Your face is sort of full of holes. Well, perhaps it’s more precise to say that your face is full of hollow places, four of them to be exact. These are your sinus cavities. Your sinuses help remove allergens and germs by assisting mucus drainage from your nose. As a result, you breathe easier and you remain healthier.
Most of the time this system works extremely well. But your sinuses can occasionally become infected.
What is a sinus infection?
These sinus cavities become inflamed and swollen when you’re dealing with a sinus infection. This blocks the germs and mucus that should be draining, and this mucus backup results in headaches, plugged noses, and other symptoms that can make you miserable. Because they impair drainage, sinus infections can be really persistent.
For some individuals this persistent inflammation and swelling can prolong the misery for months and months. It’s a condition known as chronic sinusitis.
Chronic sinusitis – exactly what is it?
Sinus infections will normally go away within a few days if they aren’t chronic. Some of the more persistent ones can hang on for up to four weeks. As annoying as that is, it’s still not quite chronic yet.
If a sinus infection endures 12 weeks or longer, that’s when it’s generally considered chronic. And over the period of these twelve weeks, your sinus infection won’t ever clear up. When it goes away and returns that’s known as recurring sinusitis, which is a similar but separate condition. Your symptoms will endure and feel constant even though they actually ebb and flow. This can cause a considerable amount of misery (or, at the very least, effect your day-to-day living).
Risk factors for chronic sinusitis
So is there a specific type of person that will be more susceptible to chronic sinusitis? There are a few risk factors that will make the occurrence of chronic sinusitis more likely, but ultimately, there are a great number of variables, as with any sickness. Those risk factors include:
- Airways that are constantly blocked due to conditions like allergies, asthma, or cystic fibrosis.
- Nasal polyps.
- Mucus can’t because of an irregular nasal structure such as a deviated septum.
- Recurring bacterial or viral illnesses.
This list isn’t complete. But you can think about it like this: anything that increases inflammation and or makes it hard for mucus to drain normally will raise your risk of getting a chronic sinus infection at some point.
How are chronic sinus infections diagnosed?
So if you have chronic sinusitis, how will we know for sure? Well, there are a couple of things we will do to be certain this is the condition you have:
- Medical history and physical exam: We can get a lot of relevant information from a medical history and physical exam.
- Imaging tests and diagnostic procedures: We may do an X-ray, CT, or MRI scan to get a better idea of what’s happening in your sinuses.
- Sinus cultures: We may take a culture to determine what’s creating your infection. This can help identify whether the initial infection is viral or bacterial.
- Nasal endoscopy: In some cases, we may need to take a look inside your nostrils. This is carried out by a tiny camera called an endoscope.
Not all treatments for a sinus infection will be correct for all types of infections. In other words, getting a correct diagnosis is critical to success.
Treating chronic sinus infections
Our preliminary approach will most likely be rather conservative because of how common sinus infections are. Often, getting over the illness simply needs a little help. So most treatments begin slowly, saving more robust or invasive solutions for when they are truly necessary.
Conservative treatments
The most conservative treatments may include the following, most of which patients are responsible for doing at home:
- Nasal irrigation and saline sprays: This will help drainage and minimize dryness and irritation.
- Humidifiers and steam: Your symptoms can be alleviated by avoiding breathing in dry air and a humidifier can be really helpful with that.
- Steering clear of allergy triggers: If asthma and allergies are causing sniffling and that sniffling leads to a chronic sinus infection, then steering clear of the original cause can offer significant relief. If you have a cat allergy, for example, stay away from those feline friends.
Medications
When those at-home, conservative treatments don’t work, we might suggest a medication or two. Some of those medications might include the following:
- Decongestants: These medications are designed to get things (mostly mucus) moving again!
- Antibiotics: This will only help when your sinus infection is caused by a bacteria. It won’t work with viruses, regrettably. We might order a culture for this very reason.
- Corticosteroids: Inflammation in the body will be decreased by these. Reduced inflammation in your sinuses can encourage drainage.
You can get most of these medications in nasal spray or pill forms. Which one is most effective and which you favor is something we can help you with.
Surgery
Sometimes, surgery might be necessary to provide relief. Surgical options include:
- Balloon sinuplasty: This surgery helps make extra space in the sinuses by dilating the cavities, alleviating symptoms and promoting drainage.
- Functional changes: Drainage will be enhanced also improving symptoms with these surgical methods (This kind of procedure would include repairing a deviated septum, for instance).
Speak with us in advance because surgery isn’t right for everyone.
How to better manage chronic sinusitis
Treatment will only be so helpful in some situations. For some individuals, simply managing chronic sinusitis can help alleviate symptoms by preventing a flare-up before it starts. You can do a few things that can encourage sinus health. They include the following:
- Improving your environment: You can take measures to reduce your exposure to irritants and allergens (steer clear of seasonal allergies, for example). Also, preserving indoor air quality by replacing air filters is a beneficial step toward controlling sinus infections.
- Lower your overall stress levels: Believe it or not, stress can cause all sorts of physical manifestations in the body, including a higher propensity for sinus infections (and a more difficult time fighting them off). Get involved with activities that help you relax, like yoga, meditation, or whatever will help alleviate stress.
- Modifying your diet: Drink hot tea and eat foods such as citrus and pineapple which are good for your sinuses. Also, drink as much water as possible. Getting dehydrated is a really bad thing! Keeping hydrated can help lessen the symptoms of your sinus infection.
We will be there to help you successfully manage your chronic sinusitis. So make sure to talk to us about measures you can take at home to avoid sinusitis symptoms.
Caring for your mental health
Don’t forget that your mental health can be affected by any chronic illness. Of course, you will feel mentally depleted when you’re constantly in pain. So find peers, support groups, and mental health professionals for support. If you’re having a hard time coping with your chronic sinusitis, it’s understandable and you aren’t alone. It can sap your strength! So be sure to get help if you need it.
What does the future look like?
Over 11% of the United States population is afflicted with chronic sinusitis. So physicians and scientists are always developing new treatment options. Novel nasal sprays and new medications (including a new injectable drug called Dupixent that aims at diminishing nasal polyps) are examples. Depending on your specific infection and outlook, some of these new remedies may be correct for you.
Delivering results with minor incisions is also something that surgeons are always improving.
If you need some help, don’t wait
Most people won’t be able to resolve chronic sinusitis on their own. They’ll require help, and that’s okay! With effective treatment, you can begin to enjoy all those daily activities again, instead of being focused on how much your head hurts or when you might stop feeling stuffy.
Are you being sidetracked by chronic sinusitis? Give us a call right away for a consultation.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/sinuses.htm