Betadine for Sinus Infections


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Colette (Marin County, Ca ) on 03/19/2018
5 out of 5 stars

Yes!!!! The capful and a half of peroxide and salt saline rinse changed my life. I have not had a sinus infection or ear infection for years. Caution!!!!!!! There is a reason drs tell people to stay away from this treatment. If not used very carefully conservatively you could break down your silia. Without your silia your mucus membrane can’t protect itself. The reason I tried it was unbelievable high pain level. Within 10 mi of my first treatment I knew it was going to help. Stop using as soon as the sinus swelling pain is down. Never use this as a daily rinse. As always just my experience. I am not a Dr.
REPLY   7      

Mike (Surrey, England) on 02/26/2016
5 out of 5 stars

So pleased I noticed your post here. I have suffered from sinusitis and post nasal drip leading to chest infections for many years. This followed a nasal operation which I was told would eradicate the problem. It made the situation much worse! I had been washing out my sinuses with premeasured NeilMed salt which was very helpful. However, I have been adding 3 drops of Betadine in the salt solution for about 3 months and the difference is amazing. Far less nasal congestion, post nasal drip almost gone and no chest infections! I find the salt solution a little drying inside my nasal passages so I apply a small amount of coconut oil inside my nose on a cotton bud a little time after the morning sinus rinse. I have benefited greatly from your own findings. Thank you so much.
REPLY   5      

Daisy (Jacksonville, Florida) on 03/28/2012
5 out of 5 stars

Oh, wow. The povodine idoine post might be the best tip on the whole site.

I have been using salt/baking soda sinus rinse for years, but never with the "miraculous" success others reported. There was even a couple of times when I felt like the rinse helped push the infection further up and further in. To combat this I have at separate times added either tincture of iodine or Lugol's in it -- very, very little because it has a nuclear sting -- which seemed to work and has helped in severe infections, but still nothing spectacular.

Over the last two or three days I have been building up to a full-blown sinus infection and came here to study the recommendations again when I came across this tip and realized that even though I have tried iodine, I have never tried *povidone* iodine, which is much less irritating to tissue and widely used in wound healing preparations.

I don't actually have any Betadine on hand except for some prepackaged surgical wipes a friend gave me (like wet wipes for your hands, but with betadine instead) but since I'd only need a few drops to try I figured that was enough. I knew the very first snort would tell me all I needed to know. So today when praparing the rinse I was going to do anyway, I tipped a few drops of water into the wipe packet, and then tipped the diluted betadine from the wipe packet into my sinus rinse bottle, added the water and salt/baking soda mix as usual, and had at it.

Oh. My. Gosh. It didn't sting a bit. And what's more, the building inflammation and congestion I'd had when I started was entirely gone by the time I mixed the second rinse only minutes later. (I usually do two rinses at a time. ) When I did the second rinse, instead of meeting the usual resistance from all the inflammation, the water ran out as fast as it ran in! And now, twenty minutes later, the relief is lasting just fine.

This is definitely a keeper, and not just because of povidone iodine's ease on the tissues and nasal mucosa. I have long had troubles with yeastiness, and am convinced that a lot of my sinus troubles are due to yeast... And as it happens, povidone iodine is active against fungi as well as bacteria. (I don't know about viruses, sorry. ) And if I had to place a bet, I'd say the near miraculous relief I got today was because it hit the yeast as well as whatever bacteria was trying to get a hold up in there.

Thank you so much for posting this little tip. The only thing I would add is that whoever tries it needs to make sure that they are using POVIDONE iodine (Betadine solution or its generic equivalent) and not tincture of iodine, or even a Betadine lotion/cream/cleanser/scrub, because it's not the same thing and there are a lot of products labeled Betadine. The ingredients in Betadine Solution are Povidone-Iodine 10%, Pareth 25-9, Purified Water, and Sodium Hydroxide, and that's it. If you put some other form of iodine in your nasal rinse, I'm going to bet that you come away sincerely wishing you hadn't, because I've tried them all and never found one that didn't sting like a mother until this.

Thank you again for posting this!!!

REPLY   10      



B14a3w3 (Stewartstown, Pa) on 03/20/2011
5 out of 5 stars

For 2 years I have been using a capful of peroxide, premeasured NeilMed salt, 1 cup of warm water and 3 drops of Betadine once a day to prevent allergy sinus infections. I use a NeilMed squirt bottle to shoot the solution into one nasal passage and it comes out the other... Like a netipot would do. Instead of 2-3 infections a year, I have none. It has also prevented cracked skin over the cartilidge on the inside of my nose from post nasal drip irritation. My doctor said it was safe and to keep doing it since it helps. I have had infections for at least 20 years prior to trying this solution.
REPLY   10      

Sabrina (Denver, CO) on 09/24/2007
5 out of 5 stars

Add 2 drops of Betadine (Povidone Iodine) to the NeilMed sinus rinse bottle along with the room temperature boiled water and salt packet. Betadine is an antiseptic. I tried this solution at the advice of a family physician, and it's the first thing that's ever worked. I did this rinse 4-6 times per day while I had the infection, and it got rid of it within one week. It's the first time I have kicked a sinus infection without antibiotics, and I usually get 4 sinus infections per year. I also added 1/4 tsp of hydrogen peroxide for good measure, but that's something I did, not the doctor's suggestion.
REPLY   4