You rarely just get a recipe over here on Eat Pray Get Well.  Although you will love this strawberry oatmeal bar recipe, my goal is to hopefully teach you something while I share real food recipes.  Last month I was asked by Sinusitis Wellness to write about my decades long fight with a serious sinus infections.  There was a time I thought it was a fight that seemed impossible to win. After all, I brought every weapon I had to the fight!  I had sinus surgeries (4 of them), hundreds of courses of antibiotics (the strongest available, the “big guns” of antibiotics)! I tried steroids, allergy shots, daily sinus irrigation, allergy medications, acupuncture, supplements, a change in diet, what else was there?  Oh yes, these were exhausting times thinking back.  Not to say that some of those things didn’t contribute to a healthier body (especially the diet change and supplements) because I did recover from other diseases/ailments, but why wasn’t I infection free?

Other Contributing Factors of Sinus Infections

It turns out there is so much more beneath the surface that none of these things I mentioned above address.  Many of us suffering from long term sinus infections are missing an important bacterial strain(s) in our gut and sinuses that may need to be replaced.  The gut may need healing if you have been on many courses of antibiotics, or consume mostly the standard American diet.  There could be (most likely) a mold or a fungal component to your infection, and you may have to address biofilms as well, which are a protective barrier around infection that antibiotics can’t penetrate.  I explain all of this in detail in an article I wrote recently for Sinusitis Wellness.  Click here to read my full article.

Could Marcons be Contributing to Your Sinus Infection?

What I should also mention is that if you have been found to have MARCONS (Multiple Antibiotic Resistant Coagulase Negative Staphylococci) through a sinus culture which is actually causing symptoms of a sinus infection, there is a compound nasal spray called BEG that was very successful in treating my marcons infection as well as many others I have heard from.  Some doctors do not believe this type of staph needs to be treated, if you have an infection you are finding difficult to eradicate and your culture came back positive for Coagulase negative staph, speaking to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor that is familiar with toxic mold exposure may be helpful.   What is in BEG spray?  BEG nasal spray is a combination of two antibiotics (Bactroban, Gentamicin) and the calcium chelator EDTA. The EDTA dissolves the biofilm coating, clearing the way for a direct attack by the topical antibiotics.

Doug Kaufmann and I talk about the sinuses (as well as other health issues) in this episode of “Know the Cause” below.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars Recipe: note – if you have a serious gluten allergy one would have to make sure it’s made in a facility that doesn’t process wheat and barley.

Discourse, I am not a physician and cannot help anyone with their medical or diet plan.  This is my personal story explaining what worked for me and what hasn’t.  Discuss your sinus infection with your doctor.

UPDATE –  My book Eat Pray Get Well ~   A story of overcoming decades of chronic illness, a difficult childhood, and food addiction… with 60 recipes  free of gluten, wheat, yeast, peanuts, refined sugar ~ Foreword written by Doug Kaufmann – TV Host of Know the Cause,  can now be purchased here on my blog here and on Amazon.com