Sinus headache: Not what you think

Speaking of Health

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Topics in this Post

• Headache
• Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)

Nearly everyone experiences a headache at some point, and the pain can range from mild to debilitating.

Sometimes, headaches are accompanied by pain and pressure in your brow and forehead, and cause nasal symptoms. Many people associate sinus and nasal symptoms with a sinus infection, also called sinusitis, or with an upper respiratory infection, a cold. They may say that they are experiencing a sinus headache. But sinus and nasal symptoms often can signal something else: a migraine headache.

The term “sinus headache” is not an actual medical diagnosis. Studies show that 90% of people with symptoms of a sinus headache are experiencing migraine headaches.

Sinusitis or migraine?

Migraines and headaches from sinusitis are easy to confuse because the signs and symptoms of the two types of headaches may overlap. Also, migraine headaches affect people differently and symptoms can change over time. This is why many who have had migraine headaches in the past are surprised when they begin having sinus and nasal symptoms with a migraine headache.

Sinusitis, however, usually isn’t associated with nausea or vomiting, nor is it aggravated by noise or bright light — all common features of migraines.

Sinusitis usually occurs after a viral upper respiratory infection or cold, and includes thick, discolored nasal mucus, decreased sense of smell, and pain in one cheek or upper teeth. Headaches due to sinus disease often last days or longer, and migraines most commonly last hours to a day or two.

Previous misdiagnosis

Many people who assume they have headaches from sinusitis have been misdiagnosed and prescribed an antibiotic for sinusitis. In these cases, the antibiotics are not necessary and could be harmful. Some people may feel better after they take the antibiotic because it may decrease inflammation in the sinuses caused by the migraine headache or because they think the antibiotic is helping, known as the placebo effect. Despite this, an antibiotic is not the correct treatment for a migraine headache.

These are a few ways you can tell whether your sinus and nasal symptoms are part of a sinus infection or part of a migraine headache:

When you have a sinus infection	When you have a migraine headache
You likely just had or have a cold.	You do not have a cold.
You have thick, colored nasal mucus.	Any drainage from your nose is clear.
You usually need to blow your nose and cannot smell well.	Your sense of smell is not affected.
You usually can function.	Your symptoms tend to get worse with physical activity, such as walking or bending over.
	You may feel better after you lie down or sleep.

Risk factors

Migraine headaches can affect anyone. However, they are more common in people between age 20 and 50. More than twice as many women as men have migraine headaches. Women over 50 often have fewer and less severe migraine headaches than they had earlier in life. Sometimes, migraine headaches stop after menopause.

Migraine headaches tend to run in families. Seventy-five percent of people with migraine headaches have a family history of migraine headaches.

Proper diagnosis

The cause of headaches can be difficult to determine. Your health care provider will ask you questions about your headaches and do a physical exam. You may have a CT scan or MRI to help determine the cause of your headache. There are several ways to treat headaches, and your care team will work with you to determine the best option for you.

Talk with your primary care provider if your headache symptoms happen more than 15 days a month, over-the-counter pain medication doesn’t work, or you miss school or work because of frequent headaches.

Call 911 if you have the worst headache of your life or a sudden, severe headache accompanied by any or all of these:

• Confusion or trouble understanding speech
• Fainting
• High fever
• Numbness, weakness or paralysis
• Trouble seeing, speaking or walking

Quintin Cappelle, M.D., is an otorhinolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon in La Crosse and Onalaska, Wisconsin. Scott Spritzer, D.O., is a neurologist in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Topics in this Post

• Headache
• Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)

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Chronic sinusitis: More than a stuffy nose

Chronic sinusitis vs. stuffy nose

Speaking of Health

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Topics in this Post

• Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)

The uncomfortable, plugged feeling of a stuffy nose is common with colds and allergies. For most people, this type of nasal congestion is just an annoyance and inconvenience. It decreases their sense of smell, changes the way that foods taste and causes facial pain, and it can be accompanied by a running or dripping nose. However, it improves after the cold or allergies are gone.

Some people’s stuffy noses don’t resolve after other symptoms are gone. This long-lasting stuffy nose is called chronic rhinosinusitis. This happens when your sinuses are swollen and inflamed for three months or longer, despite treatment.

Here are some answers to common questions about sinusitis:

What is sinusitis?

Sinusitis occurs when the hollow spaces inside your nose and head ― your sinuses ― are swollen and inflamed. Typically, sinuses have a thin lining that produces small amounts of mucus. Healthy sinuses are filled with air. In sinusitis, the lining gets inflamed and makes more mucus. The swelling of the lining also interferes with the way mucus normally drains, making your nose stuffy. Sinusitis can be brought on by an infection; growths in the sinuses, such as nasal polyps; or swelling of the lining of your sinuses due to conditions such as allergies.

