[TPIN] Trumptet is Causing Sinus Infections...?

[Powell Miller]

Hi all, I'm not really sure how  this list works, but I am desperate for some answers to a health problem I'm having, and I'm suspicious that playing trumpet has something to do with it.   I grew up playing trumpet, and got pretty dang good, however, in college, I stopped playing, as my time became devoted in other directions.   
 
 Now I'm 41, life has changed, and at this past Thanksgiving, I picked up my trumpet after approximately 15 years to join a local Reggae band. I basically went straight into gigs, 2 a week at the least. I had to meticulously listen to their recordings and write my parts out on staff paper to accomplish this, but the lip is still cranking out some good quality after a huge lapse. Here's my problem:
 
 2 weeks in to my renewed trumpet career, I started getting sick. Sinuses, then the chest. I had to get antibiotics, but never felt feverish, in fact, this was a weird sickness, and it ended up lasting about 2 weeks, instead of the more normal 5 or 6 days. During that time, I was playing 2-3 gigs a week, but I started noticing how my sinuses would be suffering intensely after the gigs, through the night, and into the mornings. 
 
 I got better finally last week, and played 3 gigs since, but after last night's New Year's show, I have it again. My sinuses are completely blown out again, I feel like I'm sick, through the night, the morning, and right now, it just feels like an infection again. 
 
 I'm now convinced that some old severe sinus infections I've had since college have made them susceptible to my trumpet playing techniques during this past month, and is causing them to react this way. It feels like a full blown sinus infection just like that.
 
 Either I need more antibiotics to knock out whatever I had 2 weeks ago, or I'm having some kind of reaction, as a result of my playing trumpet again.
 
 No, I'm not doing drugs up my nose and into my sinuses, and yes, I'm playing long high notes, with a couple instances of headache and ever so slight blackout vision just last night. 
 
 I don't ever remember having sinus issues when I was younger, playing trumpet day in and day out with tons of intense upper register playing.
 
 I saw a post in another Forum, regarding  Jeanne Pocius' book: (Trumpeting by Nature) , and it refers to a tongue position for high notes, that directs air away from the sinus passage, but I've never heard this type of thing before, for whatever reasons. Word has it, that Jeanne might even be a part of this list, so if I'm lucky, I might hear from her as well.
 
 I'm also really hoping to hear from anybody who has experienced or heard of such sinus problems before, from playing the trumpet...    If I feel like this in the morning, I'm definitely going to the doctor, and hopefully it'll just end there with another batch of antibiotics, but I still have to make 2 gigs a week. 
 
 Thanks for your help in advance.   

Powell Miller
Jackson, Wy

       
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