Did you know that around 30 million Americans suffer from chronic sinusitis each year? Yet many people with this condition are unaware of it and go through the pain with their daily life. It is a problem which occurs when a cold or allergy cause four air-filled cavity in your skull to swell and block small openings called ostium, which obstructs the drainage of the mucous. The mucous becomes breeding ground for bacteria, causing pain in the area of your face. Knowing the sinus infection symptoms can greatly help in early determination of what type of sinusitis you may have.
What are the signs and symptoms of sinus infection?
There are two kind of sinusitis acute and chronic. Acute sinusitis usually last less than 8 weeks and does not occur frequently. If you have symptoms lasting more than 8 weeks or if it gets worse with time you may be facing chronic sinusitis which is most common of the two and sinus surgery may be necessary to get fully cured if medicines do not help.
The most common sinus infection symptoms is nasal congestion which may lead you into thinking that you have a common cold but in reality it may be turning into chronic sinusitis and not treating it right away with proper medications can result in more severe problems. Other symptoms of sinus infections are headache, pressure or pain in certain area of your face such as checks, forehead, nose, but not the least eyes. The symptoms associated with chronic sinusitis can cause daily fatigue, difficulty in sleeping and facial pain, significantly impacting ones quality of life.
Here are some more sinus infection symptoms which may help you in determining if you really have this disease.
- Sore Throat caused by mucous dripping in throat.
- Discharge from nose is heavily green or yellow.
- Headache when waking up or bending down
- Fever and Chills
- Bad Smell in mouth even after brushing.
- Fatigue
- Halitosis
- Pain in ear
- Toothache or sensitivity in tooth
- Upset stomach due to large amount of mucous being swallowed.
There are many more symptoms of sinus infection but you would not be able to see or know if you have them unless you meet with your doctor and have him do some test. In fact, if you have majority of this sinus infection symptoms or have them for over couple weeks then chance are it is acute or chronic sinusitis.
Now that you have an idea as to what are the various sinus infection symptoms, you can now proceed with taking in proper medication. For temporary relief you could take antibiotics or steroid nasal spray but if symptoms shows up again then we would recommend for a surgery which can be done by your sinus specialist. Don’t be frightened when we tell you to have a surgery because it’s a simple process which would be done in an office under 30 minutes and would only cause pressure. If you have gone through years of sinus infection then this procedure would be a walk in the park.
Sinus infection may seem harmless or not fatal but the truth of the matter is like any other infection, if it gets worst things will get complicated. It may lead to other medical complications which will eventually worsen a person’s health. Therefore, as early as possible proper tests and medication should be given in order to get the right treatment and be cured right away.
