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Sinus Problems

Sinus Problems
by JaniceGold78 » Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:19 am

Sinus Problems - How to Tell a Cold from a Sinus Infection

How to Tell a Cold from a Sinus Infection. and how to prevent a cold from becoming a sinus infection. You are sneezing and hacking, your nose is red, congested and blocked, and you feel awful. You have a slight fever. Is it a common cold? Sure it is, but is it a sinus infection? If it is "just a cold" then it is due to a virus. This is called viral rhinosinusitis. ( rhino refers to the nose being involved). If we do a CT scan, we often find sinus cavity changes - thick mucus - in the maxillary and ethmoid sinuses. The sinus drainage passages may be blocked. Under normal conditions this mucus is drained from the sinuses by the action of cilia. These are the tiny oars that move mucus containing bacteria, dust, pollens, etc out of the sinuses and nose. With a "bad cold", the secretions may not be drained out fast enough or the drainage may be blocked. Therefore, steps to increase cilia movement, and remove blockage are indicated. If the mucus remains what is the sinus tract?, then bacteria remain in place and can multiply. The rhinosinusitis is then converted to a sinusitis. Common bacteria that cause sinusitis are Hemophilus influenzae, Moraxcella cattarrhalis and Streptococcus pneumonia. They may be present in the nasopharynx and can be carried into the sinuses by heavy coughing and forceful nose blowing. The harder you blow the nose, the more bacteria are blown into the sinuses and ears. The more force you use to clear a blocked ear, the more bacteria you force into that ear. It is possible to take a CT scan in order to help differentiate a common cold from a sinus infection. But this is considered poor practice because the CT scan does not always give an accurate answer, and the cost is a factor. The findings are not as clear as for a broken bone. ( what if we took an X ray on everyone with a cold! Ugh!) Bacterial sinusitis is fairly clear cut: fever, facial pain, tenderness over the sinus and teeth, redness of the nasal membranes and purulent discharge. There can be cough , sneezing and fever. But common cold symptoms may overlap. The ENT doctor has the advantage of viewing the sinus openings with a telescope (called endoscopy) and can see individual sites of sinus drainage. When the discharge and symptoms are one sided and localized, that indicates sinusitis. You don't want to give antibiotics for a common cold. a. Since it is a virus, antibiotics won't cure the condition b. If you are not giving the right antibiotic and the right dose all you may be doing is developing antibiotic resistant strains. c. You build up unnecessary drug resistance this way d. Excess antibiotics are known to have serious side effects.

Note: It's the Chemicals in Green or Black Tea that Helps the Cilia

Herbal teas don't count. Teas without caffeine are OK. If you are a person that really gets sick with a cold, and catches cold easily, you may benefit by doing pulsatile irrigation when you need to be in the office when everyone there has a cold. By doing irrigation you remove a product called ICAM -1. This is the portal of entrance for the common cold. If there is no ICAM -1, there is no portal of entrance. What is important too, is not to panic when a cold starts. The more anxiety the less natural resistance. Spend your time and thoughts on drinking the tea and chicken soup, rest, watch TV, listen to music, and usually after the first day, the symptoms will be reduced. The concept of rushing to the pharmacy, popping all kinds of pills, spraying all kinds of nasal sprays in a desperate attempt to feel normal is what can lead to cold complications. Your body has been fighting colds for thousands of years. Give it a chance. A relaxed state the first 24 hours is the very best medicine you can buy and it doesn't have side effects! If you are a parent, the most important thing you can do for a child is to teach very gentle nose blowing. That will prevent much ear and sinus problems. And, as has been taught for generations, the best drug for your child is chicken soup. Tea is fine too and you can use decaffeinated tea. Push the liquids. In today's world, anything you can do to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics, will help reduce your future need for stronger antibiotics. It was our decision to write so much on Sinusitis Common after finding out that there is still so much to learn on Sinusitis Common. :)

Generally If the Cold Lasts More Than a Week, a Sinus Infection Has Taken Place

Most rhinovirus colds last a week, and most gradually improve over the next 7 - 10 days. But, if after a week the symptoms haven't changed, or are worse, then it is probably a bacterial sinus infection that needs treatment. A sinus culture can be of real value, as drug resistant bacteria exist in localized areas. Doctors obtain information about resistant organisms in their areas and can give better treatment. A serious problem about antibiotics for suspected sinus infection is that some reports show little difference in outcome in acute cases between placebo and antibiotic!

