Sinus infection - Sinusitis

Sinus infection or Sinusitis, as it’s usually known, is an inflammation which occurs in the air cavities of your nasal passage due to environmental irritants or use of nasal spray or illegal substance that is snorted through the nose. Bacterial or viral infection may also be the cause of it.

Sinuses are the hollow air filled cavities located behind the cheeks, nose and eyebrows, which contain defenses against bacteria and foreign particles. It secretes the fluid called mucus which kills the bacteria and cleans your sinus. Each sinus is joined with the nasal passages by a mucous membrane lining and has an opening to the nose for exchange of mucus and air which increases the chances of affecting the sinus, if an allergic reaction or an infection causes swelling on the nose.

Depending upon the duration, sinusitis can be classified into four types:

1) Acute sinusitis that lasts for less than 4 weeks or so.

2) Sub-acute sinusitis that lasts for around 4-12 weeks

3) Chronic sinusitis that lasts for more than 12 weeks or continues for months, and

4) Recurrent sinusitis that involves several acute attacks in a year

But generally sinusitis has been categorized into chronic and acute.

A person with sinus infections may suffer from cold, fever, bad breath, nasal congestion accompanied by nasal secretions, headache, and pressure on the eyes, nose face or on one side of the head. The symptoms of all the three types of sinusitis are similar and thus making it very difficult to distinguish.

Recent studies have linked sinusitis to asthma. According to an estimate, about 37 million Americans are affected by sinusitis every year, out of which nearly 32 million are affected by chronic sinusitis. Each year, Americans spend millions of dollars for medication to get relief from their sinus.