The air spaces located in the upper jaw, around the nose, under the eyes and in the forehead bone are defined as sinuses. The sinuses, which have a similar structure to the mucosa, are surrounded by a thin membrane.
What is Sinusitis?
The air spaces in the upper jaw, around the nose, under the eyes and in the forehead are defined as sinuses. The sinuses, which have a similar structure to the mucosa, are surrounded by a thin membrane.
- The sinuses located under the eyes in the skull are defined as the maxilla and are the largest structure among all the sinuses.
- The sinuses above the nasal cavity are defined as the sphenoid sinus,
- The ones above the eye are the frontal sinus, and
- the ones between the two eyes are defined as the ethmoid sinus.
What Do Sinuses Do?
Sinuses; It plays a role in
- shaping the person's tone of voice,
- humidifying the breathed air,
- lightening the weight of the skull.
- Thanks to the mucus they secrete, they prevent dust particles and foreign organisms that enter the body by respiration from the external environment from reaching the lungs. In other words, foreign substances and organisms swept away by the mucus are sent to the throat and then to the stomach. In this case, which is a healthy bodily function, some of the foreign organisms that enter the body by being swept away by mucus are decomposed by stomach acid and rendered ineffective.
What are the Types of Sinusitis?
Sinusitis, which occurs due to inflammation of the sinuses, is classified under different names according to the duration of the disease and the cause of the disease. Classification is made according to the cause of the disease as viral or bacterial sinusitis, while classification is commonly made according to the duration of the disease. Acute sinusitis is defined as inflammation that lasts for 2 weeks due to the presence of sinusitis. Sinusitis lasting 2 to 12 weeks is defined as subacute sinusitis, while sinusitis lasting 12 weeks or longer is defined as chronic sinusitis.
Acute Sinusitis
Acute sinusitis, which mostly occurs following upper respiratory tract infections such as flu or cold, is also known as acute rhinosinusitis.
- Allergy may also occur due to fungal and bacterial infections.
- This situation, which causes inflammation around the sinus, affects mucus drainage, leading to accumulation and congestion in the sinuses.
- Acute sinusitis can cause symptoms such as nasal congestion, fever, postnasal drip, headache, cough that increases at night, pain in the sinus region, yellow or green nasal discharge, loss of sense of smell and taste.
- Acute sinusitis can trigger asthma attacks and cause ear infections in children.
- For 3 months, nasal congestion,
- runny nose and / or nasal discharge,
- feeling of fullness or pressure in the face,
- odor At least two of the signs of decreased sensation should be present. Chronic sinusitis, which often causes the person to feel tired, often begins after an upper respiratory tract infection, as in acute sinusitis.
What are the Symptoms of Sinusitis?
Symptoms of Sinusitis Although it varies from person to person, it often causes the following symptoms:
- Congestion of the nose,
- Feeling of fullness on the side of the face and eyes,
- Yellow or green runny nose,
- Feeling of fullness in the ear,
- Persistent cough that increases at night,
- Headache,
- Nasal discharge,
- Burning in the throat,
- Bad breath,
- Change in tone of voice,
- Loss in sense of smell and taste,
- Snoring,
- Nausea and/or vomiting,
- Weakness and fatigue,
- Fever
What are the Causes of Sinusitis?
Sinusitis mostly;
- It develops due to viral upper respiratory tract infections.
- In the presence of upper respiratory tract infection, edema formation in the nasal mucosa or obstruction of the sinus drainage channels may cause sinusitis.
- Intranasal curvatures known as septum deviation in medicine,
- Polyp Anatomical pathologies such as the presence of
- concha hypertrophy (enlargement of the nasal concha) that prevent the sinus from being emptied in a healthy way are also among the factors that cause sinusitis.
- Pressure changes due to activities such as swimming, diving, climbing or airplane travel can also cause sinus cavities to close and thus sinusitis.
Protection from Sinusitis. What are the Methods?
Proper humidification of the environment is of great importance in order to prevent sinusitis.
- If the inhaled air is too dry or too humid, it can cause sinusitis. Therefore, it should be ensured that the environment is approximately 35% to 50% humid.
- It is recommended to stay away from polluted air that causes dryness of the nose and disrupts the sinus mucosa.
- Drinking plenty of water, taking a hot shower during upper respiratory tract infections such as flu and cold may help protect the person from sinusitis.
