Sinusitis is a condition whereby there is swelling of the nasal passages and inflammation of the mucous membrane of the sinuses. These swellings cause nasal passages to become blocked and drainage of mucus produced normally in the sinuses becomes obstructed.
Sinuses are small cavities within the skull. They are behind the cheek bones, in the area just above the eyebrows and behind the eyes. These cavities are normally filled with air but their function is the production of mucus to drain off bacteria.
These sinuses have openings called ostia and the mucus produced in the sinuses is drained out through the ostia and then out through the nasal passages. When the mucous membranes which lined the sinuses and the nasal passages get inflamed, the mucus gets trapped and bacteria start to multiply, sinus infection occurs.
Categories of sinus infection
1. Acute sinusitis usually last about 3 weeks with symptoms resembling a cold, but with a lot more other symptoms such as sinus pressure causing great discomfort.
2. Chronic sinus infection can last anything between 3-8 weeks but may persist even longer.
3. Recurrent sinus infection is termed to mean several episodes of acute sinus infection in a year.
Usually, sinus infection occurs after a bad cold or a viral infection such as influenza.
Sinus infection symptoms include the following:
1. Pain and discomfort in any one the sinuses, such as maxillary sinuses, frontal sinuses, ethmoid sinuses and sphenoid sinuses.
2. Frontal headaches mostly occurring in the morning.
3. Nasal congestion, blocked or runny nose.
4. Abnormal amount of post nasal drip.
5. Sore throat
6. Teeth pain especially in the upper molars.
7. Chronic fatigue.
8. Cough.
9. Anosmia or loss of smell.
10. Clogged ears or Eustachian tube dysfunction.
Mild sinus infection can be treated with oral decongestants to clear nasal congestion, expectorant to thin the mucus for easy drainage and antihistamines if allergy is the cause.
Oral decongestants has to be taken with care as prolonged use can lead to a rebound congestion which means that the nasal congestion returns and the patient becomes worse off.
If bacterial sinus infection is diagnosed, then the doctor would prescribe the best antibiotic for sinus infection in his opinion.
For chronic cases of sinus infection, usually steroid nasal spray is recommended.
For long term sinus infection sufferers, surgery is inevitable, especially if there is a physical abnormality to the nose structure such as a deviated septum. Medical procedures such as functional endoscopic sinus surgery and balloon sinuplasty are often performed today.