Sinus Infection Symptoms and Treatment

The hollow cavities that are situated in the skull are called sinus. Ostium, a narrow hole in the bone connects the cavities in the skull to the nasal airway. Every human being has four pairs of these cavities. The cavity located in the forehead is known as frontal sinus, the cavity behind the cheeks is maxillary sinus, the cavity between the eyes is ethmoid sinus and the cavity deep behind the ethmoid is referred to as sphenoid sinus.

Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses is termed as sinusitis. Virus, bacteria or fungus cause an inflammation of the sinuses. Bacteria and other germs are not present in healthy sinuses where mucus is drained out and air is circulated. When the sinus openings get obstructed because of the mucus build up, they pave way for the easy growth of bacteria and other germs. Sinus infection occurs when the sinus glands get swollen and fail to function properly because of viral bacterial or fungal reasons. Thus sinusitis or sinus infection is caused when the immune system of the body loses its capacity to prevent the harmful viruses or fungi and bacteria from replicating inside the sinuses.

Causes of sinus infection

General causes of sinus infection:

• Hay fever
• Viral influenza
• Common cold
• As a result of cold, the nasal passages get inflamed and they restrain the drainage of the sinuses.
• Attack of flu
• An attack of flu also causes sinus inflammation. When dust particles and irritants mount up in the sinus cavities and obstruct nasal passages. This results in too much building up of mucus thereby providing a shelter for different kinds of bacteria, such as Haemophilus influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae. These bacteria deposit themselves in the upper respiratory track. When they start increasing, sinus infection symptoms appear.
• Allergic Rhinitis which causes chronic inflammation of the nasal passages is also the significant cause of sinus infection.
• Another important cause of sinusitis is nasal congestion caused by the excessive swelling of nasal turbinates which helps the bacteria to multiply and leads to sinus infection.
• Fungus infection is also one of the main causes of sinusitis.

Symptoms of Sinus infection

In order to control sinus infection effectively, it is quite necessary to know and recognize the symptoms of sinusitis.

All kinds of sinus infections display the general symptoms of indolence. Fever, runny nose, headache, nasal obstruction, and a persistent sore throat indicates the prevalence of sinus infection. However, the symptoms of sinus infection vary as they are dependent on which kind of sinuses are affected.

Treatment of Sinus infection

Sinus infection antibiotics are commonly prescribed for sinus infection as these antibiotics fight bacteria causing sinusitis. Care must be taken to find any allergies for the prescribed antibiotic.

Expectorants are also often prescribed to allay the symptoms of sinusitis. These are the drugs that cause mucus to be coughed out of lungs. Many expectorants are available as the OTC drugs usually available in syrup form. Other treatments involved to relieve the discomfort are decongestants available in spray, syrup or tablet forms which help to unblock the openings of the sinus. Decongestants and expectorants are not to be given to children below 4 years of age.

If sinusitis is caused by allergy then antihistamines are usually prescribed. Other sinusitis treatments involve surgical operations called Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery and Balloon Sinuplasty. It is to be noted that Sinusitis is not a contagious disease.