When you have been congested for weeks, it can be hard to explain what changed and what never really went away. A simple record helps. You do not need to score yourself against a long symptom list or decide on a cause before an appointment.
Use this guide to describe nasal symptoms, digestive changes, food and exposure timing, and the response to care already tried. The GAPS book connects chronic sinusitis with local microbial imbalance and systemic contributors, but a symptom record cannot establish those causes in an individual person.[1]
Start With the Nasal Symptoms
ENT Health lists blockage, facial pressure or fullness, thick drainage and loss of smell among the chronic-sinusitis symptoms. A pattern lasting at least 12 weeks needs examination or imaging evidence for a full diagnosis.[2] Duration and symptoms help describe the problem; they are not a home diagnostic test.
Start with the symptom you would most like help with. “I wake with a blocked nose every morning” is useful. So is “I can breathe through my nose but have almost no sense of smell.” You do not need to describe both as the same kind of congestion.
| What to Notice | What to Write Down |
|---|---|
| Blockage and drainage | Which side, how often, whether symptoms clear between episodes, and whether drainage is thick, clear or changing. |
| Pressure and smell | Where pressure occurs, when smell changes, and what else is happening at that time. |
| Sleep and mouth breathing | Whether you wake congested, breathe through your mouth or have a known nasal obstruction. |
| Care already tried | The actual medicine or device, dates used, what improved and what remained uncomfortable. |
A clear runny nose alone does not tell you whether the cause is allergy, inflammation, an infection or something else. Keep the observation in the record without giving it a diagnosis that has not been established.
Add Digestive and Food Changes Without Guessing a Cause
The GAPS account makes digestive history relevant. Note bowel changes, bloating, gas, appetite and the food stage alongside the sinus history.[1] “Gas began after this food change” is a useful observation. “Gas proves yeast is causing my sinusitis” goes beyond what your notes establish.
If a dairy food seems relevant, write down whether it was milk, yogurt, kefir, sour cream, butter or ghee. Add the preparation and amount when you know them. The dairy-introduction guide explains why those forms and their stage placement need to stay separate.
Keep confirmed allergies and their existing care plan clearly marked. A suspected food association, a diagnosed allergy and a food not yet introduced on GAPS are three different pieces of information.
Keep Allergy and Yeast History Specific
The 2020 book discusses allergic rhinitis alongside asthma and eczema in its immune-system chapter, and names yeast activity in warm, moist areas including the sinuses elsewhere.[3] Record diagnoses or test results that actually exist, rather than treating several checked boxes as proof that all these mechanisms are present.
If you have had a previous course of antibiotics, record what it was treating and when. If a test identified a fungus, include where the sample came from. A result from one part of the body should not silently become a diagnosis in another.
The GAPS mechanism guide separates these source explanations. It also explains the book’s structural account without turning facial shape or mouth breathing into a diagnosis of prenatal deficiency.
Record Exposures and What Happened Afterward
The GAPS FAQ names active and passive smoking, industrial air pollution, perfumes and scented household chemicals in its discussion of chronic congestion and coughing.[4] If an exposure seems relevant, name the actual setting or product.
For example, record whether symptoms changed during laundry, after using an air freshener or in a particular workplace. Include days when the exposure happened without the symptom too. That gives the discussion more context than labeling every difficult day a chemical reaction.
Dryness after a medicine or a change during an illness also belongs in the record. Do not stop a prescription to make the pattern easier to interpret; take the observation back to the person managing that treatment.
Describe Treatment Response in Plain Words
Write what changed while treatment was being used, how long the change lasted and what happened afterward. An antibiotic course followed by recurrent congestion does not, by itself, establish which microbe was present or what the next prescription should be.
The same applies to sprays, rinses and surgery. “The spray helped blockage but dryness remained” gives a more useful account than “nothing worked.” Keep any examination findings and the treatment plan together so the next review can build on what is already known.
The book’s daily-care account and ordinary rinse-water requirements are explained in the food and sinus-care guide. A record of symptoms is not an instruction to start a nasal preparation or copy an oral probiotic dose into a rinse.
When a New Symptom Needs Attention
New or worsening symptoms deserve review rather than an automatic detoxification label. In particular, CDC advises immediate medical attention for headache, fever, confusion or vomiting after nasal or sinus rinsing.[5] Note that context clearly and seek care rather than waiting to see whether a food stage settles it.
For ongoing headaches, the GAPS book names several possible causes, including sinus infections, medicines, allergies, migraine and tension headaches.[6] Keep the timing and associated symptoms, not just the location of the pain, in your account.
Bring One Clear Question to the Review
Choose the main question from your notes. Are symptoms continuous or separate episodes? Has an obstruction been examined? Did a particular treatment help one symptom but leave another? What needs assessment before the food plan or direct care changes?
My Care Team Log in the WFLI Shop is intended to keep this information together. A plain notebook works, too. Bring the dates, the actual treatment list and your most important question; you do not need to arrive with the cause already decided.
Return to the chronic-sinusitis overview if you want to see how the source explanation, food discussion and symptom record fit together.
References
- Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020). A–Z section, “Sinusitis, chronic,” p. 446.
- American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. “Sinusitis.” ENT Health, reviewed August 2025.
- Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020). “Immune System,” mast cells and eosinophils; discussion of Candida and mucous membranes.
- Campbell-McBride, N. GAPS FAQs. “Diseases and Symptoms,” question 9, chronic congestion and coughing.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “How to Safely Rinse Sinuses,” July 16, 2025.
- Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020). A–Z section, “Headaches,” p. 422.
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