Chronic Sinusitis - What Do I Do?
During the spring months, we can still continue to experience runny noses
, nasal congestion and stuffiness, which can be associated with the common cold, or more particularly allergies for this season. Although we do often associate colds with the winter season, it's very common to suffer from sinus or nasal discomfort all year round. Is it a cold, allergies, or sinusitis? Get to the bottom of your symptoms.
Acute vs. Chronic Sinusitis
Acute bacterial sinusitis is an infection of the sinus cavities that is caused by bacteria and is usually preceded by a cold, allergy attack, or irritation by environmental pollutants. Unlike a cold, however, bacterial sinusitis requires a physician's diagnosis and treatment with an antibiotic to cure the infection and prevent future complications.
Mucus normally collects in the sinuses and drains into the nasal passages, but when you have a cold or an allergy attack; your sinuses become inflamed and are unable to drain. Without drainage, this can lead to congestion and infection. Your ENT will diagnose acute sinusitis if you have up to 4 weeks of purulent nasal drainage accompanied by nasal obstruction, facial pain-pressure-fullness, or both. The sinus infection is likely bacterial if it persists for 10 days or longer, or if the symptoms worsen after an initial improvement.
Acute sinusitis becomes chronic when you have frequent sinusitis, or the infection lasts more than three months. Symptoms of chronic sinusitis may be less severe than those of acute, but untreated chronic sinusitis can cause damage to the sinuses and cheekbones that sometimes can require surgery to repair. Antibiotic therapy for bacterial sinusitis may be an appropriate treatment for your sinusitis. If your ENT thinks that you have chronic sinusitis, intensive antibiotic therapy may be prescribed and sometimes surgery may be necessary to remove physical obstructions that may contribute to sinusitis.
Treating Your Sinusitis
Chronic sinusitis can often be managed with medications, but sometimes requires surgery to remove infected tissue or to improve aeration of sinuses if the symptoms are persistent or progressive. Some procedures that are completed when medication does not work are:
*Endoscopic sinus surgery
*Septoplasty
*Balloon sinuplasty and finess sinuplasty
Endoscopic sinus surgery is performed to unblock congested sinuses and is an outpatient procedure that is usually performed under general anesthesia. In this procedure, the sinuses are visualized using a small endoscope that is passed through the nostril. Using the small instruments, little pieces of tissue are removed to open the blocked sinuses.
The septoplasty is used to preserve the nasal lining and remove the crooked tissue of a deviated septum, which often causes nasal blockage. The nasal turbinates, which are adjacent swellings of tissue and bone, are usually shrunk at the same time to further improve breathing. In addition, the Balloon sinuplasty and Finess sinuplasty are procedures in which tiny catheters are threaded into the congested drainage pathways of the sinuses and a small balloon is inflated. This widens the drainage tract of the sinus and is associated with minimal discomfort.
Because symptoms of sinusitis can sometimes mimic those of colds and allergies, you may not realize you need to see a doctor. If you suspect you have sinusitis, review the signs and symptoms and consult your ENT in Hackensack for further diagnosis.
by: Gen Wright
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