Sinusitis is a fairly common problem that can cause a great deal of misery and discomfort. It is defined as inflammation of the mucus lining of the air cavities located adjacent to the nose, behind the forehead and the eyes. Most cases of sinusitis are caused by infections which may be bacterial, viral or fungal. Patients may also have symptoms like that of infection but it could be due to smoke and environmental allergens.

A person may have infection induced sinusitis if some of the following are present: Cold symptoms for more than seven days, fatigue, cough, low grade fever, sinus headache, toothache, facial pain, discolored nasal discharge ( especially green ) or foul breath. Some patients may have loss of sense of smell and taste and chronic nasal congestion.

Sinusitis often occurs when mucus can not drain normally from the sinuses into the back of the nose and throat. Usually this happens when there is an obstruction of some kind such as polyps, enlarged air cells within the inner folds of the nose or more often the thickening of the lining around these pores may lead to obstruction. Allergies are a common cause of thickening of the sinus linings.

The management of the infection that has been present for a short time is antibiotics and observation. However, treatment of Chronic infection is somewhat complicated. It may include antibiotics, decongestants, expectorants, and anti inflammatory nose sprays. Some patient require CT scan of sinuses. Allergy testing would help identify what you are allergic to. Allergy is the cause in at least 50% of the cases of chronic sinusitis. If allergies are present than environmental control measures, allergy medications and allergy shots may be beneficial. many patients suffer from sinusitis and choose to live through it. Sometimes they get better although more often the symptoms such as facial pain, post nasal drip and chronic nasal congestion may persist without fever or discolored mucus. An allergist may help in evaluating and treating the problem so that sinusitis sufferer may live comfortably.