Sinus Infection Relief

curleegurlee asked:


I have terrible sinus pain and congestion and don’t know what the right combination of meds would work best. Should I take a decongestant with an expectorant???
Is it safe to take a pain reliever along with the Mucinex D?

Alijah

kevin7484 asked:

Dr Kevin Soh describes what is fungal sinusitis, and how it can cause nose polyps. Learn how surgeons approach the maxillary sinus.

Averill

Sinus infection, or sinusitis, is an inflammation of the sinuses and nasal passages. A sinus infection can cause a headache or pressure in the eyes, nose, cheek area, or on one side of the head. A person with a sinus infection may also have a cough, a fever, bad breath, and nasal congestion with thick nasal secretions. Sinusitis is categorized as acute (sudden onset) or chronic (long term, the most common type).

Sinusitis or sinus infection is a lingering troublesome ailment which ultimately tells on the general health. The sinuses are cavities and inside these cavities are mucosal linings. The lining of the sinuses provides a very important and essential function in that they protect the body from dust, pollens, other foreign matter and pathogens in the air we breathe.The surface of this lining is made up of soft membrane-like tissues which is densely populated with microscopic hair-like cilia. The cilia act like oars to drain the mucus produced naturally by the body.

Sometimes, if a sinus infection is not getting better, comes back even after you take all your medicine, or if the doctor is thinking about doing surgery, he or she may send you to have a CT scan of the sinuses. The CT scan is a special X-ray that takes a picture of your insides. It doesn’t hurt, and it makes it much easier for the doctor to see what’s going on. Your doctor can clearly see what the sinuses look like and then decide what kind of treatment will help you get better faster.

You’re coughing, your nose is stuffy, and you feel tired and achy. You think that you might be getting a cold. Later, when the medicines you’ve been taking to relieve symptoms of the common cold are not working and you’ve got a terrible headache, you finally drag yourself to the doctor. After listening to your history of symptoms, examining your face and forehead, and perhaps doing a sinus X-ray, the doctor says you have sinusitis.

The people with sinusitis frequently have thick nasal secretions that are yellow, green, or blood-tinged. Sometimes these secretions, referred to as post-nasal drip, drain in the back of the throat and are difficult to get rid of. Also, acute and chronic sinusitis are strongly associated with nasal symptoms such as a stuffy nose, as well as with a general feeling of fullness over the entire face.

The paranasal sinuses are air-filled cavities in the dense portions of the bones of the skull, which were formed to decrease the overall weight of the skull. These air filled cavities are formed essentially in four left and right pairs. The frontal sinuses are positioned behind the area of the forehead, while the maxillary sinuses are behind the cheeks. The sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses are found deeper in the skull behind the eyes and maxillary sinuses. The sinuses are lined by mucous secreting cells.

Sinus infection symptoms can also be caused by food allergies or a severe cold. The people usually more susceptible to sinus infection symptoms are those with a weaken immune system. So it’s a good idea to do what you can to improve your health and your immune system to help prevent the symptoms of a sinus infection.

Sinus infections and allergies pose a unique situation. Just as sinusitis and related problems are so common, surprisingly, modern medicine has still not been able to provide definite solutions. To this date, sinus irrigation remains one of the most effective ways to treat sinus infections.



By: peterhutch

About the Author:

Elijah

CURIOUS asked:


Does anybody know how to get rid of sinus infections and fluid build up, i think it might be Nasal polyp ?
What is a good way to kill the bacteria besides over the counter drugs.I think i might have nasal polyp i google it up but has anybody really experience with the inffections.
1 second ago – 3 days left to answer.

Apiatan

A sinus infection is an acute or chronic disease which affects the integrity of the nasal sinuses. Sinuses are very important elements and their role is to protect the brain against impacts, to reduce the weight of the skull and to improve the resonance of the voice.

Sinusitis appears when the nasal membrane gets affected by pollutants, cold or dry air and becomes inflamed. Secondary the cilia will slow down their movements, and mucus will be mass produced in order to eliminate the accumulated bacteria. Because cilia are not working properly the mucus will be trapped in the sinuses and cause a local infection. Sometimes even the fact that the secretions are thick can cause sinusitis. In rare cases a tumor can block the sinuses causing a local obstruction.

The infection of the sinuses can last a month and it is known as acute sinusitis or can last more than three months and then it is known as chronic sinusitis. The sub acute sinusitis is situated somewhere in between, meaning that is lasts from one month to less than three months.

