dust and sinus problems

[nikkij]

hi,

has anyone had trouble with the dust here on lanzarote?  i moved here in august and have been ill for over two months with head pressure and vertigo,(i have never had anything like this before) the doctor has diagnosed sinusitis and i have been on antibiotics but it has not cleared up i now have a kidney infection!!! i was thinking maybe the sinus problems could be caused by all the dust here.  i have worked in gran canaria before and didn't have a problem there, i am almost at my wits end.  i can't do the job i came to do until i am better so everything rides on this.  I really don't want to go back to the uk as my little girl has really settled in school here and loves it.  any advice or has anyone else has similar problems or any cures???

thanks nikki

[✈ Elle ☀]

Hi Nikki love. It's unusual for you to get it all year round here. I'm asthmatic - so I do suffer when the calimas hit... but apart from that am usually ok. It's certainly a huge amount better than back in Blighty.

Try Vicks vapour rub on your chest... and behind your ears. That certainly has helped with the headachey stuff in the past for me.

So sorry to hear that you are suffering!

Elle xx

[Josie]

Hi Nikki

Are you living somewhere particularly dusty?  I find my asthma which is only mild anyway is far better when I'm in Lanzarote.  Calima weather is not too good though.  Lots of people get headaches then.

You may find you have a problem which is unrelated to where you live - some people get sinus/ear/throat infections after colds that go on for years if not properly treated.  Worth going to see a proper medic.  My other half has finally been cured after about 20 years or more of recurrent throat infections with extra strong antibiotics followed by a daily mild steroid inhaler.  To get the advice he went to see a hospital consultant after being referred by a GP.

Good luck.

PS I always think that the traditional Lanzarote head dress with a kind of sheet wrapped round a hat is a bit of a clue to the dust/wind problem!

[nikkij]

thanks,

i am living in playa blanca and I can notice a lot of dust but i suppose when you compare it to london it is not so bad, and the same as you Elle, my little boy has asthma in the uk and it is clear here.  I am just trying to find a cause for why I have been like this for so long.  i have seen three different doctors and an osteopath and so far no luck.  i don't really want to fly with my head feeling like this either so i am stuck not knowing what to do.  hopefully it will clear up.

[John B]

There is a lot of dust in the air, as you'll have noticed on all your table tops etc, but it is dust from the lava and sand, not the dead skin cells that create dust in houses at home, or the particles from diesels and ground up road surface you'd get in UK.

I assume the doctor didn't blame the dust for either the sinusitis or the kidney issue.  Had you thought of getting a second opinion if the antibiotics didn't cure it??

[richt71]

In the UK my asthma (as well as weather changes) was always bad anywhere dusty but here in Lanzarote I'm good unless we get a bad calima like others have said.

[Ray]

My Brother in law has been suffering from the same thing for three months now and he lives in U.K. so I dont think its a climate issue. As he is over here for a week Our friend who works in a clinic has prescribed some medication for him. If it works I will let you know the name.

[nikkij]

thanks ray,

that would be great if it works.  the antibiotics the doctor gave me were so strong i think it has caused the kidney infection.  when i read what they were for I was so shocked i had been prescribed them, apparently they are only meant to be used for life threatening diseases and as a last resort when other antibiotics haven't worked.  well fingers crossed your brother in laws treatment works, do you know if the flight affected him?

[Ray]

No we were very worried about the flying as he had spent a few days in hospital with an ear infection but he has had no side effects. Just a permenant head ache and chesty, blocked nose etc. Hope fully these pills will work. Our friend at the clinic has worked miracles for us before so fingers crossed.

[nikkij]

thanks again,

let me know how it goes, i really hope it works for him.