![]() ![]() The list includes allergies, cigarette smoke and other irritating fumes, changes in barometric pressure during flying or scuba diving, nasal polyps, and a deviated nasal septum. Many other things can block your sinuses and lead to infection. You can also help your cause by blowing your nose gently without pinching it tightly forceful blowing can force bacteria up into your sinuses. Only about one cold in 100 leads to sinusitis, and you can make the odds work for you by doing what it takes to keep your sinuses draining (see below). You may get some sinus pressure when you get a cold, but that doesn't mean you have sinusitis or that you need an antibiotic. Colds also change the mucus, preventing it from doing its normal job of clearing viruses and bacteria from the sinuses. But cold viruses produce swelling of the nasal tissues, which can sometimes block the sinuses. Colds are caused by viruses, not bacteria, and antibiotics are useless for treatment. The average adult gets two to three colds a year, and the average child gets six to 10. Blockage of the narrow sinus draining channels is the main reason we get sinusitis, and restoration of drainage is the key to treatment. Cold viruses and bacteria that get into our sinuses usually don't cause trouble unless sinus drainage is blocked. Sinusitis is an infection most often caused by viruses or bacteria or both. The frontal sinuses are behind the forehead the maxillary sinuses are behind the cheek bones the ethmoid sinuses are behind the bridge of the nose and the sphenoid sinuses are deeper in the skull behind the nose. Your four pairs of sinuses are air-filled chambers located in the bones around your nose. Fluid builds up in the sinuses, causing pressure and pain, and just like that, you've got sinusitis. ![]() But when your sinuses become inflamed, the mucus gets thick and sticky, so it can't flow through the tiny openings, called ostia, that lead to the nose. When you're healthy, the mucus is a thin, watery fluid that flows freely from your sinuses into the upper part of your nose. Your sinuses are air-filled chambers located in the bones of your face because they surround the nose, they are also known as the "paranasal sinuses." Each of us has four pairs of sinuses (see figure).Įach of the sinuses is lined by a membrane that produces mucus. If you understand sinusitis, you can reduce your chances of developing the problem and if sinusitis strikes, you'll know how to speed your recovery and lower your risk of complications. Nearly all will recover from their sinus infections, but an unfortunate few may develop complications. Most will be uncomfortable, and many will miss work or school. More than 20 million Americans will have at least one bout of sinusitis this year. ![]()
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