There are people who are exposed at this affection due to their profession. Those who work in conditions which expose them to infections like health care personnel, those who work with irritants like smoke, petrol and pain fumes, perfumes and different sprays are also at risk of developing sinusitis.

Those who smoke a lot and who have a weakened immune system are more exposed to sinusitis and infections than others.

A person who has fever, headaches, facial pain and pressure, colored nasal discharge, and even problems with the vision for more than 10 days must go to the doctor and ask for a treatment because left untreated, sinusitis can cause pneumonia, ear infection, bronchitis and even bone infections.

The doctor will try to see if there is redness and swelling of the nasal passages, tenderness at percussion and swelling in the eye area. With the help of a rhinoscope the doctor will want to see if the sinuses are obstructed or not. Sometimes he might even perform an aspiration to collect samples of the material that blocks the sinus and see what kind of bacteria populates this material.

The therapy consists out of medical treatment and home care remedies. They are meant to clear up the infection, open and drainage the sinuses, and reduce as possible the intensity of the symptoms while reassuring prevention to recurrences of the infection.

At home the patient is recommended to drink warm fluids, to apply wet bandages on the face and to make steam inhalations. The doctor will prescribe the patient oral decongestants, and mucus thinning agents. Besides this anti-biotherapy is needed in order to stop the infection that has caused sinusitis. The doctor might try more types of antibiotics until he finds the right one as he can not know which bacteria has caused your infection. Also, cortisone sprays might be helpful as they improve the drainage of the sinuses. Treatment must be followed at least 10 days otherwise the sinus infection might come back after a few days.

For those in whom the treatment is not effective surgery is the last option. This surgery lasts two or three hours and it consists out of straightening the septum, and opening the sinuses in order to improve the drainage. Hospitalization is needed a day or two and the recovery period might last up to two weeks. Even if you have had surgery this does not mean you can not have sinusitis again, but the advantage is that if you develop it again you will be able to treat it more easily.

The easier thing is to prevent sinusitis, not to treat it. You can prevent sinusitis by giving up smoking, by treating any colds as soon as they install, by cleaning up the nose gently when needed and by drinking a lot of warm liquids.

You can visit http://www.sinus-infection-guide.com or http://www.sinus-infection-guide.com/sinus-infection-treatment.htm for more sinus infection treatment information



By: Groshan Fabiola

About the Author:

Antonine

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses which can cause you to feel some of the following:

-    nasal congestion

-    difficulty in breathing

-    swelling of the throat

-    runny nose

-    coughing

-    facial pressure/pain, particularly in the cheeks and areas of the teeth

-    headache

-    fever

-    fatigue

People usually turn to medication when faced with a condition like sinusitis. And why not, if medicine can provide relief from bothersome and painful symptoms that can ruin your daily routine? Most sinusitis cases may not be life threatening or severe enough to concern you that much, but a sinus infection can definitely be life-altering and can cause a lot of frustration and inconvenience to your lifestyle. So do not hesitate in taking the right kind of medication for your sinusitis.

Numerous types of cures are available for sinusitis. But for cases with severe and/or long lasting symptoms, you can be prescribed with medicine or you can buy over the counter drugs to get rid of your symptoms. Home and natural cures can relieve you from minor symptoms, but for persistent and recurring sinusitis, consider some of the medicines below to cure sinusitis completely.

Antibiotics

These are the most popular type of medicine used to cure sinusitis. They target bacterial sinusitis, killing bacteria and preventing these infectious organisms from reproducing. Take these when your bacterial sinusitis symptoms are severe, or when your chronic sinusitis indicates that the infectious bacteria in your sinuses seem to have enjoyed their stay in your system for way too long. Antibiotics need to be prescribed by a doctor. But even if you do get prescribed antibiotics, these drugs should always be used with caution. Overuse or misuse of these can lead to worsening your condition.

Anti fungal Medicine

Sinusitis can also be caused by fungi. Anti fungal medication would then be the appropriate cure for this type of sinusitis, particularly for invasive fungi that can cause a severe and even fatal type of sinus infection. Similar to antibiotics, the main goal of this type of medicine is to eliminate the elements that are causing sinusitis – just this time, it’s clearing out fungi instead of bacteria. These may be prescribed, but there are also other forms of this medicine that can be bought over the counter.

Decongestants

Decongestants decrease the swelling of the mucus membranes. When you use these, nasal congestion is reduced, paving the way to clearer nasal passages. These easily accessible passageways can then more readily expel unwanted mucus and infectious particles in the sinus areas, leading to cleaner and disinfected sinus cavities.

