Sinusitis - Everything you need to know about sinus infection

Sinusitis refers to the inflammation of the paranasal sinuses. There are 4 pairs of paranasal sinuses within our head. They are the maxillary sinuses which are located behind the cheekbones below the eyes; the ethmoid sinuses located between the eyes; the frontal sinuses in the forehead above the eyebrows and the sphenoid sinuses are located behind the ethmoids in the upper region of the nose and behind the eyes.

A sinus infection of the maxillary sinuses is medically known as Maxillary Sinusitis. So an infection of the sphenoid sinuses is called Sphenoid Sinusitis and so on.

Sinusitis affects nearly 40 million Americans alone in a year. Correspondingly, millions of dollars are spent in search for a long-term effective treatment.

ENT specialists, today, utilize a procedure known as Nasal Endoscopy to diagnose sinusitis. This involves inserting a flexible fiber-optic tube with a light and camera at its tip into the nose to carefully examine the nasal passages and sinuses. If the condition is deemed acute or chronic, an x-ray or CT scan of the sinuses may be called as well.

A person can develop sinusitis if his body takes too long a time to recover from a bout of the common cold or viral influenza. The main cause of the sinusitis is nasal congestion associated with both illnesses. The blockage of the nasal passages causes poor ventilation within the sinuses. The clogged sinuses then provide the ideal environment for bacteria to breed and multiply. Bacterial sinusitis often develops when the immune system of the person is not functional at its optimum.

Find out more about the 5 major causes of sinus infection at Sinus Infection Help.

Many people are not familiar with Sinusitis. This is because a mild sinusitis will usually go away on its own if one's immune system is strong. However, there are some people who may be predisposed to this condition due to certain factors. Some of these factors include:

1. Genetic factors. Our genetic makeup has a great influence on what kinds of food and environmental factors that will trigger an allergic reaction within the body.

2. Physical structure or anatomy of our nose. People with a deviated septum has a greater chance of suffering from sinusitis including those with enlarged turbinates.

3. Accidents which has resulted in changes to the physical structure of the nose.

As mentioned earlier, many people would have mistaken sinusitis symptoms with those of the common cold and viral influenza simply because there are a lot of similarities.

It is imperative that you read in detail what the Top 10 sinus infection symptoms are. By doing that, you will be in a much better position to be able to distinguish sinusitis symptoms from those of the common cold and viral influenza.

Sinusitis treatment varies from person to person depending on the severity of the infection. Sometimes, a mild sinus infection does not need any medication as the body is able to heal itself naturally. Unfortunately there are some people whose immune system is compromised as a result of other illnesses which they are being treated for. These people are very likely to succumb to acute sinusitis if their mild sinus infection is not treated early.

Nasal congestion is the biggest culprit that often gives rise to sinusitis. In other words, if we can prevent nasal congestion from occurring, sinusitis is unlikely to occur.

Therefore, medications such as nasal decongestants and steroid nasal sprays are often prescribed.

Usually strong antibiotics are prescribed when there is evidence of bacterial sinusitis. Learn about the latest sinus infection antibiotics. But care must be taken when consuming antibiotics. It is imperative that one must complete the whole course since bacteria can become antibiotic-resistant. Currently, there is a new strain of bacteria that is resistant to all available types of antibiotics.

For those born with a physical abnormality of the nose such as a deviated septum, functional endoscopic surgery may be needed.

Read in detail the latest medical options for Sinus Infection Treatment.

Besides conventional drugs and antibiotics often prescribed my medical practitioners to treat sinusitis, there are several proven home remedies for sinus infections. The main advantage of these folk medicine over drugs is that they are natural remedies which do not cause any side effects that come with the use of modern drugs.

Depending on the severity of the sinusitis symptoms, some would actually work very quickly and others a bit longer.

Steam inhalation, the use of garlic, sinus infection herbs and nasal irrigation are some of the home remedies for sinus infection that have a large following.

In particular, nasal irrigation is not only a highly recommended procedure by modern ENT surgeons today for sinusitis treatment, it has a long history dated back thousands of years ago.

Learn how to perform nasal irrigation at "Nasal Irrigation for Effective Sinus Infection Treatment".

Sinusitis can be classified into 3 main categories depending on the severity of the condition. They are:

1. Mild sinusitis

2. Acute sinusitis

3. Chronic sinusitis

Mild sinusitis is diagnosed if symptoms are not serious. Often, the patient is able to tolerate the slight discomforts experienced. In most instances, prescription medication is not required since most people with a strong immune system are able to recover on their own.

Acute sinusitis occurs when a mild sinusitis progresses to a more serious stage. This means that the infection has become full blown with the full spectrum of sinusitis symptoms exhibited often making the patient feel really sick.

Chronic Sinusitis is diagnosed when one suffers from regular recurring episodes of sinusitis year after year. This could very well be due to anatomical abnormality of the nose such as a deviated septum, naturally enlarged inferior turbinates ot the presence of sinus polyps

It could also be due to the fact that the cilia, which are microscopic hair-like structures that are found on the surface of the mucosal lining of the sinuses are no longer functioning after continuous episodes of sinusitis. The main function of the cilia is to clear the mucus produced within the paranasal sinuses through the ostia.
The ostia are openings of the paranasal sinuses where mucus are drained out into the nasal passages.

So when the cilia is dysfunctional, the mucus cannot drain out of the ostia and causes what is known as sinus pressure. Sinus pressure is what actually cause sinus headaches.

Chronic sinusitis is therefore extremely difficult to treat since the mucosal lining of the sinuses is constantly inflamed and producing abnormally large amounts of thick, glue-like mucus.

Of all the sinus infection symptoms described above, the most debilitating of which is sinus headache. When we have a sinus infection, the sinuses are inflamed and the type of mucus they secrete from the mucosa are thick and glue-like. The ostia, where mucus moves out from the sinuses, become blocked by this thick mucus. Sinus pressure is built-up within the sinuses and this leads to pain and discomfort. As long as the inflammation remains, you will experience sinus headaches.

Taking pain-killers is not a long-term solution. The only cure is to reduce the inflammation so that mucus is able to clear out of the sinuses.

Find out which are the most effective sinus headache remedies.