lol, I've had sinus problems my whole life and we used to rub that stuff on me too. My smoking habit in my later years compounded things even more but I found a good answer from my doc.
I always found steam to be the best. I'd boil a big pot of water, put it on a little bench in front of me, then cover my head and the pot with a towel and take deep breaths. All the goop would run out of me as I just leaked it back into the pot. It wasn't pretty but it got the passages clear for the time being.
fuagf mentioned that his nose was already running like a faucet so that is a good thing.