The Best Thing to Do,

Is to prevent a cold from becoming a sinus infection. The key steps are: - Bed rest and lots of fluids - No nose blowing or if you must, very gentle and both sides open. - Hot tea, lemon and honey. Drink till the urine turns light. - A decongestant or nasal spray to open the swollen nasal passages after the first day. - Pulsatile irrigation to remove any mucus containing bacteria. - If the drainage is heavy colored, do pulsatile irrigation twice a day - Chicken soup to improve cilia movement - Pulsatile irrigation to improve cilia movement - A relaxed attitude :roll:

Has it reached a point whereby medicines no longer respond as needed to your sinusitis health problem? If the answer is "Yes", then sinusitis surgery may be the best option for you. This type of treatment involves removing or correcting abnormal internal structures found in the respiratory tract that block air passage towards the sinus cavities. When air is prevented from reaching the sinuses, bacteria and other microorganisms present in the sinus cavities inflame the sinuses and make the patient have a difficult time breathing.


Caldwell Luc operation is another sinusitis surgery that can be performed in order to treat the sinusitis condition. This surgery helps to relieve chronic sinusitis by trying to improve the drainage system of the maxillary sinus that is situated just below the eyes. Since the maxillary can be reached by entering through the upper jaw just above one of the second molar teeth, this surgical procedure helps to create a window that connects the nose and the maxillary sinus. In turn, the maxillary sinus drainage is improved and sinusitis is in the end treated. Caldwell Luc operation, is most commonly performed when there is a malignancy present in the patient's sinus cavities. This article on Sinuses was written with the intention of making it very memorable to its reader. Only then is an article considered to have reached it's objective.

One Common Sinusitis Surgery Liked by Surgeons is the Functional Endoscope Sinus Surgery

This surgery makes use of and an endoscope which is inserted inside your nose so that the surgeons can have a better view of the internal structures. Once the view has been achieved, the surgeons then conduct the surgery by removing or correcting the obstructive structures. With proper visualization, it makes it hard for the surgeons to remove any other structure from the respiratory tract accidentally. It is not necessary that only the learned can write about Sinus Cavities. As long as one ahs a flair for writing, and an interest for gaining information on Sinus Cavities, anyone can write about it.

For any type of sinusitis surgery to be performed on you, first, a proper diagnosis has to be conducted to know the actual cause of the sinus problem. Thereafter, your medical history has to be known and critically analyzed by your doctor to establish if the surgery can be conducted on you. For children, the most common structural defects that cause sinusitis to occur are their adenoids found in the respiratory tract. When these structures swell, they can cause an obstruction of air passing to the sinuses and in the end enable sinusitis to take place. However, in adults, the main structural abnormality that causes sinusitis to occur is the presence of polyps in the respiratory tract that prevent proper passage of air to the sinus cavities. Therefore, whenever a sinusitis surgery is to be performed, these two abnormalities are usually the main targets.

Another Sinusitis Surgery is the Image Guided Surgery

This type of surgery combines the use of computed tomography scans also known as CT scans together with real-time information concerning the actual position of surgical instruments by using infrared signals. By doing this, surgeons are able to navigate their surgical instruments through complicated sinus passages while achieving their mission of correcting or removing the defective internal structures. This surgical procedure achieves its purpose by using principles that resemble the ones used by the American military forces when guiding explosives to their targets. Quality is better than quantity. It is of no use writing numerous pages of nonsense for the reader. Instead, it is better to write a short, and informative article on specific subjects like Maxillary Sinus. People tend to enjoy it more.

The Main Case of a Sinus Infection is Viruses

Bacteria can also cause a sinus infection, and bacteria and viruses can together cause a sinus infection as well. Usually, when you suffer from a cold, your sinuses are inflammed. This is called a viral sinus infections. There are also times when allergies can cause a sinus infection. When the congestion of your nose does not allow your sinuses to drain, then you could develop a bacterial sinus infection. Because of this congestion, bacteria may be trapped inside and thus causing a sinus infection. In most sinus infection cases, it has been proven that the bacterial form of sinus infection makes the patient feel worse than when he/ she is suffering from a sinus infection caused by a virus. If you have a sinus infection cause by bacteria, then it is more likely that you will suffer from more pain in your face. Swelling will also be more obvious if you case a sinus infection cause by bacteria. Furthermore, unlike in the viral sinus infection case, you might also develop a fever if you have a sinus infection cause by bacteria. We have taken the privilege of proclaiming this article to be a very informative and interesting article on Chronic Sinus Infection. We now give you the liberty to proclaim it too.

You have a sinus infection cause by a bacteria you should be able to see that by the symptoms that this particular sinus infection has. Some of the sinus infection cause be a bacteria symptoms are: - a runny nose and cough; remedies for sinus infection can be of great help can even last up to two weeks without any improvement; - mucus; this can be a symptom for viral sinus infection as well as for the bacterial sinus infection type; - headache, pressure in the head or swelling around the eye area are also some of the bacterial sinus infection symptoms; - a stinky breath, pain in the upper part of your teeth can also indicate that you are suffering from a sinus infection; - fever that is grater than 39 degrees is also an indicator of a sinus infection; This article on Sinuses was written with the intention of making it very memorable to its reader. Only then is an article considered to have reached it's objective.