Inflammation of the sinuses is called sinusitis. This is a whole group of diseases, the name of each of which depends on the localization of the infection in a particular sinus. This publication is devoted to such issues as the symptoms of sinusitis in adults, the treatment of the disease, its features in children and the causes of the disease.
What is sinusitis
Sinusitis is an inflammation of the paranasal sinuses and nasal passages, which is also called sinusitis. The infection can cause headaches, pressure in the eyes, nose, cheeks, or on one side of the head. Sinusitis in adults can also present with cough, nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, and sore throat. Sinusitis, the symptoms and treatment of which are discussed a little further, is divided into two main categories - acute and chronic. Sinusitis is fairly common.
Acute sinusitis, as a rule, lasts no more than 7-8 weeks and occurs at intervals of two to three times a year, each time lasting about ten days. There are many medicines thateffective in the fight against acute sinusitis. Successful and timely treatment prevents damage to the mucous membrane of the nasal sinuses and nearby bones of the skull. Chronic sinusitis usually lasts more than two months. They flare up four to five times a year, and symptoms can last for more than 20 days.
Anatomy of the sinuses
The human skull in the nose area consists of four pairs of hollow bones that form the paranasal sinuses. They reduce the weight of the skull, allow the voice to resonate, and promote insulation.
The four main pairs of sinuses include:
- frontal;
- maxillary;
- ethmoid sinuses;
- wedge-shaped.
The surface of the paranasal sinuses is covered with a mucous membrane with cells equipped with tiny hairs. They trap bacteria and dust particles that are breathed in from outside.
Reasons
Acute sinusitis is usually caused by a viral infection in the upper respiratory tract. However, various allergens and pollutants can also cause acute sinusitis. The viral infection damages the cells of the sinus tissue and leads to inflammation. The tissue becomes inflamed, thickens, the nasal passage narrows. Such an obstacle further disrupts the natural process of cleansing and removing bacteria and impurities, therefore, having accumulated there, microorganisms begin to multiply and affect the sinus mucosa. It causes sinusitis symptoms in adults and children, and allergens and dust can produce a similareffect.
What organisms cause sinusitis?
Bacteria that most often provoke sinusitis:
- pneumococcal streptococcus Streptococcus pneumonia;
- Staphylococcus aureus aureus;
- hemophilic bacillus Haemophilus influenza, or Pfeiffer's stick;
- gram-negative diplococcus Moraxella catarrhalis.
Mushrooms are also a growing cause of chronic sinusitis, especially in people with diseases that compromise the immune system such as AIDS, diabetes and leukemia.
Symptoms and signs
So, sinusitis is a condition in which the paranasal sinuses become inflamed and cause breathing problems. Respiratory disorders, in turn, lead to a drop in a person's energy and create a general feeling of illness for several days.
Chronic purulent sinusitis is a long-term inflammation in the sinuses, which from time to time, under certain conditions, makes itself felt with exacerbations. Chronic sinusitis significantly reduces the energy level of a person, undermining the normal state of he alth. Symptoms of chronic sinusitis include a lack of free and complete breathing due to blockage in the sinuses. As a result, insufficient oxygen enters the lungs, the person gets tired, dizziness occurs. These symptoms may be accompanied by a dull headache.
During acute sinusitis, fever, severe headache, sometimes leading to vomiting, may be involved. Most often one of the sinusesis the main, more inflamed. If the infection has settled in the sphenoid sinus, then this is sphenoid sinusitis, which is very difficult to diagnose. This type of illness presents with dull headaches that can last for several days in a row.
Ethmoid sinusitis is an inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, which are located in the front, middle and back of the ethmoid bone. Symptoms of this form of sinusitis are pain in the area around the eyes and in the temples. Nasal congestion and inability to breathe occur, which is a common symptom of all types of sinusitis. Nasal congestion, fever, sore throat, and a feeling of nausea are often manifested by fungal sinusitis. Symptoms and treatment of the disease are determined by which sinuses are involved in the inflammatory process and which form of sinusitis is chronic or acute.
Signs of acute sinusitis
The table below lists the main symptoms of acute sinusitis for each type of disease. It is worth noting that acute sinusitis is characterized by severe nasal congestion and headaches.
| A type of acute sinusitis | Characteristic symptoms |
| Trellited | Nasal congestion, mucus running down the throat behind the nose, fever, pain or pressure in the inner corner of the eye, headache, sensation of pain and pressure aggravated by coughing, straining or lying down. |
| Maxillary | Pain in the cheekbones, around the eyes or in the area of the upper teeth, reddened and swollencheekbones, pain and pressure aggravated by bending over and standing upright, nasal discharge, fever. |
| Frontite | Severe forehead headaches, fever, nasal discharge, pain worse when reclining and upright. |
| Wedge-shaped | Deep headaches behind and closer to the top of the head, aggravated by bending forward and lying on the back, double vision, blurred vision, discharge from the nose. |
Signs of chronic sinusitis
The table below summarizes the main characteristic symptoms of different types of chronic sinusitis.
| A type of chronic sinusitis | Symptoms |
| Trellited | Chronic nasal discharge, difficulty breathing and discomfort, pain in the morning and when wearing glasses, often with bad breath and sore throat. |
| Maxillary | Discomfort and pressure in the area below the eyes, chronic toothache, increased tooth sensitivity, increased cough at night. |
| Frontite | Persistent pain in the forehead, discharge from the nose. |
| Wedge-shaped | Nose discharge and frequent headache. |
Treatment
Therapy for chronic sinusitis canbe carried out through the use of antibiotics, but you need to be aware of their side effects and entrust the choice and duration of admission to your doctor. There are different ways and treatments that can help relieve the discomfort caused by sinusitis. For example, removing sinus secretions clears the nasal cavity and resumes normal breathing.
Saline solution for washing the nose is the most famous and ancient method of treating acute forms of the disease. Sinusitis is a pathology that can also be eliminated with the help of inhalations. Treatment of sinusitis, ethmoidal, wedge-shaped and bacterial sinusitis should be carried out only according to the prescriptions and recommendations of an ENT doctor. Antibiotics for sinusitis are also prescribed by a doctor.
Tips and alternative treatment of sinusitis
Drink more pure water and hot herbal tea. Inhale the steam while leaning over a bowl of hot water or a decoction of chamomile, oak bark or sage for 10 minutes daily - this is an effective remedy if you have chronic sinusitis. Feedback from people suggests that a hot shower and a regular bath have a beneficial effect. All of these methods help drain mucus and pus from the sinuses.
Guaifenesin helps to effectively expel mucus from the respiratory tract. You can also combine decongestants and antitussive drugs. Pain relievers such as Asibuprofen, Aspirin, Andnaproxen will help relieve pain. They not only relieve pain, but also reduce inflammation. Well establishedmedicine "Acetaminophen", the action of which is aimed at pain relief and overcoming fever.
Sinusitis in children
Chronic sinusitis in a child brings significant discomfort, since the inability to breathe freely is one of the worst conditions. In addition to this symptom, the occurrence of headache and heaviness in the face causes the child to feel constantly unwell and tired. Acute sinusitis is easy to diagnose but is often confused with a common cold. Treatment of sinusitis in children should be carried out strictly according to the doctor's instructions. Since self-medication can only do harm, causing the development of a chronic form of sinusitis.
Sinusitis symptoms in children are most often similar to those in adults, but headaches and difficulty breathing can often be more severe. Treatment for sinusitis in children is determined by the doctor based on the symptoms and diagnosis. At the same time, surgical intervention is not recommended until the main methods bring a positive result and success. Antibiotics for sinusitis in children are not recommended as a means of therapy, as they can harm an organism that is not yet strong. However, if necessary, the doctor can still prescribe acceptable antibacterial drugs. This is especially true for sinusitis, infections in which were provoked by bacterial microorganisms.
If symptoms are severe, your doctor may prescribe antihistamines and decongestants to help your child breathe easier. Sinusitis, which arose on the basis of a viralinfections, in most cases, resolves on their own, without turning into a chronic form. At home, you can also try using a warm compress on the sinus area.
Change your lifestyle
Despite the fact that sinusitis is not considered life-threatening, it still brings a lot of pain and discomfort if left untreated. Simple lifestyle changes can help your child regain he alth, breathe freely, and deal with pain more quickly. Here are some tips that will be helpful.
Use a humidifier in your home and keep the humidity at 40-50%. This will prevent the formation of dry air, which irritates the sinuses. Keep it clean. Regularly do wet cleaning and ventilate the room. Teach your child to practice personal hygiene.
If you smoke, find the strength to give up this harmful and negative habit. Passive exposure of tobacco smoke to the mucous membranes of the nose and sinuses, as well as to the lungs, can lead not only to sinusitis, but also to other, more serious he alth problems.
Try to limit your child's exposure to various respiratory irritants and environmental allergens, especially in the early stages of his life. Certain foods can make sinusitis symptoms worse, such as cold drinks.
Inhalation treatment
As a natural traditional medicine for the treatment of sinusitis, in the first place, perhaps, areinhalation. You can breathe over solutions of various means and products in hot water. We list the most effective of them:
- dry menthol;
- potato broth;
- chamomile officinalis;
- lavender decoctions and coltsfoot;
- yarrow;
- plantain;
- propolis tincture;
- St. John's wort;
- regular baking soda;
- eucalyptus leaves or eucalyptus oil 3-4 drops per 1 liter of water;
- natural flower honey.
Compresses and ointments
For compresses, which are also useful, you can use softened hot beeswax, crushed garlic or radish wrapped in cheesecloth. You can also prepare natural nose drops from products such as honey and aloe leaf juice, wild rosemary oil tincture, purified birch tar, a mixture of tea and eucalyptus tincture.
The sinus area can be lubricated with home-made ointments and mixtures. The best compositions are:
- sea s alt and interior fat;
- vegetable oil, wax and propolis;
- alcohol tincture of aloe leaves, celandine and red pepper;
- honey, onion juice and vegetable oil.
All of the listed folk remedies are effective and useful only if the prescriptions of the attending physician in the main direction of therapy and regular use are followed.
