..........................CONGRATULATIONS Barramundi ON REACHING 1,000,000 MOT POINTS !!!..........................

Good Morning MOT
CONGRATULATIONS Barramundi and everyone with recent milestones.
Sorry I have been absent for a time. Still trying to recover from the flu and a sinus infection. It is a crying shame that I look as bad as I feel. On the mend however. Everyone have a great weekend. Your friend in "North Texas".

The challenge with sinus problems is isolating the cause. There can be different ones. If the nasal spray you're using contains an anti-histamine and that is making things better for you, you may well have an allergy to some degree. An infection would tend to cause inflamation so OTC anti-inflamatories would help. I think most sinus infections are from the various rhinoviruses out there (the "common cold") but the same virus apparently can affect different folks in different ways. For me, "head colds" almost invariably seem to start with a "tickle" in the throat. I've learned that I can often knock that out with prompt gargling every few hours for a short time. If I don't knock it out, it seems to be a lot less severe. Another thing to think about that often isn't is the physical state of your nose and sinuses. Consider the possibility that you may have sleep apnea. Do you have trouble sleeping or snore often? It could be that your nasal passages aren't as open as they need to be. In that case, it doesn't take that much inflamation or of an allergic reaction to make you really miserable. If the problem is persistent and/or recurring, a visit to a good ENT may be wise. If they see problems with the nasal passages and you possibly may have sleep apnea, it's definitely worth seeing and ENT that specializes in sleep apnea. If it's allergies, see a specialist in that. They can do a LOT more these days for allergies than when we were younger. Back during the height of the spring allergy season here, one TV channel had a short interview with a guy outside. He had been unable to go outside in the past due to his allergy problems. After being treated, he was able to not only be outside in the worst of the pollen but be unaffected by it. We're all used to having to deal with sinus problems during the spring and/or fall and think that's just normal. We end up suffering more that we need to these days. With infections, I've learned to pay attention to how my body reacts to them. In terms of OTC meds, that multitude of choices you have really boils down to some combination of anti-histamine, decongestent, anti-inflamatory, and, if cough/lungs involved, a cough suppressent and expectorant. I started by finding OTC meds that contained just one of each of these and figured out what worked best for me. As I said, the rhinoviruses affect folks differently. I've learned to not bother with decongestents as they tend to either make the throat worse or the nostrils sore from dealing with the drainage. Anti-histamines work well for me as long as I take care to not take too much and overdry my sinuses. An anti-inflamatory is good when there is a problem with sinus pressure though that is less common for me. If the throat does get sore, a cough suppressent (without the expectorant) seems best. The run of the mill cough drops are a waste for me but those that include a topical anesthetic are great on minor coughs leaving the cough suppressent for the bad cases. I've also learned that OTC meds tend to run short with me. A 4-6 hour med for me wears off right around 4 to 4.5 hours. Taking another dose at about the 3.5 hour mark works well for me. The new dose starts kicking in just as the old one wears off. Usually, a rhino infection should run its course within a week. If it doesn't, it could be something worse and worth seeing a doc about.

MyOnlineTeam Daily Statistics for 05/14 - Active Members

Active team members report
==========================

                                                     Current          Points
Active member name            Rank      Change       Points        This Period
=========================     =====     ======     ===========     ===========
RT                                1          0      92,261,663         191,051
GeraldRube                        2          0      64,269,338         121,047
Coingames                         3          0      48,456,416          58,306
judson Somerville MD              4          0      34,683,749         154,866
parmesian                         5          0      29,361,384          27,728
NiceMedTexMD                      6          0      25,024,507          30,539
brown chris                       7          0      18,491,898          25,541
keithhenry                        8          0      16,644,950          19,338
nl59056                           9          0      15,609,066               0
xroule                           10          0      13,660,304          33,408
Esteban69                        11          0      13,177,858           1,488
Vuj                              12          0      11,772,856          16,386
finman                           13          0       9,992,928          30,683
David Autumns                    14          0       8,955,405          32,462
Blueprint                        15          0       8,870,744           4,209
Fanie                            16          0       8,367,629          13,639
PohSoon                          17          0       7,224,070           7,132
frans6nl                         18          0       7,050,438             522
darth_vader                      19          0       6,841,620          15,610
lawrencehardin                   20          0       4,639,543           9,610
Rene Punt                        21          0       4,443,766          12,544
Alain Bryden                     22          0       4,176,577           9,060
dkt                              23          0       3,947,368          27,973
Tomwp                            24          0       3,441,705           1,591
smcclarigan                      25          0       2,948,239           4,010
Mike OSullivan                   26          0       2,675,832             542
Sunny L. Kae                     27          0       2,617,937           2,829
johng                            28          0       2,438,782             807
Wunderwuzzi                      29          0       2,119,827             696
Jockin                           30          0       2,023,198               0
imin                             31          0       1,658,347           3,085
Daeloan                          32          0       1,630,693               0
Bon Kuhlman                      33          0       1,546,956               0
elpe                             34          0       1,326,273           1,299
Barramundi                       35         +2       1,037,172          28,934
pramodp                          36         -1       1,032,373           3,573
newtod                           37         -1       1,014,080             777
jpenning                         38          0         959,359          16,233
Mechanical                       39          0         725,236           2,360
barney15c                        40          0         589,209             138
dubhain                          41          0         548,845           4,046
madambaster                      42          0         519,114               0
Natalino                         43          0         472,795               0
hne12359                         44          0         465,812             143
Lanscader                        45          0         428,092               0
Momentary Lapse of Reason        46          0         395,078               0
Hintsala                         47          0         392,268             191
mapplebeck                       48          0         321,535               0
cknotty                          49          0         298,017               0
Harry de Swart                   50          0         178,146               0
platinumbus177                   51          0          95,725             174
sm217144                         52          0          22,199               0
Hesham Abdullah                  53          0          16,028               0
wharfrat43                       54          0             738               0

Note: Active members are those who earned points in the prior 30 days.

Top Twenty active members returning points today:
01: RT - 191,051 points
02: judson Somerville MD - 154,866 points
03: GeraldRube - 121,047 points
04: Coingames - 58,306 points
05: xroule - 33,408 points
06: David Autumns - 32,462 points
07: finman - 30,683 points
08: NiceMedTexMD - 30,539 points
09: Barramundi - 28,934 points
10: dkt - 27,973 points
11: parmesian - 27,728 points
12: brown chris - 25,541 points
13: keithhenry - 19,338 points
14: Vuj - 16,386 points
15: jpenning - 16,233 points
16: darth_vader - 15,610 points
17: Fanie - 13,639 points
18: Rene Punt - 12,544 points
19: lawrencehardin - 9,610 points
20: Alain Bryden - 9,060 points

Total points returned today: 914,570
Active members returning points today: 40
Average points per member active today: 22,864.25

Our daily points average is now over 775K. That puts us on pace to beat 283 million this year.