How to rake when you’re prone to sinus infections

Protect yourself from sinus infections when you do yard work this fall.

Raking- the worst kind of chore for the chronic sinus sufferer

Sinus infections are awful!  If you are prone to sinus infections and want to reduce them, beware of the outside fall chores!

Here’s what can happen when a person who is prone to sinusitis dutifully rakes up those leaves.

  1.  The scraping and raking of leaves stirs up dirt, dust, mold, and pollen into the air.
  2. Your inhale those contaminates in through your nose.
  3. The dirt, dust, mold, and pollen triggers allergy and asthma symptoms like swelling of nasal membranes.
  4.  When nasal membranes swell, it makes it hard for mucous to flow.  When mucous can’t flow, contaminants are trapped in the sinuses, the bacteria flourishes and infection begins.

So, what can you do if you can’t delegate this job to anyone else? Cover your nose!  Wear a NIOSH rated N95mask when raking leaves.  And when you’re done, do a nasal sinus rinse.  You might look silly, but you’ll be glad to be spending the holidays breathing clearly and sleeping soundly.