Common signs and symptoms of sinusitis include:

• Thick, discolored discharge, or mucus, from the nose
• Drainage down the back of the throat, which also is known as postnasal drainage
• Nasal obstruction or congestion, causing difficulty breathing through your nose
• Pain, pressure, fullness or tenderness, and swelling around your eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead
• Reduced sense of smell and taste

Other less common symptoms can include:

• Cough or frequent throat clearing
• Fatigue
• Ear pain or pressure
• Dental pain
• Nasal or throat irritation
• Bad breath
• Headache
• Voice hoarseness

What is chronic sinusitis?

Chronic sinusitis is a long-lasting form of sinusitis, and it is diagnosed when symptoms persist for longer than three months. Acute sinusitis is the most common type of sinusitis. It is a temporary condition, typically occurring when you have a cold. It usually gets better within a month or less.

Acute sinusitis can turn into a chronic condition if you have had sinusitis multiple times, have infections that don’t respond to treatment or you have sinusitis symptoms that last more than three months.

Common causes of chronic sinusitis include nasal polyps; deviated nasal septum; complications of conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, HIV and other diseases related to the immune system; recurrent respiratory infections; or allergies.

When should you see an ear, nose and throat specialist?

If you suspect you’re having chronic sinus problems, then your primary care provider is a good place to start. He or she may recommend nasal steroid sprays, saline nasal irrigations, oral steroids, allergy medications or antibiotics.

If your symptoms don’t respond to these more conservative treatments, then it may be time to see an ear, nose and throat specialist, also known as an otorhinolaryngologist. These specialists provide consultation, diagnose and treat disorders of the ear, nose, head and neck, including the sinuses, hearing, adenoids, tonsils and thyroid conditions.

What can you expect during your ear, nose and throat visit?

During a first visit, the specialist likely will spend a good portion of time getting to know you. That includes learning more about your day-to-day life and how sinus symptoms are affecting it. Then the specialist will complete a head and neck exam, paying particular attention to the nose. Typically, a small thin tube with a light and camera at the end called a nasal endoscope is used. This endoscope goes in the nose to get a better look at the nasal passages and sinus openings.

What treatments are available for sinusitis?

Treatment typically starts as conservative as possible. If medical treatments have been tried and your condition hasn’t responded, a CT scan of your sinuses may be ordered to get a better look at the sinus anatomy. If allergies are contributing to your symptoms, then allergy shots, or immunotherapy, may improve your condition. If you have nasal polyps, which are growths in your nose and sinuses, then you may be a candidate for new medications called biologic agents that are given as a regular injection and can help shrink nasal polyps and improve your nasal congestion.

If you have allergic reactions to aspirin, aspirin desensitization treatment can help your sinusitis and nasal polyposis. If your symptoms persist despite several of the above measures and your condition resists medical treatment, then surgery might be a good option for you.

What does sinus surgery involve?

Sinus surgery is typically performed under general anesthesia in the operating room. Most ENT specialists use a minimally invasive endoscopic approach, which uses a small camera inside the nose. No external incisions are made.

Your surgeon will use various instruments to open the natural sinus passages to allow better mucous drainage, and better penetration of nasal sprays and irrigations. Your surgeon will clear the source of the blockage within your sinuses by removing inflamed tissue and shaving away nasal polyps.

Your surgeon also may use image guidance during surgery. This allows the surgeon to see the surrounding anatomy and location of instruments as the procedure is performed to avoid damaging critical structures, such as the eye; skull base; and major blood vessels, including the carotid artery. It uses the patient’s preoperative CT scan so the surgeon can tell in real time exactly where the instrument tip is.

Sinus surgery is typically an outpatient, same-day surgery. Most patients don’t experience significant pain afterward and find relief from their chronic sinusitis symptoms.

Fareeda Hussain, M.D., is an otolaryngologist, and head and neck surgeon, in Albert Lea and Austin, Minnesota.

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Most often, inflammation begins in the maxillary sinus. Sinusitis can be caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. By itself, it does not start, usually it is based on an untreated cold, ARVI on the legs or problems such as chronic runny nose, deviated nasal septum, diseased adenoids, allergic reactions and other irritants.

What symptoms might indicate that you have sinusitis?

You may be concerned about

• nasal congestion,
• secretion of yellow or green mucus,
• sore eyes, nose, cheeks and forehead.
• bad breath,
• smell disorder,
• high temperature,
• sore throat and general fatigue,
• People with sinusitis may begin to cough, especially at night.

