Bad breath - Sinus or Acid reflux or both?

[Despo]

I have no idea where my affliction fits in the groups here. I'm trying allergies.
Problem : Bad breath. 24/7.
Dental hygeine : Very good. Dentist's diagnosis.

I know I have a bad sinus and also acid reflux.

Sinus problem : Had septoplasty, sinus surgery, revision of sinus surgery, uvuloplasty (for snoring problem), tonsillectomy (removed adenoids as well). Sinus problem better. But still perpetual drainage from ONLY the right sinus. The mucus is thick after getting up from bed and in cold weather. Mucinex and sinus rinse helps but only a very temporary relief. i.e less than a couple of hours.

Acid reflux : Tried various medications. None very satisfactory. Always a acidic feeling in the back of my throat. Had Fundoplication. Exercised regularly, reduced belly. Acid seems to be mostly under control (about 95% better) because of weight reduction.

The bad breath is so bad, I can barely talk.

Then, I came across N-Acetyl Cysteine. Seems to help my bad breath a lot. (about 80% better). Ofcourse, exercising seems to help my acid reflux and that helps too.
So, my questions are
1. Is there a permanent cure? Surgeries did not help and my ENT doesn't think there's any more that he can do.
2. Any alternatives? I do not want to take any medication forever. Homeopathy(Thuja) didn't help any better than Mucinex.
3. What is the scoop on N-Acetyl Cysteine? I have not heard anything bad about this.It is a dietery supplement. So, can I take it for the rest of my life? I'm taking centrum.that supplements the zinc loss and drink a lot of water to avoid renal stones.

HELP!

[tiredofdstink]

A related discussion, does n-acetyl help with bad breath was started.

[htnguy]

Hi Despo,
I seem to have the same post nasal drainage from one sinus on the right only.  I've had 2 sinus sugeries already, it has helped me breath better, but somehow I cannot get rid of this post nasal drips.  I want to ask you that do you also have dry mouth and lack of saliva? Also, do has NAC cured your bad breath completely and do you still have post nasal drainage?
Thanks,
Han

[National Jewish]

I do not have much information about the N-Acetyl Cysteine.  This may loosen the drainage and not allow it to stay in the sinuses where it changes in consistency and smell.  However, when the sinuses are a problem, this often is due to a chronic sinus infection, called sinusitis.  This can cause the bad breath.  Taking antibiotics for a longer period of time helps in some people.  You might talk with your ENT about this.

[Despo]

Done that. Doesn't work. Infact, it makes my problem worse.
One thing I did not mention in my above post is that cold seems to be affecting it a lot. I drink cold water or do a sinus rinse with cool or cold saline, the problem becomes worse. The more cold water I drink the worse the problem.

[caregiver222]

Try twice daily flushing of the sinus with inexpensive saline. On ocasion, the sinus cavities become home to a number of nasty things, and a fungal infection is a possibility.