Sinusitis

Sinusitis, or sinus infections, is the most frequently reported chronic disease in the United States, affecting 15 % of the population, over 35 million Americans per year. The sinuses consist of 4 symmetrical pairs of sinus cavities located on your forehead above your nose, behind the bridge of your nose, and in your cheek area. These cavities add resonance to your voice and also help clean and humidify the air you breathe before that air reaches the lungs. There is a constant refreshing of the mucous lining in the nose and sinus cavities, new mucous constantly flowing down, thereby lubricating the sinuses and keeping them clean. This mucous traps bacteria, pollution, and other particles in the air, capturing them so they don't go further into your body. Antibodies in the mucous fight off the bacteria, so an infection is less likely to occur.

What can go wrong with your sinuses and what are the symptoms and causes of sinusitis? 
If there is swelling or inflammation, or physical blockage of the sinuses, mucous increases, normal drainage of that mucous becomes more difficult. This mucous accumulates and remains more stagnant in the sinus cavities, making it more likely to develop into an infection, either acute or chronic. This inflammation can be caused by allergy, infection, obstruction, or any combination of these. Symptoms of sinusitis vary greatly, but commonly a patient can develop colored drainage down their throat, headaches or pressure in their forehead, nose, or cheeks, cough, stuffiness, fatigue. These symptoms may be started by a viral cold which can easily turn into a bacterial infection, an anatomic obstruction such as a deviated septum or a nasal polyp, or any allergy that can result in the inflammation that causes all these symptoms.

What can be done for sinusitis?
A short term case of acute sinusitis is most commonly treated with a decongestant, perhaps an over-the-counter nasal spray, and often, a short course of an antibiotic. Chronic sinusitis, an increasing problem often attributed either to increased air pollution or the growing resistance of bacteria to over-used antibiotics, can present more of a problem. Fifty percent of patients with chronic sinusitis have allergies as a triggering factor. It is necessary to attack chronic sinusitis from both an allergic and infectious viewpoint in order to successfully eliminate the problem in the long term. Evaluation with your physician (a careful history-taking and physical examination), testing (skin tests, sinus X-rays or CT scans), and a coordinated plan (which might include any combination of cortisone nasal sprays, steam, nasal washes, antibiotics, allergy injections, food elimination diets) usually leads to resolution of the sinus problem.