Corticosteriods

These work through your sinusitis by reducing the inflammation of the mucus membranes, just like decongestants. When you have sinusitis that came about from an aggravation of your allergies, this type of medicine can work well to ease the inflammation of the nasal mucus membranes. You can also use corticosteroids when you need to reduce growths in your mucus membranes such as nasal polyps.

With all of the available medicine to cure sinusitis, always remember that consulting a doctor is part of the selection process. There are a lot of factors to consider in choosing the right medicine for your condition, so do not just go and get the medicine you want based on the knowledge that you got from your personal research. Learn from your doctor on how you can apply a particular type of medicine for your specific type of sinusitis.



By: Joel Owens

About the Author:

Alxander

Sinus infections are diagnosed in more than 30 million US residents every year and are among the most common reasons people see their doctor. Sinus problems are usually diagnosed after taking a medical history, doing a physical exam and evaluating the signs and symptoms. However most people know they have a sinus problem or sinus infection before they ever visit their doctor. The doctor visit may follow days or even weeks of trying to cure a sinus infection.

Sinus problems are frequent among people with immune problems. Sinus infections can last for weeks or months without the right treatment and often people go through dozens of sinus solutions without any luck.

In the past sinus infections were treated with antibiotics which were prescribed for 7- 10 days in an attempt to reach the sinuses, however they are usually not prescribed anymore because it’s an established fact that most sinus infections are caused by fungi or viruses. In addition the antibiotics generally were not able to reach the deep sinus cavities. Americans have spent billions of dollars on drugs or medications that promise relief from sinus symptoms and these did not work.

Sinusitis can be acute, which is usually temporary, or chronic, which requires a more permanent solution. Sinus problems can affect breathing and produce a cough from irritating the cough reflex in the throat from sinus drainage. For people with acute or chronic sinusitis, the openings of the cavities are usually narrow and blocked.

Four sets of sinus cavities reside within your head. These are openings that drain mucous and debris out of the nasal passages. Although they are rare, complications can occur including abscess, orbital cellulitis, meningitis or osteomyelitis.

The goal of sinus treatment is to get rid of the sinus infection or sinus problem, reduce the swelling of the openings to the sinus cavities, promote good sinus drainage and prevent any serious complications.

You may get relief from an air purifier if your sinus infections are allergy-related or you live in a smoke-filled house. Put a warm, wet washcloth on your face several times a day. Try to avoid flying if you’re congested. If you have to fly take along saline nasal spray to try to keep the tissues moist. The dry air irritates the sinuses, increasing the chance of infection if you don’t have one.

Check for possible soreness over some of the sinuses by gently pressing or tapping on the cheeks and forehead although for the deeper sinus cavities this won’t work. Make sure to drink plenty of water to help thin and moisten the mucus.

Eat lots of fresh fruits and raw vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants and many other nutrients that boost your immune system and help your body resist infection. Avoid the obvious – smoke, dust, fumes, aerosol sprays, pollutants and anything airborne. Sinus infections are also much more common when there is exposure to cigarette smoke.

Living with chronic sinusitis or battling occasional acute sinus infections or sinus headaches doesn’t have to be a lifetime problem. You can get rid of sinus infections without antibiotics and avoid sinus surgery. A clear understanding of how the sinuses work, knowing all you can do naturally, applying common sense and treating sinus symptoms early will help you get rid of your sinus problems for good.



By: Helen Hecker

About the Author:

Fausto

At one point or another in our lives, each one of us must have suffered from Sinusitis. This is a health condition that involves the inflammation of the body sinuses and the air pathways that are around it. When this happens, the lining covering the surfaces of these sinuses swell up and cause a blockage in the air passages. As a result of it, air is not allowed to freely flow to the sinuses.This makes a person breathe with difficulty and in the process, pain is felt in areas where sinuses are situated.Severe headaches follow up together with nasal congestion. Mucus produced by the mucous glands get to accumulate inside the nostrils because the swelling up of the sinus lining makes the celia movements to slow down and this makes it difficult to wash away the mucus and thus increasing the breathing problem even further.

Other symptoms that accompany sinusitis include nasal discharge that appears to be thick and yellow or greenish in color. This discharge resembles pus that is usually released when a person suffers from an infection. As if all this is not enough, fever sometimes is also experienced by the patient. Sinusitis is mainly caused by living microorganisms such as fungi,viruses and in most cases,bacteria falls as the main victim here.However, viruses and bacteria are said to be mostly responsible for the occurrence of one type of sinusitis known as Acute sinusitis.   

