Sinus Problems

You have been sniffling and suffering with this cold for way too long now. You have woken up with the feeling that your head has been in a vice while you slept. It this common cold, just a cold or is it a sinus infection? How do you tell the difference? What are sinuses?

Para-nasal sinuses, simply put, are air-filled spaces within the bones and skull of the face. Sinusitis is an inflammation or infection of these spaces on either side of and behind the nose. It can be caused by a variety of things including bacteria, viruses, fungi (molds) and possibly by allergies. An alarming fifteen to twenty percent of the population suffers from chronic sinusitis which means that it last longer than three weeks.

When most people come down with sinusitis they dismiss it as a cold or confuse it with other medical problems since it carries with it a large variety of symptoms. Plus, a lot of these symptoms are those associated with a cold. Many sinus sufferers complain of a post nasal drip, stuffiness, and pressure around the nose, a runny nose, clear or colored mucus, a cough, a sore or irritated throat, pain in the teeth, headache, or fever. If that were not bad enough, additional symptoms which sometimes occur are hoarseness: a decreased sense of smell, and fullness of the ears. Someone might have all or some of these symptoms since they vary so much from person to person or even infection to infection. The same person might have a sinus infection more then once with different symptoms present. Some people complain of not only pressure around the nose but pressure behind the eyes as well. It is often at night that the sinus sufferer deals with their symptoms the most. During the day when the person is active, the mucus filled spaces have a chance to drain due to the effect of gravity. At night when the person’s head is now laying comfortably on their pillow, the mucus is no longer draining properly. This cause the person to awake, feeling clogged with more pressure than usual.

The biggest difference is that a sinus infection needs to be treated with antibiotics, and prescription nasal sprays, as well as decongestants and often medications to thin the mucus. It may also help the sufferer to use a vaporizer at night, and occasionally nasal irrigation, as well as Aspirin (if you can tolerate it). A sinus infection should be treated early, no later then two to three weeks after the symptoms first start or it could become chronic. The longer one waits to treat sinus problems, the more difficult they become to treat, the more likely complications will ensue, and the more likely surgery may be necessary as opposed to medical treatment.

The next thing that sinus sufferers can do for themselves is to understand their symptoms and their bodies. I have heard over and over again that people do not want to go to the doctor if it is “just a cold”. Like mentioned earlier, a cold might not be just a cold and the only way you will know for sure is if you are diagnosed properly.