Sinus infections can be painful (stock image) (Image: Getty)
For many people, the cold weather can bring with it a number of health problems, particularly sinus congestion or infections. This is more common in the colder months as the drop in temperature can strip moisture from the air, causing irritation to the sinuses, in turn causing congestion, pain, and discomfort.
While painkillers or over-the-counter nasal sprays can often alleviate the symptoms, sometimes nothing appears to provide relief. Fortunately, there’s a technique you can perform yourself which may help ease sinus pressure and help you breathe more clearly, and it only takes a few minutes. An American massage therapist showcased the straightforward method on TikTok.
You can perform the technique on your child, too (stock image) (Image: Getty)
Lauren Turner, a massage therapist located in Texas, shared a video on the social media platform outlining the simple technique – and you don’t require any additional equipment or specialist knowledge.
Speaking in a video on TikTok, Lauren said: “Do you know how to drain your sinuses? Let me teach you, because we don’t want to be getting sinus infections and ear infections. This is also something that you can do on your kids.”
To start, she explained the initial step is to position your thumbs in the hollow above the tear ducts on each side of your nose. “This is not a lot of pressure guys, our sinuses are very gentle,” she said. “Ok, so you’re gonna put light pressure here and hold.”
Maintaining her thumbs there for a count of five, she added: “Now take it across the eyebrow and into the temple. Again, not a ton of pressure, and release.”
Describing the second step, she explained: “Now you’re going to take your ring fingers. Why our ring fingers? Because they don’t hold as much pressure as our other ones. So you’re going to take your ring fingers and you’re going to put it right in this crest of the nose right here.”
She illustrated the technique by positioning her fingertips in the hollow at the edge of her nostrils, sweeping them along her cheekbones towards her ears, then downwards to her jawline.
Lauren then instructed viewers to place the palm of each hand on either side of the head beside the ears, above the jawbone, applying gentle pressure for a count of five. The fourth step requires pinching the ear between thumb and forefinger and pulling “out and down”, once more for a count of five.
The fifth stage of Lauren’s technique involves pushing the lower jaw forward “like a bulldog”, while the sixth requires positioning ring fingers behind the earlobes where the ears meet the jaw, drawing them downwards to the base of the neck. “Then again we’re going to take the pads of the hands, we’re gonna put it right here,” Lauren said, gesturing to the area of the neck beneath the earlobes, and pressing down for a count of five.
She went on: “Lastly, light pressure, because thumbs are strong, light pressure, you’re going to come right here under the jaw, so you’re going to follow from the chin back around the jaw and then down the throat.”
She finished by positioning her thumbs behind her ears, tracing them downwards to the base of the neck. “And then you’re just going to lightly brush your neck all over,” she said.
“What we’re doing, guys, is, we’re activating our lymphatic system. We’re telling it, ‘hey, we’re not feeling so hot and we need everything to start moving’.
“So, at this point you should be breathing relatively clearly, and if you’re not, just do this a couple more times, because the more you do it, the better it’s gonna become. Again, not a lot of pressure guys, our sinuses are very gentle creatures, we don’t want to them. But I hope this helps you.”
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
