Urgent: data lookup not updating, what am i missing?

just launched a country codes directory, it's a simple data lookup web tool, but i'm completely stuck on caching issues. users are seeing old data even after i update the database. it's driving me crazy.

the main problem is that when i update a country's dialing code or iso info in the mysql database, the changes don't show up on the live site for ages. sometimes it's hours, sometimes it seems like days. this is super frustrating for a directory that needs to be current. my users are complaining about stale info, which is just bad for business.

here's what i've tried so far:

• cleared opcache (php-fpm restart, opcache_reset()).
• emptied browser caches on multiple devices.
• purged cloudflare cache (everything, multiple times).
• checked nginx fastcgi cache settings and tried clearing that too.
• even restarted the entire server (ubuntu, digitalocean droplet) a few times.
• verified database updates are actually taking effect in phpmydmin directly.

it's like something upstream is holding onto old versions of the pages. i'm using php 8.1, nginx, mysql, and cloudflare. there's no redis or memcached on this particular setup yet. could it be some weird interaction between nginx and php-fpm, or a cloudflare setting i'm overlooking? i'm desperate, this is killing user experience. i've spent hours on this, literally pulling my hair out.

any ideas on how to debug this persistent caching nightmare? specifically, what nginx config lines should i double-check for data lookup tools, or cloudflare settings? i need a breakthrough here.