Know what is chronic sinusitis
What is chronic sinusitis
Chronicsinusitis disease occurs when swelling and irritation persists for three months
or longer despite treatment in the nose and inside the head. In short, chronic
sinusitis is a prolonged sinus infection. There are four pair cavities in the
sinus head. These spaces are connected through tight channels. The sinuses
create a thin mucus that comes out of these nasal channels. This drainage works
as a filtration system, which keeps the nose clean and free of bacteria.
Sinuses can
become infected when they are full and block, this is called sinusitis. There
are two types of sinusitis: acute and chronic. Acute or acute sinusitis is
cured within a few days with less treatment. Chronic sinusitis can last for a
long time. Severe cases of chronic sinusitis may
require surgery several times.
What causes chronic sinusitis?
Chronic
sinusitis can occur for several reasons, including:
Blockage of
airways from asthma or allergies
Infection
Fungus
deviated nasal
septum
Polyps
Weak immune
system
Symptoms of chronic sinusitis
Common symptoms of chronic sinusitis are:
- Nasal inflammation
- Smell and sense of taste decrease
- Nasal obstruction or congestion, which causes difficulty in breathing through the nose
- Tenderness or pressure on the face (especially on the nose, eyes and forehead)
- Nasal dripping (dripping mucus down the throat)
- Runny nose
- Nose filling
- teeth pain
- Headache
- cough
- Exhaustion
- pain in ear
The symptoms
and signs of chronic and acute sinusitis may be similar, but acute sinusitis is
a temporary infection of the sinus. Symptoms of chronic sinusitis can be seen
up to twelve weeks.
When to contact a doctor?
If you have
recurrent sinusitis and the treatment has no effect
If you see
symptoms of sinusitis for more than ten days
Symptoms are
not improving even after fully following the doctor's advice
See doctor
immediately in these situations
- fever
- Swelling or redness around the eyes
- severe headache
- Restlessness
- Change in eyesight
- stiff neck
- Other conditions
In case of
nasal polips, the development of tissue can block the nasal passages or
sinuses.
In the case
of a ruptured nasal membrane - the bent septum - between the nasal walls - can
block the sinus passage, making the symptoms of sinusitis worse.
Other Medical
Conditions- Complications of cystic fibrosis, HIV and other immune system
related diseases can lead to nasal obstruction.
Infections in
the respiratory system - infections in your respiratory tract - common cold -
can thicken your sinus membranes and block the drainage of mucus. These
infections can be viral, bacterial or fungal.
Allergies:
like hay fever. Inflammation with allergies can stop your sinuses.
Risk
The risk of
chronic sinusitis may increase if you are going through the following problems:
Deviated
septum
Nasal polyps
Asthma
Aspirin
sensitivity
Tooth
infection
Immunity
disorders such as HIV / AIDS or cystic fibrosis
O fever or
other allergies
Regular
exposure to pollutants such as cigarette smoke
Complications
Complications
are not uncommon in severe chronic sinusitis disease, but the following
complications may occur:
Vision
problems: If you have a sinus infection it spreads to your eye socket and can
cause low vision or blindness which can be permanent.
Infections:
Sinusitis can cause inflammation of membranes and fluids due to brain and
spinal cord (meningitis), bone infection or severe skin infection.
The diagnosis
The methods
of diagnosis of chronic sinusitis are as follows:
Imaging Tests:
You can use CT or MRI for these images to get a complete idea about your sinus
and nasal area. These may indicate inflammation or other problems that are
difficult to detect using an endoscope.
Looking
inside the sinus: A thin, flexible tube in which fiber-optic light will be
inserted through the nose into your body so that it can be seen inside your
sinus.
Allergy Test:
If the doctor feels that your chronic sinusitis is being affected by an
allergy, then you may be advised to take an allergy skin test. Skin test is
safe and quick and effective.
Samples of
nasal and sinus discharge (culture): Cultures are generally not required for
the diagnosis of chronic sinusitis. However, when the condition is worsening or
there is no effect of treatment, your doctor will sample the mucus inside the
nose to help identify the cause of bacteria or fungi.
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