Sinus Infection Symptoms

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Sinus infections are one of the most common infections across the world. Sinus attacks are caused by an infection in the sinuses or cavities that are present in the bones near the nose. When there is any swelling in these sinuses because of some infection, breathing becomes difficult resulting in fever, headaches, and other discomforts. This is known as sinusitis.

Each sinus or cavity in the skull has an opening that allows free exchange of mucus and air. Each sinus is joined to the other by a mucous membrane lining. When there is an infection like hay fever or a disease like asthma, these sinuses and the lining become inflamed, causing air and mucus to be blocked inside or a vacuum to be created. This can cause pressure on the sinus walls, causing severe pain. There are four kinds of sinuses: frontal sinuses, maxillary sinuses, ethmoid sinuses, and sphenoid sinuses. Any part of these four sinuses can be infected, causing pain in that particular area.

There are different kinds of sinus infection symptoms depending upon the sinus that is infected. There can be pain anywhere near these sinuses. With frontal sinuses there can be pain over the eyes in the brow area; with maxillary sinuses, inside each cheekbone; with ethmoid sinuses, just behind the bridge of the nose and between the eyes; and with sphenoid sinuses, behind the ethmoids in the upper region of the nose and behind the eyes. This pain is the most common symptom for sinusitis.

Other common symptoms for sinus infections are pain in the head, ear or neck; headaches early in the morning; pain in the upper jaw/ cheeks /teeth; swelling of the eyelids; pain between the eyes; nasal discharge; stuffy nose; loss of smell; and tenderness near the nose. Sometimes, there could be fever, tiredness, weakness, severe cough and runny nose. Sinusitis can be diagnosed by tapping the sinus areas with fingertips. Very rarely, acute sinusitis can lead to infection in the brain or some other complications.

There are many over-the-counter decongestions and pain killers available to provide relief from sinus infections. These can be in the form of tablets or sprays. There are also home remedies for sinus infections like a cold/hot compress, jalapeno pepper, ripe grape juice, etc. These can provide effective relief from sinus symptoms. But acute or chronic sinusitis requires continuous treatment from a specialist.

Sinus Infections provides detailed information about sinus infections, sinus infection symptoms, sinus infection treatment, home remedy for sinus infection and more. Sinus Infections is the sister site of Topical Vitamin C.

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A cold, allergies, coughing, and sneezing can all influence in sinusitis. However, the fact that these can be an influence in ear infection is not commonly known. The reason that sinusitis and ear infection are related is that the sinuses and the ear are connected by a tube in the inner ear called the Eustachian tube.

Before explaining further how sinusitis and ear infection are connected, I will explain them one at a time, beginning with sinusitis, then moving on to ear infection. When one is suffering from the cold, flu, or allergies, there tends to be stuffiness in the sinuses. The stuffiness is caused by the sinuses. They produce mucous in an effort to clean the sinus tissue from the dirt and bacteria breathed in. Whenever the sinuses sense impurities or bacteria, they produce more mucous. Sometimes this is counterproductive, because the bacteria may settle in the sinus tissue and cause inflammation or sinusitis. The mucous then gets blocked in by the inflammation, and instead of cleaning out the bacteria, it invites bacteria to grow.

After swimming, bathing, playing in the snow, or other water activities, water collects in the ears, and if it is not properly cleaned out, it drains into the Eustachian tube. Because the Eustachian tube is only slightly slanted, even less in children, the liquid often settles in the Eustachian tube, inviting ear infection. Similar to sinusitis, ear infection can inflame and swell, blocking further drainage. Ear infection can cause dizziness, headaches, ear aches, and other ailments.

Consider what happens when one having sinusitis blows his or her nose, coughs, or sneezes. Where does the air go? True, much of the air goes through the mouth and nose, but much of the air pressure goes out toward the ears. That means that infection is also pushed out toward the ears, making sinusitis an indirect cause of ear infection.

