look, "friggy", some of your advice is probably harmless and may even be helpful -- I recommend that patients use saline irrigations quite routinely.  But you also tread some pretty murky waters when you recommend people put extracts in their noses (can you think of some potential risks associated with this?  I can...) and suggest that chronic anaerobic bacterial sinus infections in the frontal (?) sinuses are at play.  Can you quote the reader any published studies to support this claim?

[friggy]

Thank you for the feedback.  If you are aware of a problem that could conceivably be caused by Grape Seed Extract, then I will not recommend it further.

There are no studies to cite.  Many of the posters on this site used to think they were alone, freaks, with bad smells coming from their noses, and they become increasingly isolated, quit or lose their jobs, , become despondent, hole up in their rooms.  Many of them have been to otherwise excellent doctors who were unable to help them.   They are willing to try anything, and that is what my posts are about.  It is about risk.

Everyone here should go to an ENT first.  Usually I mention that, but sometimes I don't.  I will make sure that I do with every post.

If you read the comments after my journal, you will see that many people are getting results.  So are many people who I know are trying this who aren't on this forum.  To date, the flush has prevented about 100 sinus surgeries that I know of.  How's that for health-care reform?  No one has sent me any hate e-mail yet.

However, I can see that many of my earlier posts were mistaken, and I will need to make some additions and edits to my journal.  The sinuses are still a medical frontier. As I mention, even some ENT's have chronic sinus problems. I now believe that chronic sinus odor and tosilloliths are related phenomenon, but I am not qualified to do medical studies.  Sure, my theory might sound reckless to you, but that's what doctors said about the guy who found the real cause of ulcers.

Once again, thank you for your advice, and it is great to have you on this forum.

[ENTMD]

Well, Friggy, I do appreciate your open approach and I do think that your intentions are definitely in the right place.

You are right that much is still not known about chronic sinusitis.  I bet there are many, many people out there would find improved symptoms with saline irrigations.  The mechanism is based on sound logic -- rinsing away allergens/irritants, mucus, bacteria, when present, makes a lot of sense.  The risks associated with this (when done properly) are negligible and this is why I have no problem recommending this to many patients.

Indeed there are no data on rinsing your nose/sinuses with grape seed extract.  I can only speculate on potential risks -- mucosal irritation and resultant inflammation, contamination of the extract preparation, a nidus for bacterial growth.  Again, these are all speculative, but the responsible thing to do is to first prove that these things don't happen before recommending them.  Many treatments never make it out of Phase I trials for this reason alone.  I understand you don't have the resources of a pharmaceutical company, but the ethical obligation remains.

As for the comments in your journal, I am very pleased that there are people who have found relief.  However, it is important to remember that the plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not data.  There is no proof of anything in this.

This isn't to say that you don't have some good ideas that deserve testing.  Why not approach the closest university and suggest that one of the residents in training design a study around this?  They are always looking for things like that to work on.