Sinusitis is classified into acute, subacute or chronic, and according to the type of inflammation into infectious and non-infectious.

The acute form is an infection lasting less than 30 days, and its insidiousness is precisely that it can quickly turn into a chronic stage, which is much more difficult to cure; subacute infection lasts one to three months; chronic infection lasts more than three months. Subacute and chronic forms of sinusitis are most often the result of incomplete treatment of an acute infection.

As you can imagine, living fully and actively while suffering from sinusitis becomes completely impossible. Therefore, it is better to consult a doctor as early as possible in order to avoid unpleasant consequences and complications of untreated diseases. Complications of sinusitis can be very different and quite dangerous: from chronic form to meningitis (in rare and extreme cases, if the infection spreads to the lining of the brain), exacerbation of asthma, weakening of vision (if the infection enters the orbit), transmission of inflammation from the sinus cavity to middle ear cavity. Treat on time and follow the doctor’s recommendations!

Here are some simple rules to reduce your risk of getting sick:

• Avoid infections. Try to communicate less with people who have a cold. Wash your hands frequently with soap. Rinse your nose every day with saline.
• If you have allergies, keep them under control with your allergist.
• Avoid smoky areas. Polluted air causes irritation and inflammation of the nasal passages.
• Use humidifiers.

If you still have acute sinusitis, follow these recommendations:

• Home and bed rest helps to cope with the infection faster, do not carry SARS on your legs.
• Drink plenty of fluids, but not alcohol or caffeinated drinks – they will only worsen your condition.
• Flush the nasal passages, warm the nose.

For timely and accurate diagnosis, as well as for comprehensive treatment, you can contact our clinic. We provide a comprehensive examination and treatment of sinusitis. Thanks to endoscopic technologies, when examining the patient’s nasal cavity, you can see any inflammatory changes in the sinuses, examine in detail all parts of the nose and nasopharynx. If necessary, radiography and various procedures are performed depending on the stage of the process and taking into account the wishes of the patient: among them are the use of a vacuum catheter and puncture of the sinuses. Qualified doctors will offer you all kinds of treatment options – from conservative methods to very effective physiotherapy procedures. Physiotherapy is used to treat catarrhal forms of sinusitis and includes infrared and red therapeutic laser.

In our modern and well-equipped hospital, any type of surgical treatment for chronic sinusitis can be performed. This is endoscopic “expansion” of the fistula of the maxillary sinuses, frontal sinuses, removal of sinus cysts, removal of polyps in the nasal cavity. Surgeons of “Family” perform all types of endoscopic operations on the turbinates and nasal septum. Abnormalities of the turbinates or nasal septum play an important role in the occurrence of sinusitis, which is why surgical correction of these structures may sometimes be required. Thanks to sparing techniques and professionalism of doctors, all procedures are painless for patients, and the recovery period is minimal.

Make an appointment with an otolaryngologist

Be sure to consult a qualified specialist in the field of ENT diseases at the Semeynaya clinic.

To find out the prices for an appointment with an otolaryngologist or other questions, follow the link below

Tags OtolaryngologistENT

causes, symptoms and treatment symptoms and treatment in Moscow Make an appointment. Treatment at home and in the clinic – Clinic SINAI near the metro station Dobryninskaya, Serpukhovskaya in Moscow

Sinusitis is an infectious and inflammatory disease in which the mucous membrane of the paranasal sinuses is affected. The nature of sinusitis can be viral, bacterial or fungal. Without treatment, the pathology leads to complications that can be life-threatening. Sinusitis symptoms and treatment determined by the doctor is a serious problem that should not be ignored.

Sinusitis, what kind of disease is of interest to many. This is the general name for inflammatory lesions of the paranasal sinuses. The disease can affect one paranasal sinus or several located on one side of the nose or both. The difference between sinusitis and sinusitis is that this is a general concept of inflammation of the paranasal sinuses. Sinusitis is also called the defeat of only the maxillary sinuses.

Up to 7 years of age, sinusitis is extremely rare, since the paranasal sinuses are not yet fully developed and stagnation of secretion in them practically cannot occur. According to medical statistics, about 10% of the total population of the Earth suffers from pathology.

How it occurs

When inflammatory agents enter the paranasal sinuses (sinuses), active production of a large amount of mucus begins. Also, this causes swelling of the tissues, due to which the passage between the sinus and the nose is blocked and mucus begins to accumulate in the cavity, creating favorable conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria. As a result, the mucus in the sinus becomes thicker, and therefore its outflow is even more complicated.

