subject: Sinusitis Problems Information for the Sufferer [print this page] Do you wake up in the morning with headaches and congestion from your sinusitis problems? Are your mornings perpetually miserable because of your sinuses? You, as well as around 37 million Americans, are suffering from a condition that has plagued many sinuses for centuries. But it's not time to despair yet! Here's some sinusitis problems information to help you and the millions of sufferers get some much needed sinusitis relief.
Filter Function
To understand more about your woes, you have to get to know your sinuses a little better. The sinuses are actually small pockets in our skulls, filled with air, and lined with tissues. These tissues function as air filters. The air we breathe goes into the pockets where the tissues clean out any dirt or contaminants. This is normally done through mucus, which traps these unwanted materials. Once the materials are trapped, the body drains them out so you can expel it through your nose or throat.
Mucus Malfunctions
The problems start to arise when the sinus cells comes into contact with materials that it considers a grave threat to the body. This can be an allergen (material that causes your allergy), viruses, bacteria, or fungi. In these cases, the body reacts to protect the inner organs like the lungs, so it starts to produce more mucus to ensure that the contaminants are trapped.
Drainage Droop
With the production of more mucus, the draining process becomes bogged down. There's just too much of the stuff for the normal drainage systems to get them out properly. If the problem is not addressed, the mucosal secretions that trapped the contaminants get stuck inside the sinuses and this is where sinusitis starts. The contaminants and the excess mucosal secretions will start to irritate and inflame the sinuses.
Another reason why the drainage system fails is that the narrow passages that are used for drainage get swollen shut due the materials that can cause inflammation and swelling. This also traps any of the offending contaminants or irritants inside.
About Antibiotics
The standard treatment of using antibiotics has been around for some time now. However, recent studies show that it isn't always the best choice to relieve you of your woes. This is because bacterial infections are only responsible for the sinus problem part of the time. The Mayo Clinic states that antibiotics are not usually needed in acute cases and chronic cases are usually caused by other factors that antibiotics can't treat.
Catching the Cause
The trick to solving your dilemma is to get to the cause. Talk to your doctor about trying to figure out what is causing it. The American Academy of Otolaryngology supports the idea that there are causes other than bacteria that have to be considered in the treatment of sinusitis. Allergies and infections are currently leading suspects.
Ayruvedic Alternatives
Again, talk to your physician about alternatives. Ayurvedic medicinal oils have shown great results in treating sinus conditions. The concept behind the use of these oils is their natural decongesting properties. They work by helping the body drain the mucus, making it more liquid to flow out better, and expanding or opening up the sinus passages to facilitate more drainage. If the body can drain the mucus properly, the air filter function of the sinuses gets to work and clears out the offending materials on its own.
