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This page contains information about Ears, how they work, and what goes wrong with them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This page is dedicated to everything about the Problems of Sinusitis!If you are in pain and just looking for information about treatments, click Treatments! How Sinusitis is diagnosed and treated: WHAT IS IT The sinuses are small air filled spaces found inside the cheekbones and forehead. They make a little mucus which continuously drains into the nose through small channels. The word sinusitis means inflammation of a sinus; this could be the whole area or just the small outlet through which the mucus should drain. Divided in to two types, the most common being Acute this means that the infection develops quickly often over a few days and lasts a short time, most instances lasting no more than a week but can be up to a month. Most attacks of sinusitis are caused by an infection. The maxillary sinus in the cheekbone being the most commonly affected. Acute sinusitis is very common. Chronic sinusitis means that it becomes persistent. Symptoms tend to last for months. However, chronic sinusitis is fairly uncommon. WHO GETS IT? Many people only ever have one or two bouts of acute sinusitis in their life. However, several people have recurring bouts relatively frequently five or six times a year. WHAT CAUSES IT? In most cases, acute sinusitis develops with or following a cold or flu-like illness. Colds and flu are caused by viruses which could spread to the sinuses. The infection may remain 'viral' before clearing. In some cases, bacteria 'attach' to an infection that started with a virus. This can make the infection worse and last longer. In some cases, infection can spread to a maxillary sinus from an infected tooth, there may be other factors present that may cause the sinuses to be more prone to infection such things as: Allergic rhinitis (nose inflammation) causing swelling of the tissues leading to blockage of the sinus drainage, nasal polyps, objects pushed into the nose, nasal abnormalities, facial injury, large adenoids, hereditary abnormalities. Other conditions - Asthma. Cystic fibrosis, Poor immune system - HIV+ or people undergoing chemotherapy. Pregnancy, Rare tumours of the nose and Smoking. Once the lining of the sinus is infected, the sinus cavity fills with extra mucus, and sometimes pus. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? Symptoms that commonly occur include: Pain and tenderness over and around the infected sinus area. The pain is often described as throbbing, can be worse when the head is bent forward and stabbing around or through the temples. The upper jaw feeling as if there are "too many teeth" making chewing painful. The nose, although feeling permanently blocked is often runny the discharge may be greeny/yellow* due to infected mucus and pus. The runny nose may dry up if the sinus drainage channels become blocked with thick mucus. If this happens, pain and tenderness over the infected sinus may become worse. Often there is a loss of sense of smell for a while. Occasionally a high temperature (fever) may develop, leading to a feeling of being generally unwell. Other symptoms that may occur include: headache, bad breath, toothache, cough, a feeling of pressure or fullness in the ears, and tiredness. In children, symptoms may include irritability, snoring, mouth breathing, feeding difficulty, and 'nasal' speech. WHAT ARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS? There are no real long term effects and other complications apart from chronic sinusitis following an acute sinusitis are rare. However, these complications can be serious. In severe cases a sinus infection may spread to nearby areas such as the eye, into surrounding bones, blood or in extreme cases the brain. These are very rare in cases of acute sinusitis. Such complications are more common when the infection involves the frontal sinus. Children who show signs of swelling or redness of an eyelid or cheek with sinusitis should be seen by a doctor urgently. WHAT HELP CAN BE GIVEN? Often, no treatment is deemed necessary; most cases being due to a virus infection. As with colds, the immune system usually clears the virus, and symptoms usually go within a week or so. Unless the infection is caused by bacteria, a doctor is unlikely to prescribe an antibiotic for a mild bout of acute sinusitis. Antibiotics do not kill viruses, but do kill bacteria; the attention to dairy free diet, taking of an alternative antibiotic, herbal /homeopathic or immune system enhancer may be advised together with a course of Thermo-Auricular ® treatment when the attack is acute, together with the use of Sinus Blend, instruction in self massage around the sinus area is beneficial. Steam inhalation using menthol crystals was the traditional remedy, but is now not usually advised. The use of nasal and decongestant sprays is not advised as they may cause worse 'rebound' congestion in the nose. * Refer to Thermo-Auricular ® training notes |
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