Overview
For people who suffer from sinusitis, they are going to find that the sinuses around the nose are often inflamed, along with the lining of the nose. This illness can be acute, meaning that this happens suddenly, or chronic, meaning that it lasts longer than 12 weeks.
Symptoms
When a person suffers from this illness they may have:
• Pain in the face or the feeling of pressure in the face
• A blocked or runny nose
• May not be able to smell or taste
• Face tenderness
• Fever
• Feeling tried
• Cough
• Feeling nauseated
• Swelling around the eyes
• Headache
• Bad breath
When a person has chronic sinusitis, they often do not have a fever with this. The person may also feel as though their ears are blocked, and this is due to the sinuses being inflamed, as well as having nose issues.
Causes of Sinusitis
For those who develop sinusitis, they are going to find that there are several causes, including:
• Having a viral infection like the common cold
• Bacterial infection
• Having a fungal infection
Your Risk Factors
There are several risk factors that are going to increase your chances of having sinusitis. These include:
• Having allergies
• Having issues with your immune system
• Having an obstruction in the nose or sinuses such as polyps or having a deviated septum
Treatment
There is the idea that the issue will heal itself if this is due to having allergies or a viral infection. In the event that the person has a bacterial infection, then they are going to need antibiotics in order to treat this. A bacterial infection is usually present when:
• You have a high fever, that lasts longer than three days
• The symptoms of sinusitis have lasted longer than seven days
• You are not getting better, and symptoms are actually getting worse
When to see your GP
If your symptoms are minor and you feel healthier, you don’t generally have to see your doctor and can treat yourself at home.
Speak to your doctor if:
• your symptoms are serious or deteriorating
• your symptoms have been the same for up to 10 days and haven’t improved
• you get occurrences of sinusitis on a regular basis
Your doctor will generally be able to detect sinusitis based on your symptoms and by inspecting the interior and lining of your nose. If you have serious or recurring sinusitis, they might send you to a specialist for an additional evaluation. Making certain that the primary disorders such as asthma and allergies are well managed might help with the symptoms of chronic sinusitis.