Anything that causes a swelling in the nose can affect the sinuses: an infection, an allergic or an immune reaction.
Air and secretions trapped in a blocked sinus put pressure on the wall of the sinus causing sinus pain.
Typical symptoms of sinusitis include (most people with sinusitis have pain or tenderness in several location:
Headache when you wake up in the morning, fever, lethargy, nasal congestion. Pain when your forehead over the frontal sinuses is touched. Infection in the maxillary sinuses can cause your upper jaw and teeth to ache. Since the ethmoid sinuses are near the tear ducts in the corner of the eyes, inflammation can cause swelling of the eyelids and tissues around your eyes, and pain between your eyes. And can cause tenderness when the sides of your nose are touched, loss of smell, and a stuffy nose. Infection in the sphenoid sinuses can cause earaches, neck pain, and an ache at the top of your head.
Most sinusitis start with a cold, which is viral, by inflaming the sinuses. Both usually go away in 2 weeks without treatment.
Your nose reacts to an invasion by viruses that cause infections like the common cold or flu by making mucus and sending white blood cells to the lining of the nose, which swell the nasal passages causing air and mucus to become trapped behind the narrowed openings of the sinuses. When your sinus openings become too narrow, mucus cannot drain properly, which sets up a prime breeding ground for bacteria.
Sinusitis can be viral, bacterial or fungal. All diagnosed on physical exam and confirmed with CT which will not differentiate between viral or bacterial. If you have a bacterial sinusitis antibiotics along with a decongestant will usually help.
Chronic sinusitis is treated similarly by less effectively. Adults who have had allergic and infectious conditions over the years can develop nasal polyps that interfere with drainage. Removal of the polyps and/or repair of a deviated septum to ensure an open airway can help.
The most common surgery done today is functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), where the openings from the sinuses are enlarged to allow drainage. I had this done last year and am currently enduring another bout of sinusitis. [V]
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