My wife was recently feeling very ill for about a week. It was just the general “crud” (headache, achy, runny nose, cough, sneeze, etc). She finally broke down and decided to go to the doctor. I asked her what she thought was going to come from such a trip. Quite matter of factly she told me that she would at least get a Sinus Cocktail.

Well, around these parts (Memphis area) everyone has heard of a Sinus Cocktail. It’s a collection of shots that sometimes works miracles towards making someone who is having any sinus related issues feel almost human once again. Personally I had never heard of it before I moved here, but like I said, everyone around here has heard of it.

I am not a fan of antibiotics (actually I am, i just have strong feelings that they are overused) so I wanted to find out what was in this mythical “Sinus Cocktail”. Any antibiotics would be a big turnoff for me. The best guess I have is the following… I found it in the comments of someone’s blog and it sounded reasonable. I’ve got some doctor friends I’ll be checking with as well to confirm. But here it is… no antibiotics in this recipe… that makes me relatively happy.

Usual contents are 1/2 cc of each of the following:

• Brompheniramine (antihistamine)
• Dexamethasone 8 (dex 8 is a long acting steroid to reduce swelling of sinus membranes)
• Dexamethasone 4 (dex4 is a faster acting steroid)
• Diphenhydramine (benedryl. This might or might not be included, depends on the doctor and the patient)

[Added since original post: I did check with some of my doc buddies. The ingredients sound right on to them. It varies by doctor but basically some sort of steroid to reduce inflamation and some sort of decongestant to clear you out. Then maybe an anthistimine to calm and reactions the body might be having down. ]