I have been in excruciating pain the past few days, guys.

[conuly]

On the one hand, my back bottom jaw is hurting on the left. I was literally *just* at the dentist and he said the gum was a bit swollen there, which is not at all surprising.

On the other hand, I've also been super congested and had going on three days now of sinus headaches, guess what, concentrated on the left side.

These are definitely connected, and the jaw pain went down from "oh god kill me now" to "moderate" when I finally bought and took some sudafed, but I'm not entirely certain that it's just the sinus causing the pain. Oh god it could be two things, couldn't it? Ugh.

Comments

[darkoshi]

Just a possibility, but I found out yesterday that sinus pain with congestion can be an initial symptom of COVID (mentioned in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-58h0K0ua0 at 2:20 as well as some comments), as well as of course allergies.

I hope you feel better.

[acelightning73]

I was at a pagan gathering in a remote wooded area, and I started feeling a pain inside my nose - as if I had an ingrown nose hair or something. It didn't go away, and it started getting worse. And I couldn't participate in the gathering when I felt so terrible. Also I developed a fever. Got my husband to come pick me up and drive me back home. Went to the doc-in-the-box; I had an abscessed upper canine tooth. Dental surgery, antibiotics, needed more surgery after I smashed all my upper teeth by falling on my face. A dental abscess can press on nerves and things and mess up your sinuses.

[conuly]

I'm 99% sure it's allergies. I'm allergic to spring.

[conuly]

And, according to google, the other way around!

[spiffikins]

Have you ever tried a neti pot for clearing out the guck in your sinuses? It's rather weird feeling, but my brother, who has all the allergies and nearly-constant sinus infections for years, swears by it - it's really helped him.

[conuly]

I have one and keep meaning to use it, but you gotta boil the water and while I can remember to boil the water I can't remember to use it once it's cooled.

[spiffikins]

yeah, I was lazy when I was sick and using it - and just bought a gallon of distilled water :D

[conuly]

Can't get it for love or money! Well, I could spend a lot of money to order online and have it shipped, but that's ridiculous. I don't know why, but it used to be you could pick it up at any drugstore and now I just can't find it anywhere.

[silveradept]

Hopefully you can get both the jaw pain and the sinus congestion at one attack.

[acelightning73]

THere are lots of nerve endings crammed into a limited amount of space inside the face.

[conuly]

It is not fun.

[spiffikins]

That's so weird! I do recall that there was only one bottle when I bought mine - but I assumed that they don't stock a ton of it - but it's super strange that you can't find any at all!

[chez_jae]

Ouch

:(

[movingfinger]

Last time I bought distilled water, I found it in the supermarket in the same section as regular bottled spring water. (I triple checked after putting it in the shopping cart, of course, because all the labels look about the same.)

Maybe it's more in demand for CPAPs and that's why it's harder to find...

[adafrog]

{{{{hugs}}}}

[conuly]

I actually think that stores that used to stock it have just... stopped stocking it entirely. It's not selling out, it's never on the shelves.

[fred_mouse]

Drugstore? Another US/Aus uncanny valley difference -- ours the distilled water is in the supermarket, in the cleaning aisle. Or, I believe, one can get it from the hardware store. When I was a kid, my mother used to take the empty bottle to the local petrol station, and get it refilled for free when they filled the car up.

[conuly]

What's wrong with your tap water that you can't use it to clean the floors?

[fred_mouse]

no, not the floors! Can't go in the iron, or all the innards get gummed up.

[conuly]

...do you have particularly hard water?

[fred_mouse]

I would not have said so. However if 'the steam vents on the iron get hard crud on them' implies hard water, then maybe?