At the initial stage of sinusitis, the discharge from the nose is serous, later they become purulent. When analyzing the secretions, they reveal the presence of the causative agent of inflammation and a large number of leukocytes.

The acute form of sinusitis lasts up to 2 months and ends with recovery, the transition of the pathology into a chronic form or the development of complications of the disease. For a favorable outcome, it is necessary to treat the pathology.

Classification

The disease is divided according to the severity of symptoms and the form of the course. The correct definition of these indicators is important for the correct treatment of sinusitis of any localization.

Depending on the severity of symptoms, sinusitis can be mild, moderate or severe. Downstream sinusitis is divided into acute, subacute and chronic. The last form of sinusitis is especially difficult to treat due to the fact that the mucosa of the affected sinuses is already seriously damaged.

Depending on the etiology of the disease, it is divided into 6 types. Which of them takes place in a particular case will determine the further treatment of the pathology. Signs of sinusitis in adults will be somewhat different, and depending on its type.

1. Traumatic sinusitis – appears due to damage to the nose. Because of them, tissue edema develops, which disrupts the process of cleansing the sinuses and creates favorable conditions for inflammatory pathogens.

2. Viral sinusitis – develops when viruses penetrate into the mucous membrane of the paranasal sinuses.

3. Bacterial sinusitis is the most common form. Pathogenic bacteria penetrate into the sinus and, not receiving a sufficient immune response, begin to actively develop.

4. Fungal sinusitis – appears when the mucous membrane is affected by fungi.

5. Mixed sinusitis – is formed if the paranasal sinus is infected with several infectious agents at once.

6. Allergic sinusitis – appears as a result of chronic inflammation of the nasal mucosa due to irritation by an allergen.

Examination of the patient and a smear with further sowing on nutrient microflora help to establish the form of the disease. Often, having collected an anamnesis of the disease, the doctor can already understand which of the types takes place in a particular case. How to treat sinusitis is determined by the doctor.

Types of sinusitis

Sinusitis is classified according to which sinus is affected. Depending on the area of ​​the lesion, the symptoms vary somewhat. For the correct treatment of sinusitis, it is important to determine exactly which sinus has a violation. Symptoms of sinusitis in adults, in addition to the general ones, are also specific, depending on which sinus is affected. There are different types of sinusitis.

1. Sinusitis. The most common form of sinusitis, which affects the maxillary (maxillary) sinuses. With this type of disease, in addition to general symptoms, there are: a feeling of fullness in the area under the eyes, a complete loss of appetite, pain in the teeth and the impossibility of a normal full sleep.

2. Frontal. Inflammation affects the frontal sinuses. Additional symptoms in this case are as follows: pain in the forehead, which is greatly aggravated by touching the location of the sinus; persistent feeling of pressure in the area under the eyes; cough that increases significantly at night; sore throat and sour breath. Patients with this inflammation often call headaches unbearable.

3. Sphenoiditis. Inflammation of the sphenoid sinus. With such a violation of the condition, there is a severe headache in the back of the head, which radiates to the eye sockets and temples. It shrinks as more and more pus accumulates in the sinus.

4. Ethmoiditis. Inflammation of the ethmoid labyrinth. The disease does not occur often. Pain with it is localized in the root of the nose and in the bridge of the nose.

An x-ray of the paranasal sinuses helps to determine exactly which form of the disease is present. Sinusitis symptoms and treatment in children and adults are very similar.

Causes

Causes of sinusitis are varied. There are also factors that significantly increase the risk of a problem, reducing local immunity. Doctors have noticed that the worse the environmental situation in the place of residence, the higher the likelihood of sinusitis. Smoking also increases the susceptibility to the disease, and not only in the active, but also in the passive form.

Can cause disease:

• violations in the structure of the nose (congenital or acquired) – they do not allow normal cleaning of the sinuses and cause accumulation of mucus in them, which is why the inflammatory process begins;

• the presence of carious teeth in the upper jaw – from inflammation of their roots, infection of the maxillary paranasal sinuses occurs and sinusitis develops;

• frequent allergies can also cause sinusitis – due to exposure to an irritant, the mucous membranes swell, and the amount of secretion secreted increases significantly. As a result, it accumulates in the sinuses of the nose and an inflammatory process develops;

• viral lesions of the upper respiratory system – as a result, abundant production of mucus begins, which becomes thicker, and swelling of the mucosa does not allow it to be fully removed from the sinuses;

• lack of vitamins in the body – in this condition, there is a decrease in local and general immunity, due to which the bacteria that make up the usual microflora begin to develop in excessive numbers and lead to inflammation;

• Severe hypothermia – just like beriberi, lowers immunity at the local and general level and causes the development of sinusitis.