Happy to report some new sinus heroes have entered my life, keeping me well during a crazy season! October was a marathon travel month, and I've also been head down totally overhauling our client reports and coaching software. So it's been a minute! 😅
If you've been following along this year, you know my sinuses and I have been battling for most of it. Pressure, swelling, congestion that follows me from house to house and gets loudest every time I get on a plane. Which made October extra fun. 🙃
I've thrown a LOT at it. Some things took the edge off. Some did nothing. So I started working one step upstream, on the cells that kick the whole reaction off.
Meet your mast cells
Mast cells are your immune system's first responders. They're parked in your nose, your eyes, your gut and your skin. When they spot something they read as a threat (pollen, mold, dust), they burst open and release histamine and a whole crew of inflammatory chemicals. That's the sneeze, the itch, the faucet nose.
Most of the allergy meds we grew up with are antihistamines. They block histamine after it's already out. A mast cell stabilizer works one step earlier and helps keep those cells from releasing it at all.
There’s also some deep suspicion that there’s a connect between mast cell dysregulation and lipidema, which has been flaring in my legs since the Summer too, despite flawless bloodwork.
For sinus support anyways, two of my new favorites are sitting right on Amazon: keep reading! 🧬
I spent a lot of months, multiple specialist appointments, testing and protocols galore this year trying to support this systemically, but when I took a localized approach, things started to finally shift.
Here’s what changed the game for me:
Cromolyn
Cromolyn is available as an over-the-counter nasal spray, and it's a true mast cell stabilizer. It's been around since 1969, and it was originally derived from a Mediterranean plant called Ammi visnaga. Science and botany, my favorite combo.
It's been reducing my symptoms, especially while traveling. The catch is that it isn't fast-acting. It's a prevention tool that builds over about one to two weeks of regular use, so I started it ahead of trips rather than waiting for a flare.
Cromolyn also comes as eye drops and an oral solution, but those versions need a prescription in most places.
Ketotifen
Ketotifen (I’m using eye drops) does double duty. It's an antihistamine for fast itch relief and a mast cell stabilizer for staying power, and one drop lasts up to about 12 hours. I use the Armas brand from Amazon, and it's been doing the same job for my eyes that NasalCrom does for my nose. It's a permanent resident in my travel bag, and also a new fixture in my daily support rotation.
Ketotifen also comes as an oral capsule or tablet, but it needs a prescription in most places. In the US, the oral version is only available through a compounding pharmacy.
While traveling: I’m leaning heavily into both of these, as often as needed, to blunt the effects of exposures to airplane / hotel air, a few extra sips of champs, and whatever the world throws at me.
At home: I’m experimenting with “maintenance” dosing daily and loving them both! Truly better than anything my allergy docs were throwing at me.
Ryaltris, my Rx anchor
Neither of those works fast, so they don't work alone. I'm also using Ryaltris, a prescription nasal spray that pairs an antihistamine with a steroid. I went several weeks without it this summer while it was out of stock and backordered, and I could really tell a difference. It's staying in the rotation.
NasalCrom and the ketotifen drops are both in my Inflammation Favorites. Ryaltris is prescription-only, so that one goes through your doctor.
See also: My custom allergy drops
In August I did skin prick testing with my ENT and allergy team. Pine and a series of other local plants, along with a mold called Rhizopus both came up.
In September I started sublingual immunotherapy: a custom bottle of drops I take under my tongue every day, built from my own skin test results.
This is where the strategy shifts. NasalCrom and the eye drops calm things down day to day. These drops are teaching my immune system to tolerate my triggers over time, with tiny, consistent doses. Nothing noticeable yet, which is exactly what's expected this early.
Over time, these are expected to desensitize me to the local environment, with the catch that many people’s course of treatment ranges several years long… like, 3 years 😵 I’m committing to at least six months before I judge them.
Targeted is the way to go. My skin test told my allergist what to put in that bottle. That's the same thing I preach about your DNA: when the answer is built from your own data, you stop throwing darts.
