If you’ve had repeat sinus infections, you want to start treating the problem sooner rather than later, before it becomes incapacitating. Our physicians with Advanced Allergy and Asthma are board-certified in allergy and immunology. We’re trained to help relieve your sinus issues brought about by allergies.
Your sinuses are hollow passages above, below, and between your eyes; behind your nose; and behind your cheeks. Their job is to produce mucus that keeps your nose moist. The moisture helps stop dust, pollutants, and pollen from entering your body.
When you have chronic sinus issues, the tissue in your nasal passages and sinuses becomes inflamed and swells. When you have chronic sinusitis, your sinuses are swollen for weeks.
Allergies to environmental pollen are a leading cause of chronic sinusitis. Pollen occurs in every season, from trees in the spring to grasses in the summer to ragweed in the fall and mold in the winter.
When you’re allergic, your immune system goes into overdrive because it sees pollen as an invader. Your body has an inflammatory response, and your sinuses swell. When they’re swollen, they prevent mucus from draining down your throat, and it gets stuck in the sinuses and nasal passages. Your sinuses become painful because they’re blocked.
A deviated septum and nasal polyps can also cause chronic sinusitis. Breathing in toxins like tobacco smoke can also lead to recurrent sinusitis.
The following are four early warning signs of a sinus infection, in addition to the ubiquitous stuffy nose, which could also be a sign of a cold.
When your sinuses are blocked, mucus builds up, placing pressure on your nasal passages and sinuses. Your nose may feel like a blocked volcano. You feel an aching, dull pain from behind your eyes to your nose and cheeks.
Do the skin and sinus passages around your nose feel tender? This is an early sign of a sinus infection. Your sinuses are inflamed and swollen, causing your skin to feel tender to the touch.
It’s easier for your doctor to see your nasal passages than for you. That’s a good reason to call us when you are in discomfort early. We will let you know whether you have a sinus infection or not.
Some of your sinus passages are close to your teeth. Chronic sinusitis can make your teeth ache. This signals that you have more than a cold when you have other cold-like symptoms.
If your nasal mucus isn’t clear but is green or yellow, your colored mucus can be a signal of infection.
Other sinus infection symptoms include inability to smell or taste food, ear pain, cough and sore throat, postnasal drip, and difficulty breathing.
If your sinusitis lasts for three months or longer, it’s chronic. We test you for allergies in our office. If you have allergies, we prescribe medication and may recommend starting allergy shots, eventually lessening your body’s reaction to pollen.
If you continue to sustain infections requiring antibiotics, you should start allergy shots rather than have repeated rounds of antibiotics.
We instruct you on making yourself more comfortable at home, such as using a humidifier and breathing in steam from a vaporizer.
Call Advanced Allergy and Asthma today if you have chronic sinus infections. We can help you breathe normally again.
