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Use “good vibrations” to prevent chronic sinusitis

The cells lining the sinus cavity defend themselves through nitric oxide production. By humming – you can boost nitric oxide levels, shore-ing up the defences

Drip, drip, drip….

An “acidic” liquid continuously dribbles down the back of your throat.  Setting your throat on fire, making your voice gruff.   The area surrounding your nose feels stuffy, leaving you with a dull headache.

The problem…….. chronic sinusitis.

What causes chronic sinusitis ?

“Something” has gone wrong with the drainage and ventilation of the “giant” chambers that surround your nose.  There is a long list of “somethings” that can bung up the works.

Think germs, toxins, allergens, polyps and cave ins.

Remove the something

Logic says, to “fix” the problem……….. you MUST REMOVE the “something”.

Sounds easy.

But the devil is in the details.

• For many, the “something” is as TOUGH AS NAILS, neither the body’s own defence mechanisms, nor man made interventions, like antibiotics, do the trick.
• For others, the “something” is part of the furniture, getting rid of the cat can be helpful, but moving to Siberia is not a practical option.
• For a few people, the “something” remains a mystery.

The plan B….

When removing the “something” becomes a futile exercise, the plan B for chronic sinusitis sufferers is to “take out” the soldiers, battling the “something”.   Antihistamines, steroids can bring relief, but at a price.

So is there another option ?

Well, the obvious place to start,  is to look at how the sinuses themselves manage the problem.

Sinus biology 101

It turns out the cells that line the sinus cavities are rather special.

They are nitric oxide producers.

Okay, okay……… that is not, in and of itself, a superpower.  Nitric oxide production is something ALL the cells lining blood vessels do.  It’s a requirement to do business.

Nitric oxide and vasodilation

As the conduits of oxygen and nutrient delivery……….blood vessels need to be able to adjust blood flow, to suit the situation.  For example, a contracting muscle NEEDS a lot more nutrients and oxygen, than a muscle at rest.

A lot more…..

Blood vessels vasodilate to ensure efficient deliveries.  Nitric oxide is the molecule that does the heavy lifting.

But the need for nitric oxide is variable.

So, the cells lining the blood vessels, do it WHEN REQUIRED.

The cells in the sinus cavities DO IT continuously.

This is there superpower !

It turns out, they are using a different enzyme to do the job.  Blood vessels use an enzyme called eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthetase), while the sinus cavities use iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthetase)………..with a twist.

Continuous nitric oxide a killing machine

The iNOS enzyme is also not all that special, it is part and parcel of the body’s defence system. Most of the soldiers who war against foreign invaders, have iNOS as part of their arsenal.  When called upon, they spew nitric oxide out, continuously,  in truck loads, because it is a weapon of MASS destruction.

Seriously………… it can pretty much kill ANYTHING.

Viruses, bacteria and fungi, implode on contact.

Of course, so do human cells.

Eish !

Continuous nitric oxide with a twist

The i stands for inducible.

That means, the enzyme can be turned on, under special circumstances.  And you guessed it…….. the special circumstances are some kind of invasion.

Well, this is what happens in the REST of the body.  But, in the sinus cavities,  iNOS is NOT inducible, it’s on MORNING, NOON and NIGHT.

Which is exactly what you need……………

Breathing in is dangerous

Every breath you take in, is potentially loaded with germs, toxins, allergens.

But NO worries.

The sinus cavities are ALWAYS ready.

They’re pumping out nitric oxide – which kills the bad guys.   Whoohoo !

But it doesn’t end here, the nitric oxide, motivates the tiny little hairs, to beat up a storm and move the debris out of the way.

But there is more…………….

Better oxygen delivery

The nitric oxide that is taking care of defences, mixes with the oxygen in the air and the gaseous mixture travels down the airways…………

Now, the actual amount of nitric oxide is TINY !

But, it’s all good.

The blood vessels lining the air sacs, encounter this nitric oxide and behave “appropriately”.

They VASODILATE  i.e. they get a little bigger.

And so, a little more oxygen ends up being delivered.   And since oxygen is an essential “nutrient”………….. every cell in the body, potentially benefits.

Is Mother Nature not AMAZING ?

NOTE :  High concentration of NO₂ in the air we breathe, is a  pollutant and considered toxic. One of the problems is it reacts with water, to create nitric acid.  Acids BURN things…….. including the cells lining the lungs.

The two for one deal

Nitric oxide

• Takes care of the “bad” stuff in the air
• And increases oxygen uptake

So what ?

Well here comes the cool part.

The nitric oxide switch

It turns out, the cells lining the sinus cavity  have the nitric oxide production switch, set on “ON”, permanently.  But, they still keep tabs on nitric oxide requirements, the cells that do this are the ostia cells.  They guard the channels that link the 8 sinus cavities, but they do it in a most unusual way.

Most of the time, things in the body are regulated either by

• Hormones
• Nerves
• Muscles

But the ostia cells are different.

They respond to temperature, to humidity and ……..

ACOUSTIC VIBRATIONS

This means, when they get wiggled, they change nitric oxide production.

Now, it’s not so easy for you to control the temperature and/or humidity of the air you breath, but acoustic vibrations are “manageable”.

Humming increases nitric oxide production

It’s been known for years, that humming increases nitric oxide production.

ENORMOUSLY.

Here is what happens if you hum for 10 seconds.

Graph showing how nitric oxide levels in the sinus passages, increase when you hum. Copyright 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS.

Nitric oxide levels sky rocket.  The effect lasts for a few seconds, then peters out.  But, if you do it again, a little while later, the same thing happens.

By humming…………. you can increase nitric oxide levels in the sinus cavities.

More nitric oxide has the potential to help

• Clear the junk, both by killing the bad guys and shipping the waste out
• Increase oxygen delivery

Humming away sinusitis

There are anecdotal stories of people who have “cured” their sinus “problems” in a matter of days, through judicious humming.

Could it work for you ?

Unfortunately, to date, there have been no clinical trials to validate the technique.  This is not a big surprise, clinical trials are expensive to run and no one can make money promoting humming as a solution to sinusitis.

But, the biology supports the idea.

And………… the practise is relatively harmless, when done correctly.

NOTE :  You want to hum for a few seconds, take a break, them begin humming again.  

Bah hum bug ?

I think it is worth a try….

Especially in light of the fact that for many people, the traditional solutions, don’t really work.  And, when you’ve got sinus issues,  the one thing that frequently happens, is you stop breathing through your nose……………..which ironically makes things WORSE.

Because……. you produce a lot less nitric oxide when you breathe through your mouth.

Incorporating a little humming into your lifestyle to create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY.

Do  it  both  prophylactically to prevent sinus problems and when you find yourself with a stuffy nose etc. hum your way, back to health.

Further reading

Want to discover more ways to create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY ?