As you know, the nose performs a number of important functions in the life of the human body: respiratory and olfactory, lacrimal and protective. The beginning of the respiratory tract is given by paranasal sinuses, similar to caves filled with air and connected to the nasal cavity. The paranasal or maxillary sinuses are called maxillary sinuses. A person has two of them: left and right. When they are inflamed, the diagnosis is sinusitis.
The maxillary sinus, its location
The maxillary or maxillary sinuses are also called the air cavity. It lies in the thickness of the cranial bones on the right and left sides of the nose. Inside each sinus there is a mucous membrane with vascular plexuses, nerve endings and mucous glands located in it. They open into the nasal cavity with a special opening, which is called an anastomosis. The maxillary sinuses, the location of which is bilateral, are not the only ones in the paranasal space. There are others besides them:
- Two frontal, located in the thickness of the forehead bone, above the eye sockets.
- Two ethmoid sinuses are located in the nasal passage from above and serve to separate the nasal cavity from the brain.
- One wedge-shaped, located at the base of the skull in the thickness of the sphenoid bone.
The communication of the paranasal sinuses with the nasal cavity occurs through small tubules and openings. They also help to purify and ventilate. If these openings close, microbes accumulate in the sinus, and an inflammatory process begins - sinusitis (sinusitis).
Signs of disease
- Foul-smelling purulent discharge from the nose.
- Headaches that get worse in the evening.
- Nasal congestion that makes breathing very difficult.
- Bad breath.
- Fatigue, weakness, insomnia.
- Loss of appetite.
- Puffiness of the face.
- Increased body temperature.
Sinusitis may appear some time after a viral illness. Often, molars with caries are the cause of inflammation, in which the maxillary sinus is very painful.
Sinusitis: causes of occurrence
Cause inflammation of the maxillary sinus bacteria, viruses, fungal infections and allergic reactions of the body to food, drugs, plants, animals, etc. When fistulas swell, the process of mucus outflow into the nasal cavity is disrupted, and pathogens begin to multiply. This leads to the development of an inflammatory process that covers the maxillary sinuses. Their location is bilateral, therefore, inflammation can be in one or both sinuses: right or left. If a person feels anxiety on the left side of the nose, then this may indicate that the left maxillary sinus is inflamed, and vice versa. The causes of sinusitis can be:
- Hypocooling of the body.
- Addicted to bad habits.
- Decreased immunity.
- Feature of the structure of the nose: the nasal septum may be curved.
- Passion for water sports (such as scuba diving).
- Chronic infection in the body in the form of caries, tonsillitis or rhinitis.
- Allergy.
- This disease can develop if acute respiratory infections or colds were treated incorrectly or out of time.
Sinusitis is seasonal and is characterized by two peaks in incidence. The first of them falls on the period from February to March, the second lasts from August to September.
Darkening: what does an X-ray reveal?
Darkening of the maxillary sinuses is a symptom detected during an x-ray. A radiologist may suggest sinusitis if he sees a shadow in the adnexal formations in the picture. X-rays are ordered to check for swelling and the presence or absence of accumulated pus in the sinuses.
During an x-ray examination for sinusitis, the doctor sees a darkening of the maxillary sinuses in the upper horizontallevel. If the disease is in the early stages of development, the x-ray may show a slight accumulation of fluid.
Forms of sinusitis
The following forms of this disease are distinguished:
Acute sinusitis - characterized by fever, nasal congestion, a feeling of pain under the eyes. With this form of sinusitis, green mucous discharge from the nose is observed
Chronic sinusitis - characterized by a cough that does not go away, no matter how it is treated. It gets worse, usually at night. This form of sinusitis is also accompanied by nasal congestion, recurring rhinitis, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye
Varieties of acute sinusitis
Acute sinusitis can be of two main types:
- Purulent - characterized by the accumulation of pus in the sinuses and their subsequent removal to the outside.
- Catarrhal - with this type of sinusitis, the mucous membrane of the nasal sinus becomes inflamed, and gray liquid contents form in it, which also flows out.
The inflammatory process can capture the maxillary sinuses. The location of foci of inflammation on both sides of the nose is called bilateral acute sinusitis. Inflammation on the right side is called acute right sinusitis.
Left side sinusitis
The cause of this disease may be untreated colds, flu, acute respiratory infections, etc. The left maxillary sinus may become inflamed if the wind constantly blows on the person from the left side or the air conditioner. Causesuch an affliction can also be a disease of the teeth in the upper left side of the mouth. The causative agent of the disease can be Staphylococcus aureus. If the human body is exhausted, hypothermic and weakened by viral infections, staphylococcus aureus affects it. Other harmful microorganisms can join Staphylococcus aureus. If they unite in one place, then the effect on the body of the main pathogen will increase. This is very dangerous not only for he alth, but for life in general.
Highmore's sinus, thickening
Thickening of the maxillary sinuses can occur for various reasons. To date, they have not been established with certainty. Doctors suggest that the maxillary sinuses can increase in thickness due to infectious and colds, allergies, hypothermia, and many other factors. Doctors prescribe treatment taking into account anti-allergic drugs, such as "Cetrin", and vasoconstrictor - "Ascorutin". To remove purulent fluid from the nasal cavity, washing is done. The nose must be covered. You can use drops: "Vibrocil", "Nasonex", "Aldecin" and others. Provide relief by inhalation and warming in cases where pus comes out of the sinus.
Flushing the maxillary sinuses
During a cold, mucus forms. It comes out through the maxillary and frontal sinuses, but not all. Part of it remains and turns into hard crusts that eventually fill the sinuses. A dense mass is formed on which microbes multiply. The result of the process of their vital activity is a purulent mass, which fills the maxillary sinusesnose.
A person begins to have a headache, he loses his sight and smell, hears and remembers poorly. All ailments, as a rule, people attribute to other diseases. Very often, having come to the doctor, the patient does not even know where the maxillary sinuses are located and what they are. If, after the examination, the presence of the disease is confirmed, then it will be necessary to cleanse the maxillary and frontal sinuses from compressed jelly-pus. To do this, you need to go through the following steps:
- Soothing steam or water baths to warm the head. The procedure should not take more than five minutes. After it, the head is rinsed with cold water. You need to do 3-5 procedures. Pus turns from solid to liquid.
- The next step is to remove the pus. For this, the maxillary sinuses are washed with liquid. Use sea water, saline, or your own warm urine. Washing is done as follows: a small polyethylene tube 3-4 cm long is put on a syringe without a needle. Then it is carefully inserted into the nasal opening. The head should be tilted over the sink. The piston of the syringe pressurized water enters the nasal passage and the maxillary sinus. There is a liquefaction of pus and its excretion into the nasal cavity. Remember that a sharp pressure on the plunger of the syringe can cause water to enter the auditory opening. And this, in turn, can cause otitis media. So, in the manner described, the maxillary sinuses of the nose are washed alternately several times. Such procedures are carried out daily for three days in the morning andevenings. It is better to use sterile solutions for washing the nose: Aqualor, Aquamaris, Marimer, Humer and others with special autonomous nozzles.
Maxillary sinuses: heat treatment
To remove purulent fluid, the maxillary sinuses are washed. Inflammation, the treatment of which should be continued by warming up, will pass faster. But, you can warm up if the pus began to move away without problems. If this did not happen, then it is absolutely impossible to warm the inflamed places! First, the sinuses are rubbed with an asterisk. To enhance the effect of the balm, they are heated, for which they use a blue lamp, a bag of s alt or flax seed. Regular cleansing and frequent warming up not only improve the patient's condition, but also completely cure acute purulent sinusitis.
Sinusitis: nasal treatment
A characteristic feature of this disease is nasal congestion. To eliminate it and make breathing easier, use drops of menthol oil or tea tree oil.
3-5 drops in each nasal opening are enough. You can lubricate the nose, forehead and temples with oil. As needed, when the nose is very stuffy, drops are used to relieve: "Nazivin", "Dlyanos".
Treatment of sinusitis with inhalations
- Pour half a teaspoon of propolis tincture into a small amount of boiled water (two to three liters). Next, you should put it in front of you, undress to the waist, cover yourself with a warm blanket or towel, lean over the pan and breathe. This procedure is best doneevery evening for seven days.
- Boil potatoes in their skins, drain the water and breathe over the steam, covering with a blanket. Before the procedure, you need to warm up well in the bathroom. This should be done in the evenings for two weeks.
Tampon treatment
Very often use cotton swabs in order to treat the maxillary sinuses. Their location on both sides of the nose involves the use of a tampon specifically for the sinus in which the inflammatory process takes place. This is done as follows: thin tubes are twisted from sterile cotton and soaked with a solution of one teaspoon of propolis and three teaspoons of vegetable oil. To wet the swab, you can use a 1% solution of "Glazolin" or "Naphthyzinum", 2% solution of "Ephidrine". Tampons are placed in the nose twice a day for 5 minutes. The procedure relieves swelling and has a disinfecting effect. In the treatment of sinusitis, it is necessary to consume a lot of liquid: tea, compote, fruit drink, mineral water without gas. This is due to the fact that during an illness a person loses a large amount of fluid, and with it, s alt. Such losses must be made up for without fail.
How else is sinusitis treated?
This disease is characterized by an inflammatory process that provokes swelling of the maxillary sinuses. It clogs the ducts from the nasal cavity to the sinus, where an accumulation of pus forms. First you need to normalize the process of its outflow. This is done with vasoconstrictor sprays and drops: Otilin, Nazivin, Dlyanos. These drugs quickly relieve swelling of the maxillary sinuses. But, moreit is not recommended to use them for five days, as atrophy of the nasal mucosa may occur
- After the outflow of purulent fluid from the nose is normalized, treatment is carried out with antibiotics: Augmentin, Azithromycin, Cephalosporin. If a person is allergic to the penicillin series, he is prescribed "Macrolides" or "Tetracycline".
- In the arsenal of modern medicine there are a large number of antibiotics for the treatment of sinusitis without side effects. If this disease has arisen due to deformity of the nasal septum or tooth decay, the primary diseases must be cured.
- In case of urgent need, the sinus is pierced, and an antibiotic solution is injected into its cavity, which dilutes the pus and removes it from the sinus.
- When conservative treatment fails, surgery is used.
Sinusitis in children
To distinguish sinusitis in a child from the common cold, you need to pay attention to certain points. When the maxillary sinuses are inflamed, children experience nasal congestion alternately on the right side, then on the left side. Whereas during a common cold, both nostrils are always blocked.
With inflammation of the maxillary sinuses, the child feels a dull pain, he does not leave a feeling of heaviness in the sinus area. He constantly blows his nose, but this brings relief only for a short time. If you gently press a point in the center of the cheek and from the side of the inner corner of the eye, the child will immediately complain of pain.
When a cold lasts more than a week, and after 5-7 days a temperature suddenly appears, this should alert parents and force them to show their child to a doctor. If this is not done in time, the maxillary sinuses may be damaged. Inflammation, which should be treated immediately, can lead to headache, malaise, weakness.
During swallowing, there may be pain in the throat, dryness. Body temperature can remain normal or rise to 37.9 degrees. The most pronounced symptom of the disease is a persistent cough at night, which is not amenable to any treatment. Timely examination, accurate diagnosis and properly prescribed by the doctor therapy will save the child from sinusitis.