This type of sinusitis,is believed to be the milder version of sinusitis. It is precipitated by an earlier viral infection in the upper respiratory tract. After the viruses damage the cells found on the surface tissues in the tract, bacteria such as Streptococcus and Haemophilus influenza get an opportunity to colonize these cells.They make them not to function as needed and as a result,the cells swell up and bring about air blockage in the tract. This minimizes chances of air reaching the sinuses hence subjecting the patient to all sorts of symptoms that go hand in hand with sinusitis.Something good about this type of sinusitis is that,it takes a short period of time for it to clear up. Natural remedies such as drinking of hot liquids may be used to treat acute sinusitis.

The other type of sinusitis is known as Chronic sinusitis.It is mainly caused by allergens (factors that trigger allergic reactions in the body) such as pollen,dust and mold.These allergens can easily be inhaled since they are airborne and are able to trigger a set of body reactions that may in the long run produce body compounds such as histamine.With histamine around the nasal cells, reactions which include swelling up of the lining surfaces of both sinuses and air passages occur thus making breathing to be a difficult thing to undertake. This action makes the person to be subjected to the sinusitis symptoms mentioned above. However, chronic sinusitis often attacks people who have diseases that harm the immune system such as AIDS. Unlike, acute sinusitis, chronic sinusitis takes a longer time to heal and this may mean that the patient has to wait for several years for it to clear. Doctors usually prescribe oral steroids for their patients whenever they notice that they are not responding to other forms of medicine.When the patients also appear not to be responding to the steroids, surgery may be the only option out of this type of sinusitis.

A proper diagnosis usually helps in finding the appropriate form of treatment for sinusitis. A doctor can do this by checking your blood for any sign of sinus infection, he may also look through your medical history or just use the outright symptoms that you may be having to make the diagnosis. Once the doctor has made a diagnosis, he or she will be in a good position to prescribe the right kind of treatment for you.

Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information on sinusitis visit her site at SINUSITIS



By: Wangeci Kinyanjui

About the Author:

Ainslie

For those of you who are puzzled by a diagnosis of pan sinusitis, it might help to realize exactly what this means. It is the inflammation and irritation of all paranasal sinuses on one or both sides of your sinus cavities, which are in your head.

Paranasal sinuses are the spaces filled with air operating in concurrence with the nasal cavities and are located in the facial areas as well as parts of the skull. There are basically four main paranasal sinus cavities which could become inflamed, causing the pan sinusitis condition. On average, when someone gets a sinus infection, maybe one or two sinus cavities are affected instead of all of them like with pan sinusitis.

To understand why pan sinusitis may be more serious, you have to first understand where all of those paranasal sinuses are located. There are four fundamental groups of these paranasal sinuses: frontal, ethmoid, maxillary and sphenoid. With the frontal sinuses, these are usually over the eyes behind the forehead. The maxillary sinuses are to be found under the eyes and behind the cheek bones.

The ethmoid sinuses encompass a very small area between the nose and eyes and are usually located in the ethmoid bone. The sphenoid sinuses are housed in the sphenoid bone which is located in the middle of the base of the skull and right under the pituitary gland. As these four main locations include quite a bit of the head, having an infection in all of these areas can account for why pan sinusitis can be miserable for you if you are suffering from it.

Diagnosing and Treating Chronic Sinus Infections

If you have ever experience a sinus infection, you know that the pain, pressure and fatigue can be severe enough to get in the way of daily activities. Most sinus infection sufferers will be able to find relief in a matter of days or weeks, but envisage dealing with those uncomfortable symptoms for twelve weeks or more at a time. That is exactly what happens when you have a chronic sinus infection. Because these symptoms tend to linger for very long periods of time, a chronic sinus infection can affect your quality of life. Because of this, it is therefore important to understand how to recognize a chronic sinus infection, so that you can work with your doctor in finding the most effective treatment option for you.

Symptoms of Chronic Sinus Infections

The symptoms of a chronic sinus infection are almost similar to those of an acute infection, except that the symptoms tend to last longer and do not respond to treatments as easily. It is also unusual to run a fever with a chronic sinus infection, although many people do with the acute variety of infection. Other common symptoms does include pain and pressure in the face around the sinus cavities, a thick yellow or green discharge from the nose, difficulty breathing through the nasal passages and fatigue. You might also put up with from less common symptoms, like bad breath, teeth or jaw pain and an earache. These symptoms can vary and depend on the particular sinuses that are involved, so it is a good idea to check with your doctor even if you don’t have all of the classic symptoms of an infection.