It also works the other way around. Infection in the ears can also drain down into the sinuses, inflaming the sinus tissue and causing sinusitis.

Both sinusitis and ear infection are surprisingly simple to prevent. Proper and frequent cleaning of the ears with Q-tips will prevent liquid from draining into the inner ear, inviting infection to settle in the Eustachian tube or other tissue. Preventing sinusitis is just as simple. Just as we wash our hands throughout the day to prevent bacteria and disease, we should wash out our nasal passages with nasal spray on a regular basis. This cleans out germs that enter the body through the mouth and nose. In using nasal spray, one should keep in mind that studies have shown xylitol to be a natural bacteria repellant that one should look for as the leading ingredient in nasal spray. Because it is sugar free, it also reduces the ability of bacteria to leave behind damaging acids.

Joe Miller is an online advertiser and author of informational articles on health. More information on Ear Infection and Sinusitis is available at Xlear.com.

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Properties of Biofilms

As mentioned, the scum layer produced by the biofilms seems to form a sort of protective barrier for the bacteria and other microorganisms it encases. The literature states that the bacteria in biofilms can be up to 500-1000 times more resistant to antibiotics than normal free-floating bacteria, and research is ongoing to determine the exact mechanisms to explain this. In addition, biofilms occasionally release a portion of their bacteria, and this discharge can migrate and cause infection at a new location. At present there are no simple methods available to test for the presence of biofilms, so it is not an easy task to determine if they are present in a patient’s nasal system. The slime or scum layer looks a great deal like normal mucus.

Status of Biofilm Research as it Pertains to Chronic Sinusitis

Research regarding biofilms and sinusitis is still in its early stages. Most scientific papers describing research into the subject have been attempts to prove the theory that biofilms are present in chronic sinusitis patients and that they are a factor in the condition. We are a long way from seeing studies that might test how beneficial a certain treatment might be, or even how an ENT could easily determine if a patient has biofilms in his nasal passages.

Available Treatments

Some people suggest that nasal irrigation can be beneficial for people with biofilms, and this is certainly a good idea for other reasons as well. In fact it may be the single best thing that people with chronic sinus problems could do for themselves in the opinion of this author. Some studies seem to indicate that the only cure at present is debridement, or physical removal of the substance by an ENT. Again, we are in the early days of research into the theory, so it will be years before it becomes main-stream and other treatment therapies are developed and tested. If I were desperate with sinus problems and had tried every known therapy with no success, (including topical fungal therapy, which is also a relatively new approach) I think I would try to contact one of the medical schools at the universities that are doing research on this topic and see what I could learn or if I might be included in one of their formal studies. Among these are the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, West Virginia University in Morgantown, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the Universite of Montreal in Canada, the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Cambridge in England, Dartmouth College, the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, among others. I easily found extracts of papers written by all of these entities with a simple internet search on “biofilms”.

Conclusion

Research thus far shows a strong correlation between chronic sinusitis and the presence of biofilms in the nasal cavities of chronic sinusitis sufferers. Much more research to prove the theory definitively and to see it become a main-stream diagnosis remains to be done. At this point people are not even talking about such treatments as nasal sprays or other medications. Sinus sufferers should at least be aware of the issue and keep an eye on what research is being reported, as well as irrigating their noses with a saline solution daily. As noted above, there are a good number of research labs studying all aspects of biofilm research around the world, both medical and non-medical, so hopefully we will have some day an answer to the question posed at the beginning of this article and be able to effectively treat the group of people who continue to suffer from sinusitis despite years of treatment and multiple surgeries that do not bring permanent relief.

Walt Ballenberger is founder of http://www.postnasaldrip.net/ a resource web site for sinusitis sufferers like himself. For a free report entitled “Sinus Treatment Success Stories”, visit http://www.postnasaldrip.net/ and click on the Free Report link. This resource can be of significant help to chronic sinus sufferers.

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