Your head is pounding, your nose is dripping, and your throat feels like sandpaper. You think you’re suffering from sinusitis, but how can you be sure it’s not the flu? Many people get confused when trying to decide whether they’ve got the flu, sinusitis or just the common cold. Some of the symptoms for the different illnesses are similar.
Sinusitis is defined as “the inflammation of the sinuses.” It can be acute and last anywhere from one day to three weeks; subacute, and last from three weeks to three months; or chronic, and last longer than three months.
And any one of your four sinuses can be infected: the ethmoid sinus, the maxillary sinus, the frontal sinus and the sphenoid sinus. Each of the sinuses has a drainage tunnel, and it is when the tunnel gets blocked that you begin suffering from a sinus infection.
The drainage tunnel can be blocked by any number of things, but one of the most common causes is swelling resulting from inflammation caused by an upper respiratory tract infection.
So, sinusitis often follows another illness. The tunnel can also be blocked due to swelling from a reaction to allergies or even trauma (getting hit in the nose or face).
Once the tunnel that drains the sinus gets blocked, the natural flow and drainage of mucus and other liquids gets blocked, and the mucus begins accumulating in the sinus space. The mucus begins to harden, and that damages the cells that line the sinus cavity. The damaged cells get inflamed, and they begin swelling and causing pain. Then bacteria begin growing in the trapped mucus, and soon you have a full-blown bacterial infection. The signs and symptoms of the resulting sinus infection usually occur pretty rapidly after the infection starts. One key factor is that most cases of sinusitis come soon after a different respiratory infection or some other kind of viral infection.
You can tell the difference between the old infection and your new case of sinusitis because the sinusitis should have two or more of the following symptoms not found in other common respiratory infections:
- Fever
- Nasal congestion
- Pain in your upper jaw and teeth
- The feeling of facial pain or pressure, especially over your sinuses (across your nose, under your eyes, and across your forehead)
- Yellow or green nasal discharge
- Swelling of the eyelids or area just under the eyes
- Tenderness when you press on the areas just over the sinuses
If you have two or more of these symptoms, you’ve probably got a case of sinusitis. Most cases of sinusitis require antibiotics from the doctor for complete healing.
However, there are a few things you can do in the meantime to make yourself more comfortable:
- Take a hot shower. The moist steam from the shower will help clear your sinuses and make you feel better.
- Wash out your nostrils. Take a syringe and fill it with warm water, then gently inject the water into one nostril. The water (and mucus) will drain out through your mouth into the sink. Repeat a few times on each nostril until the drainage is clean. It sounds kind of unpleasant, but it really will help clear your sinuses. If the plain water irritates your skin, try mixing two cups of warm water with a spoonful of salt and a pinch of baking soda.
- Drink lots of liquids. This will help loosen and “unharden” the mucus in your sinuses and help it drain out. This will relieve the pressure and infection in your sinuses.
- Try cold compresses on your face to ease the pain.
- Other people like to use warm compresses or heating pads on the face to relieve some and discomfort of sinusitis. Try both hot and cold compresses and pick the one that brings you the most relief.
- Use some over-the-counter sinus relief medicines. These medications seem to work better at relieving the pain and pressure than aspirin or acetaminophen. However, aspirin can help relieve some of the inflammation and fever.
- Avoid using nasal sprays to relieve your symptoms. Although these will relieve your symptoms at first, after three days the spray will begin making your congestion worse instead of relieving it. Use decongestant tablets that you take by mouth instead.• During the day, avoid lying down. Sitting or standing upright is usually more comfortable than lying down in most cases of sinusitis. If you want to rest, or even nap, try sitting in a recliner instead of lying down. This doesn’t put as much pressure on the sinuses.
