Any advice on OTC meds?

My boyfriend has been having tightness in his chest and sever nasal congestion and sinus pain for over a year. The doc keeps putting him on Z-packs and other antibiotics and Im afraid that he is going to get resistant to them. Does anyone know of any home remedies or OTC medicine that I can suggest to him? Does Zicam or Afrin work?

Answers:
if he has had it for a year and the doc still thinks its an infection, id see if the doctor would be able to culture it and determine what antibiotic might be effective and make sure there actually is an infection if they havent already

if hes not 100% blocked up in the nose (if hes 100% can cause ear damage), like someone else said a nasal irrigator/sinuse rinse like NeilMed Sinuse Rinse might help him out with the congestion. its basically like an enema for your nose. you can get it at lots of pharmacies, if you cant find it ask a pharmacist if they can order it through their wholesaler for you. dont think zicam works, afrin is good but you shouldnt use it more than a few days or youll eventually get dependant on it and can get "rebound congestion" which means youre addicted and constantly clogged up unless you take the afrin

He probably has allergies. Afrin works fine as a decongestant for the nose and sinuses.
Z-packs are antibiotics. Zicam nor Afrin are not good replacements for antibiotics if he has an infection. Afrin is actually addictive and can cause more problems in the long run. Afrin is only suppose to be used for a max of 3 days at a time.

Has your boyfriend tried Singulair? Flonase? OTC antihistamines like claritin? OTC sudaphed?

Has he tried sinus rinses? www.sinusrinse.com
Be careful with Zicam some rumors have some people to have lost their sense of smell after using the nasal gel. I would suggest seeing a sinus specialist. Afrin should not be taken continuously..it can lead to nose bleeds and in some rare cases a sort of addiction. Also check with your local Pharmacist and see what they recommend as far as OTC meds.
I suggest you get a copy of Balch & Stengler's Prescription for Natural Cures or Murray & Pizzorno's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. Both will provide you with an excellent discussion of these kinds of problems and offer suggestions on how to deal with them.
Both are available on Alibris.com or Amazon
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