- Using a high pillow while sleeping,
- Nose keeping the sinus cavity clean can be counted among the methods of protection from sinusitis.
How to Diagnose Sinusitis?
After the person applies to the physician with sinusitis symptoms, the physician first listens to the patient's history and does the physical examination. In some cases, the physician may request additional tests such as computed tomography, (CT) allergy testing, nasal secretion sampling and endoscopic imaging. In the light of the findings, the person is diagnosed with sinusitis. When sinusitis is not treated, it can lead to many health problems such as gastritis, reflux, eye infection, chronic pharyngitis, meningitis and brain abscess.
What are the Sinusitis Treatment Methods?
Sinus treatment can be done with medication or surgical methods. Acute sinusitis, which lasts for 4 weeks, usually heals spontaneously. The planning of the treatment mostly differs depending on the factor that causes the formation of sinusitis. Antibiotics are used in the treatment of sinusitis. Different drugs can also be used to relieve the patient's other symptoms. In cases where sinusitis becomes chronic (complaints last longer than 12 weeks) or there is no response to drug treatment and there are structural problems such as nasal bone curvature and polyps, a surgical treatment method known as sinusitis surgery can be applied.
What is Good for Sinusitis? Income? What Can Be Done in Natural Treatment for Sinusitis?
- As sinusitis will cause drying of the entire respiratory system mucosa, it is important to consume plenty of warm fluids. For this purpose, herbal teas such as sage, mint-lemon, linden, which are not very hot, as well as plenty of water and soups can be consumed. By increasing the mucus fluidity, the sinuses can be discharged.
- The heaters dry the room air, especially in the winter months. In order to prevent this, 1 glass of water can be placed on the heater cores and the room air can be kept at a suitable humidity for breathing.
- Smoking increases the symptoms of sinusitis. Smoking should not be allowed.
- Boiled steam causes paralysis of the fine hairs (cilia) that clean the airways and damages the mucosa. In addition, the airways opened in the steam bath close again after a while (rebound effect). Such ancient methods should not be tried.
- Taking a warm shower also helps to reduce nasal congestion and empty the sinuses, as it will provide steam at the appropriate humidity for the respiratory mucosa.
- At home, salt water can be prepared and the nostrils can be washed. 1 teaspoon of salt is added to 1 tea glass of warm water and mixed and the salt is thoroughly dissolved. For an effective wash, salt water should be drawn into a large chamber syringe (without a needle at the end). With the head thrown back, the injector tip is placed forwards into the nose and a syringe is inserted. The reservoir r is emptied in one go. Pressurized salt water into the nose will open the sinus channels and help the sinuses to empty. Wash with pressurized salt water 3-4 times a day.
- To relieve sinusitis pain, essential oils such as eucalyptus, lavender, thyme and peppermint oil can be mixed and massaged into areas with intense pain.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What is Allergic Sinusitis?
It is not caused by microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria; It is an upper respiratory system disorder caused by allergic rhinitis, which occurs in sensitive people in environments where allergens such as dust, mold and fungi are intense. Anti-allergic drugs and allergen avoidance are in the first place in the treatment. Antibiotics will not help.
2) How is Sinusitis Surgery Performed?
Today, sinusitis surgery is performed by watching the screen through a camera called an endoscope. In the endoscopic method, only the problem causing sinusitis is corrected, and intact areas are not touched. The surgery is performed under local or general anesthesia. Bone curvature or flesh size that causes sinusitis can also be corrected with this method. After the operation, a tampon can be placed in the nose according to the doctor's preference.
4) How Long Does the Surgery Take?
Sinusitis surgery is completed in an average of 1.5 hours.
5) What are the Points to Consider After the Surgery?
Patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery should be properly cleaned and dressed. The dressings, which are applied twice a week at the beginning, become sparse according to the improvement of the mucosa in the nose and the time to be determined by the physician.
6) What Risks Does the Surgery Have? When Can One Return To Normal Life?
A bruise may occur around the eyes rarely after surgery. However, the bruise disappears within a few weeks.
Patients can be discharged the day after the surgery and can return to normal life after three days of dressing. But nasal congestion can last up to a week.
7) What is Sinusitis Treatment with Balloon?
The scientific name of this method is 'sinusoplasty'. In the balloon treatment, instead of surgically opening the strictures, the narrow areas of the sinuses are widened with the balloon.