Characteristics of Diffuse Sinusitis

Sinus problems have cause misery for millions of people every year and each person usually has a different reason for developing this problem. Acute sinusitis is the name for a characteristic sinus infection that goes away usually with a round of antibiotics and with the use of decongestants or anti-inflammatory medicines. Nevertheless, when a person has diffuse sinusitis, they have a much deeper problem that requires more than just prescription medication.

Acute Sinusitis versus Diffuse Sinusitis

With acute sinusitis, you will probably have pain in the sinus cavities that are located mostly in the facial area like behind the eyes and you might even experience tooth pain. For some reason an infection has develop and prevented proper draining of the sinus cavities, creating a build-up of fluids (mucus) that got infected. Fortunately, antibiotics usually help in the treatment of acute sinusitis, unlike in the case of diffuse sinusitis.

Frequently, another underlying cause is the problem in these cases and unfortunately, it is only after a lot of suffering and trial and error of treatments that the condition is diagnosed. When CT scans are done, usually diffuse sinusitis can be plainly seen and can be caused by such deformities as polyps or abnormal growths in the sinus cavities. These will cause a thickening of the mucosal membranes along nasal passageways and sinuses and is the main reason why diffuse sinusitis is not often treatable by medication alone.



By: Cindy Heller

About the Author:

Fred

Sinusitis infections are a common condition which many people suffer from each year. There are many factors which contribute to a sinusitis infection. Frequently, the sinusitis will begin because of a cold or allergy though it can also develop because of fungal infections, reflux disease, and many other diseases such as cystic fibrosis. The sinusitis itself begins when the sinus cavity lining becomes swollen, usually because of a cold or allergy. When bacteria enter the sinus cavities and attack the swollen lining, greater inflammation occurs which causes the cilia, which usually flushes out mucus and bacteria that pollute the sinus cavities, to not function properly and therefore the bacteria and mucus become trapped which then causes the sinusitis infection.

There are many types of symptoms that may be experienced with a sinusitis infection. Some of the most common symptoms which may appear as cold like symptoms are cough, congestion, postnasal drip, green nasal discharge, and facial pain and pressure. A person may also experience a headache or even tooth pain due to the pressure of the inflammation pushing on the nerves in face. When the sinusitis infection lasts for twelve or more weeks it is then considered chronic sinusitis. With chronic sinusitis a person may also experience loss of sense of taste and smell and they also may become fatigued. Depending on which sinus cavity that the infection lies, there may also be other symptoms experienced.

There are several treatments which are used to treat a sinusitis infection. One common treatment which is used is over the counter or prescribed nasal sprays. Nasal sprays work by distributing saline solution or medication up into the sinuses. The nasal sprays however have a large particle size that cannot make it past the inflammation at the opening of the sinus cavities and up to where the infection lies. The nasal sprays may only offer relief to the lower part of the sinuses. Oral antibiotics are also a commonly prescribed medication by physicians. Oral antibiotics work on many types of infections by flowing through the blood stream to the area of infection. The sinus cavities only contain a small amount of blood vessels therefore it is difficult for an efficient amount of antibiotic to arrive at the sinusitis infection. Oral antibiotics also can cause problems throughout the rest of the body, such as abdominal pain. Another newer form of treatment is aerosolized medications. Aerosolized medications work great because they are directly distributed into the sinus cavities so that they can cure the problem where it started.

Home remedies are also frequently used. Some people may breathe in hot steam. The steam is meant to help moisturize the sinuses and help thin the mucus. Though the steam may offer temporary relief and help some symptoms, in there is in fact an infection, only antibiotics may help cure it. Irrigation is also another common home remedy. Irrigation is used by inserting saline solution in to the sinus cavities to also help moisten them. Just like steam, this may only offer temporary relief and medication will need to be used.

Another option in treating a sinusitis infection when all other treatments have failed is sinus surgery. Sinus surgery is painful, can leave scar tissue which can lead to future problems, and usually only offers temporary relief since only a portion of the inflammation and infection is removed and so the sinusitis infection often returns.

Just like in any medical condition, different treatments work for different people. In sinusitis it all depends on what stage the sinusitis is in along with other factors. What is important is finding the treatment form that works best for you and treating the sinusitis before it gets to a chronic stage that may create more problems and involve more extreme treatment options.



By: Amy Jo Abbey

About the Author:

Carl