Expert: Fluctuating Oklahoma Temperature Wreaks Havoc On Sinuses

The drastic drop in temperature is having a big effect on our bodies.

Along with colds and the flu that show up this time every year, many people are experiencing sinus pain caused by our weather bouncing between cold and warm temperatures.

A local allergy specialist said when the weather gets cold, then hot, then cold again, our airways are tightening and loosening.

Those changes are wreaking havoc on our sinuses according to Dr. Jane Purser at the Allergy Clinic of Tulsa.

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"The drier and the colder the air, the nose and the lungs will become more and more congested. They will become stuffier and the mucus becomes stickier," she said. “When it's warm outside, they will relax."

We've gone from cold, to hot, to cold again; starting the year with highs in the low 30s, reaching a high of 80, and now seeing snow in parts of Oklahoma.

Purser said our sinuses are switching from stuffy to runny to stuffy, again.

"And you might appreciate more sinus pressure," she said.

Purser said our body air ways are tight, and in need of more humidity.

"You want things to be humid, so a humidifier running it in your home in the winter is so important," she said.

If it hasn't gone so far as to become a sinus infection, there is relief in reusable sinus rinse bottles.

Purser said using a humidifier, and doing a sinus rinse, can help your body balance the changing temperatures and pressure.

"Gradually spray in and it will come out the other side and wash all of that material that's in the sinuses and nose out," she said.

It's a little gross, but it could help.

Purser said it's a myth that you can tell whether you have a virus based on the color of your mucus.

She said colored mucus means your body is fighting something, not necessarily a virus, it could be fighting allergies.