Sinus Problems

Your sinuses are behind your cheekbones and forehead and around your eyes. 

Healthy sinuses drain almost a quart of mucus every day. They keep the air you breathe wet. Your sinuses can’t drain right if they are blocked, infected, or swollen. Sinus problems include:

• A sinus infection. This can be acute or chronic.

• Sinus congestion without an infection.

Signs & Symptoms

For a Sinus Infection

• Fever.

• Green, yellow, or bloody-colored nasal discharge.

• Foul-smelling or tasting postnasal drip.

• Severe headache that doesn’t get better when you take an over-the-counter pain reliever. The headache is worse in the morning or when bending forward.

• Pain between the nose and lower eyelid. Cheek or upper jaw pain.

• A feeling of pressure inside the head. Stuffy nose.

• Swelling around the eyes, nose, cheeks, and forehead.

• Cough that worsens at night.

• Fatigue.

Causes

• Bacterial, viral, or fungal infection. Sneezing hard with your mouth closed or blowing your nose too much with a cold.

• Irritants like tobacco smoke, air pollutants, etc. Hay fever or other allergies.

• A nasal deformity. Sinuses that don’t drain well.

Treatment

• Sinus congestion without an infection does not need an antibiotic and can be treated with self-care. A decongestant helps break up the congestion.

• An acute sinus infection usually clears up in 2 weeks with an antibiotic, a decongestant, and nose drops or a nasal spray. When this is not the case, the problem may be a chronic sinus infection which takes longer to treat and/or may need further investigation to diagnose the cause.

• An antifungal medicine helps treat a fungal infection in the sinuses. Surgery may be needed to drain the sinuses. Surgery can be done to enlarge a sinus passage that is too narrow to allow proper drainage.

With a recent headache, fever, sinus pressure and pain, and yellow, green, or bloody nasal discharge, are all of the following symptoms now present, especially in a child?

• Sudden onset of a fever.

• Redness and swelling of the eyelid(s) or area around the eye(s).

• Protruding eye(s) and pain behind the eye(s).

• Problems moving the eye(s).

• Eye pain and redness.

Do you have 2 or more of the following symptoms?

• Fever.

• Green, yellow, or bloody-colored nasal discharge for more than 3 days. This may occur with a foul-smelling or bad-tasting drainage into the back of the throat.

• Headache that gets worse when you bend forward and that may not be relieved with over-the-counter pain relievers.

• Pain (usually throbbing) around the eye(s), cheek(s), upper jaw(s), and/or between the nose and eye socket(s)

Self-Care / Prevention

• Use a cool-mist humidifier especially in the bedroom. Put a humidifier on the furnace.

• Put a warm washcloth, warm or cold compress over the sinus area of your face. Use the one that helps most for the pain.

• Drink plenty of liquids.

• Take an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine for pain as directed on the label.

• Take an OTC decongestant or an OTC pain reliever with a decongestant (e.g., Tylenol Sinus). {Note: Persons with high blood pressure and older men should check with their doctors before taking decongestants. Decongestants with an antihistamine can give older men urinary problems.}

• Use nose drops only for the number of days prescribed. Repeated use of them creates a dependency. Don’t share nose drops with others. Throw the drops away after treatment.