Educational guide for US adults 18+ Clinical review pending
My Sinus Guide

Evidence and review status

Every treatment and clinical branch links to sources. Source checking is separate from medical approval.

Clinical review is pending.

This educational guide has not been clinically validated. Source-backed does not mean that the finder has been clinically validated.

How the guide uses evidence

US regulatory guidance, public-health advice, professional guidelines and drug labels come first. Systematic reviews help distinguish a plausible treatment from one supported by stronger evidence. A product label can impose an earlier stopping point than an illness guideline.

The live explorer matches reference information to symptoms and known context. It accepts incomplete answers and never treats them as proof of suitability. Known warning signs pause matching. The same answers produce the same output. Qualitative evidence labels describe support for an intervention, not the probability of a diagnosis.

Strong evidence
Guideline-supported preferred treatment, or a clear regulatory efficacy determination.
Good evidence
Supported treatment with established guidance, without a claim of universal superiority.
Some / limited evidence
Useful or plausible in a limited role, with uncertainty about benefit or the best method.
Safety guidance
Label restrictions or referral guidance; not an efficacy grade.

The labels are an editorial simplification, not a formal GRADE reassessment. All clinical rules remain marked “needs clinical review.”

Inspect the rules and review queue

Source check: September 5, 2026

Publication dates below are shown when available. “Date not stated” is not a claim that the source was recently updated. The oral phenylephrine page describes a proposed FDA action at this check; no final removal order is asserted.

Sinus Infection Basics

CDC · Patient guidance · Date not stated · Checked 2026-09-05

Persistence, worsening, severe pain, fever and recurrence. Does not establish a diagnosis.

Acute sinusitis: hospital referral criteria (1.1.9)

NICE · Clinical guideline · 2017-10-27 · Checked 2026-09-05

UK emergency complication criteria supplement US sources. Search-index text verified; direct page retrieval was restricted. Wording and urgency need clinician review.

Nosebleed

MedlinePlus / NLM · Patient guidance · 2025-07-28 · Checked 2026-09-05

Emergency criteria and first aid; recurrent bleeding requires review.

Rhinitis 2020: a practice parameter update

AAAAI / ACAAI Joint Task Force · Practice parameter · 2020-10 · Checked 2026-09-05

Preferred monotherapy for persistent allergic rhinitis; intranasal treatment options for nonallergic rhinitis.

Current FDA information on oral phenylephrine

FDA · Regulatory information · Date not stated · Checked 2026-09-05

At source check, FDA page describes a proposed removal, not a final order. Oral efficacy finding does not apply to nasal formulations.

How to safely rinse sinuses

CDC · Safety guidance · 2024-05-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

CDC boiling method: one minute; three minutes above 6,500 feet; cool before use.

Is rinsing your sinuses with neti pots safe?

FDA · Safety guidance · 2025-04-28 · Checked 2026-09-05

Device hygiene, saline and immune suppression. FDA gives a different boiling duration; prototype explicitly uses CDC method.

Saline sinus rinse instructions

AAAAI · Patient guidance · Date not stated · Checked 2026-09-05

Technique, irritation and practical use. No experimental additives adopted.

How to use nasal sprays

ENT UK · Patient guidance · Date not stated · Checked 2026-09-05

Aim away from septum. Follow formulation-specific instructions.

Astepro Allergy 0.15%: Drug Facts

DailyMed / NLM · OTC product labeling · 2025-12-05 · Checked 2026-09-05

US OTC azelastine formulation; allergic rhinitis indication. Not an OTC label for nonallergic rhinitis.

Cetirizine

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2026-04-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Loratadine

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2026-03-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Fexofenadine

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2026-03-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Diphenhydramine

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2026-03-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Oxymetazoline nasal spray

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2016-09-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Maximum three days. Rebound, comorbidity and interaction warnings.

Pseudoephedrine

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2025-06-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Acetaminophen

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2025-10-15 · Checked 2026-09-05

Ibuprofen

MedlinePlus / ASHP · Drug information · 2023-09-15 · Checked 2026-09-05