What You Should Know...Is That Sinus Infections SUCK!!!
Nov 18 '02
The Bottom Line Those of you who never get them - consider yourself lucky. Those of you who get them, I feel your pain honey.
Hello. My name is Kristina and I have suffered with sinus infections almost all of my life.
And it sucks. It bites the big one. It's worse than childbirth. It's worse than sitting next to someone who farts all day.
It's a horrible, horrible thing to be blessed with.
Ahhh! I feel much better getting that aggression out of my system
What Are Sinuses?
Okay, I'm no doctor so hopefully, I don't screw this explanation up too much.
There are four pairs of air-filled spaces in the bones of your skull. You can find two above your eyebrows, two at the very back of your nose, two behind your cheeks (next to your nose), and two between (and then behind) your eyes. Believe me, if your sinuses have ever given you issues, you know where they are!
Sinuses are lined with the same type of tissue that lines the inside of your nose. This tissue produces mucus and mucus is what traps in crap (like dust, dirt, germs, various particles) from the air.
With me so far?
On the surface of the sinus is something called a cilia. These are little hairs that move back and forth, moving the mucus from your sinus area to your nose area.
By golly - School House Rock should make a video about this process :D.
What Is A Sinus Infection?
A sinus infection can be either a viral or bacterial infection of one (or more) of the sinus cavities. When you have allergies or a cold, they can become filled with mucus and when your passages swell shut (trapping in air and mucous), several nasty things happen.
First, you can't breath very well. Second, you can't get any of the mucous to come out. Third, your entire face is usually throbbing with pain from all of the pressure. Fourth, you'll probably feel really drowsy. Not a good thing when you're driving. Fifth, it's not uncommon to have a mild fever, usually never going over 100. And if you're lucky - sixth - your head feels like a hammer has found a new home to pound on.
By the way, sinus infections are also referred to as sinusitis. And there are three kinds of those - acute, sub-acute, and chronic.
The difference in the three? Basically, the amount of time that your infection stays with you. For example, most NORMAL people get acute sinusitis (lasts under 14 days). Those who carry the thing around for about four months get labeled with Chronic Sinusitis.
What Do I Do About One?
First, go see a doctor - especially if all of this is new to you. Don't mess around with things like this because left untreated, it can cause you more issues that I won't even get into here.
Most likely, your doctor will ask you what your symptoms are and then:
1) Check your ears for swelling (liquid retention)
2) Feel your throat for swelling
3) Look in your mouth, towards the back of your throat for irritation
4) Look inside both of your nostrils to determine the color and condition of the tissue
5) Take your temperature
6) Have you breath several times (this is to make sure that the infection - bacterial or viral - hasn't traveled down to your lungs
Once diagnosed, doctors often recommend a regime of decongestants, steroid nasal sprays, saline nose irrigation, OTC pain reliever, OTC cough syrup (if needed) and an antibiotic if s/he determines it is bacterial instead of viral.
One of the things about working through a sinus infection is the grossness. The mucus...have you ever seen anything so revolting in your life? Isn't it lovely when that decongestant starts to work and you've got stuff oozing down your throat when you're trying to sleep? Anyway...
It is extremely important to stay away from dairy products as dairy tends to thicken up your mucus. Drink lots of water and get plenty of rest.
Usually, you should start feeling better in 2-3 days although I've known people who are out an entire week, practically bed-ridden from sinus infections.
How Do I Prevent Sinus Infections?
Gee, if you could do this 100% of the time, you'd probably make a bazillion dollars! In all seriousness though, you can take some precautionary steps to keep yourself as healthy as you can during those prime times when sinus infections seem to be the thing to have.
* Avoid cigarette smoke
* Wash hands often
* Keep hands away from eye and nose area
* Use a humidifier to keep the air moist
* Keep your heating/air vents clean - get them sanitized as much as they need them (I hear every two years is the recommendation)
* Avoid alcohol (causes your tissue membranes to swell)
* Drink plenty of clear liquids - especially water
**************WARNING! GROSS OUT SECTION!!!**************
What Happens If I Get Chronic Sinus Infections?
Boy! Consider yourself one of the unluckiest people in the world! :) I'm actually a chronic sinus sufferer and from the age of 11 until I was 29, sinus infections would knock me out for a week. They would literally paralyze me.
One day, I went to an ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist who did a MRI on me to see what was going on with my sinuses. Even though my allergies wreaked havoc on my tissue, the fact was that the opening in most of my sinus cavities were smaller than normal and the adenoids (a cluster of lymph nodes) were HUGE. Oh, and let me mention the polyps. These are lumps of tissue attached to the mucus membranes by a thin stalk. It's no wonder that 10 months out of the year, I was a mess.
So yes, I elected to have surgery. What he did was to remove the adenoids, enlarge my sinus openings, and cut out the polyps. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?!
The worst part about the surgery was the packing that they place in your sinus cavities (and your nose). For 6 days, I felt like I had a raging sinus infection. When I returned to the doctor's office and had all of that removed, I couldn't believe the things I could smell! I had never smelled things before (I'm convinced of this).
Since this surgical experience, my life has been SO much better. I still get sinus infections about twice a year however, I usually only feel poorly for one day, and then I'm up and back to my routine. I still take things like claritin and rhinocort to combat the swelling of the tissue area (for my allergies). One of these days, I might get off of my butt and start allergy shots.
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Member: Kristina Frazier-Henry
Location: Indiana
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Cannot breathe. Missing Barbara.
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