Fungal infection and Remicade

Sorry I've been absent lately. I've been extremely busy with the new grandbaby. But I wanted to share a possible cautionary tale about Remicade.

Some of you may remember my sinus issues I've been having but I will do a recap. In 2015, I was sitting on my front porch, talking to a neighbor, when my right eye started tearing like crazy. This was not unusual for me because I have dry eye syndrome and I thought perhaps the wind was irritating my eyes. But unfortunately the tearing never stopped so I seen my opthamologist. I was having constant eye infections and tissue tear down. He didn't know what was going on so he sent me to a sub-specialist that deals in tear ducts. Turned out that I had a full blockage in my tear duct channel. He didn't know the reason for the blockage. So I had a surgical procedure called Dacryocystorhinostomy (alternate tear duct).

Everything turned out great. No more tearing and no more eye infections. But then I started getting weird things happening. Every morning I would wake up blowing bright yellow/green snot. Than I was getting sinus infections. That would go away but the colorful snot didn't. Than I noticed a strange sour smell. Kind of like something rotten or sour milk. Than the sinus pressure started, a nagging pain behind my eye and a small swelling on the outside of my sinus by my nose.

It took 3 months for me to finally get into see my primary. He referred me to an ENT in which I seen yesterday. I go in for a CT scan next Wednesday but he suspects I have a fungal infection. If in fact if it is fungal, it could be tied to Remicade or any other immune suppressing medication.

I was reading that most people with healthy immune systems have the ability to combat fungal infections but in immune compromised that is not always the case. Surgery, anti-fungal medications and low dose steroid is the typical course of action.

Finally I am getting some answers but it's not the answer I was looking for lol

That stinks. Any idea what's the solution?

Unfortunately oral anti-fungals can't penetrate into the sinus cavity. It would have to be in the form of a spray.

But depending on the type of fungus, the out come is typically good. They go in there, "scrape" out the fungus and also depending on the type of fungus, than they will prescribe an anti-fungal spray.

I'm really hoping this it is not a fungal infection but all my symptoms point to it.

No, he didn't swab. He used a spray like Afrin to open my sinus passages because they were severely inflamed and oh boy did that hurt! But the CT scan should tell us if there's a fungal ball in there.

The grandbaby is doing awesome! He just turned 2 months yesterday. He's full of smiles and goo's.

Update: good news! No fungal infection. However, my ENT did tell me that I have microscopic bacterial organisms that are attached to my sinus cavities. Which I guess is pretty common with people with chronic sinus infections. Antibiotics won't penetrate thru to the sinuses which is why these infections won't go away. The solution: simple saline nose spray, with nasal rinse granules (pretty much just salt) along with baby shampoo. Go figure!

I've been doing better

Phew!

" along with baby shampoo"

up the nose or for the new grandkid ?

Any baby shampoo will do but the ENT told me use Johnson's.

Serenity, I mix the baby shampoo and nasal rinse granuals with 8oz of distilled water. Don't shake or you will get bubbles. Pour into a nasal sprayer. I just emptied out an Ayr saline nose sprayer, squeeze the bottle and suck up the mixture. He told me to do two sprays 3xs a day for 6 weeks.

Very interesting!!!!! Did ENT say what it is in baby shampoo that helps? Glad to read that you're feeling better, way-to-go! / Old Hat (36 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Very interesting!!! Makes sense.

Keep us posted how you're doing.

q

I want to know too plz. Also, how much baby shampoo and nasal rinse granules do you put in 8oz water? Dunno if this one of those things where precise amounts matter, but I would have thought the amount of salt would matter.

This article from Baylor University on the baby shampoo+saline solution is really interesting. It says:

"This irrigation should be a half teaspoon of shampoo in 8 ounces of saline. He said individuals should consult their doctor for further instructions before trying the irrigation at home."

Saline can be made with 2 teaspoons of salt per 4 cups of water, based on several articles I've read.

Apparently bacteria can become immune to the saline alone, the article also says :

“Bacteria have learned to adapt to common sinus infection irrigation treatments such as neti pot irrigations and salt water irrigations, which mean that the biofilms don’t get flushed out as easily with traditional techniques,” Takashima said. “Because baby shampoo is a surfactant it is able to break that barrier.”

It also mentions that probiotics are helpful. Here is the whole article :

https://www.bcm.edu/news/head-and-neck/new-ways-to-flush-sinus-infection

@beave - Yeah, we have NeilMed products in the UK - I've even used them before. But paying $15 for a bit of sodium chloride sticks in my craw, so I would rather make up my own saline solution if possible. >_>

@Marjie - I saw the link in the other thread. I don't have time right now but later on I'll try to see if I can find any other articles on baby shampoo rinses. It's not something I've heard of before and I would like a bit more evidence it works for some people before I try it.