Sinusitis

Sinusitis is inflammation of one or more of the sinuses. If you have Sinusitis, it means your Sinuses are infected or inflamed. Sinusitis is also defined as inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, with or without sinus infection.  Sinus Infection is usually caused by the allergies, bacteria, viruses or fungal infection.  It can also occur irritation happens to nasal passages by environmental pollens.  Some people occasionally get sinusitis, and others develop sinusitis frequently.

Every year, Millions of People including adults and children suffer from it. When the sinuses are inflamed; the sinuses become blocked with mucus and can get infected. There are four large sinuses: two inside the cheekbones (the maxillary sinuses) and two above the eyes (the frontal sinuses).  There are also smaller sinuses (ethmoidal and sphenoidal sinuses) located between the larger ones. The sphenoidal sinuses and ethmoidal sinuses are behind the eyes. The sinuses are lined with membranes that secrete antibody – containing mucus, which protects the respiratory passages from the onslaught of irritants in the air we breathe.

There are different types of sinusitis, like acute sinusitis, chronic recurrent, recurrent, frontal sinus infection, maxillary sinus infection, ethmoid sinus infection. Based on the duration, sinusitis is classified as Acute & Chronic. It can be either long-term or sudden. Acute sinusitis is a disease that results from infection of one or more of the paranasal sinuses.  With long-term, the infection of sinusitis does not completely go, chronic sinusitis lasts from several months to several weeks. It normally clears up on its own.

People with Acute sinusitis (lasting from 2 – 8 weeks) may have the following symptoms: Facial pain/pressure, loss of smell, Cough, Nasal stuffiness, Dental pain, Bad breath, fever. Similarly the common symptoms of Chronic Sinusitis (for 8 weeks or more) include: Facial congestion, Fever, A nasal obstruction, Nasal discharge, Headaches, Bad breath, Dental pain. Fever is usually low grade and is only present in half of the infected people with acute infection.

It could be hard to diagnose sinusitis because the symptoms so often seems to be those of a common cold, but sinusitis should be strongly suspected when a coldlingers beyond a week.  It usually follows the infections, such as colds, or an allergic reaction. It has many aches or painful symptoms, but it’s usually not severe; Common Symptoms of sinusitis can include nasal congestion and discharge. When dealing with a sinus infection, sinus headache symptoms are common.

During Sinusitis, the Nasal sinus cavities become moist. It could be sinusitis, if your headache and congestion won’t go away. Sinusitis Patients should drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. If you have sinus headaches and congestion that never seem to go away, or that go away and come back repeatedly, you could be experiencing chronic sinusitis. Pain and Pressure in the face along with a stuffy or runny nose are the main symptoms of the sinusitis.

Whichever type of sinusitis you have, do your best to treat it. A nasty little sinus infection can quickly turn into a more severe one that can run from several months to several weeks.