What is sinusitis?
Sinusitis is a condition where your sinuses (a space inside your nose) become inflamed and swollen. Sinusitis will cause mucus to build up inside this space because your nose drainage is blocked. When this happens, it will interfere with your breathing. Your nose will usually feel very tight and uncomfortable. Furthermore, a severe sinusitis might also cause the area around your nose and eyes to become swollen, you might feel pain all over your face and sometimes it also can cause a headache. If you think you are having sinusitis, the best thing that you might want to consider is getting a sinus care treatment from your doctor as quickly as possible.
What causes sinusitis?
Sinusitis can be divided into two categories. Acute and chronic. Acute sinusitis happens when you are having sinusitis for less than 12 weeks. Consecutively, a sinusitis that lasted for more than 3 months or 12 weeks is called chronic sinusitis. Normally, both of these conditions have different causes. Acute sinusitis is mostly caused by common cold and will usually resolve within 10 days with home remedies. As for chronic sinusitis, it is usually caused by an infection in the sinuses and takes longer time to resolve.
What are the symptoms?
Both acute and chronic sinusitis share a lot of common symptoms together. However, different individuals might experience different symptoms compared to other people. The list below shows the common symptoms for a person with sinusitis:
- Thick yellow or green-coloured mucus coming from the nose or the back of the throat
- Difficulty breathing due to nasal blockage
- Pain, tenderness and swelling over the face including around the nose, eyes, cheek and
also forehead. - Pain or pressure in the ear
- Headache
- Aching in upper jaw or teeth
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Altered sense of smell
- Bad breath
- Fatigue
- Fever
What causes sinusitis?
Acute and chronic sinusitis are caused by different causes. The list below shows possible causes for acute and also chronic sinusitis:
Acute sinusitis:
- Common cold (virus infection)
- Bacterial infection
Chronic sinusitis:
- Nasal polyps
- Deviated nasal septum
- Respiratory tract infections
- Allergies such as hay fever
- Other medical conditions such as HIV, Cystic fibrosis or any condition that leads to nasal blockage
Most of the causes mentioned above will lead to nasal discharge. This nasal discharge then will cause blockage in the nostrils. When this happens, inflammation will be triggered in order to solve the condition. This is what we call sinusitis.
What are the risk factors? Who is susceptible to it?
Some people are considered as susceptible to a condition if they have certain factors that can contribute to its emergence. The same goes for sinusitis. The list below shows the risk factor for sinusitis. You are likely to develop sinusitis if you have any of the following condition:
- Any allergic conditions such as hay fever
- Deviated nasal septum
- Nasal polyps
- Nasal tumor
- Cystic fibrosis
- HIV infection
- Smoke exposure
- Asthma
- Aspirin sensitivity
- A dental infection
What to do if you think you have sinusitis?
For your information, sinusitis can lead to other possible dangerous complications if it remains untreated. Vision problems and also infections such as meningitis can happen. Hence, it is a wise decision to always meet and ask your doctor about your condition. If you think you have sinusitis, you need to quickly meet your doctor so that he/she can give a proper treatment. Remember to always listen to your doctor’s instruction and take your medication as prescribed. It is very important to take care of your sinusitis before it leads you to a bigger problem.
