What is Sinusitis?
Sinusitis is an inflammation that occurs in the sinus organs. The sinuses themselves are air cavities located in the facial area which are directly connected to the nose. This inflammation of the sinuses can cause mucus to build up in the sinus cavities and become a medium for bacterial growth. This is generally the result of widespread minor nasal infections such as the common cold. Forcibly expelling mucus through your nose can push germs into the sinuses.
Characteristics and Symptoms of Sinusitis
Initial symptoms that may be caused by sinus infection or sinusitis are yellow or green mucosal discharge (snot) accompanied by pain in the face and around the cheeks, forehead, eyes and even inflammation to the jaw and teeth. This sinus usually occurs after the upper respiratory tract becomes infected such as a cold or flu. Meanwhile, inflammation or sinus infection can be grouped into 3 groups including:
1. Acute Sinusitis
Inflammatory sinusitis of this type is the most common type, especially in children. Meanwhile, the symptoms that are caused are almost similar to the symptoms when the flu occurs, namely coughing, nasal congestion, mucus discharge, only that the mucus is not accompanied by fever and the mucus that comes out is green. If it affects children, generally these symptoms will be experienced by the little one for up to ten days and the condition will start to worsen on the seventh day. For that, it is better to be more careful and careful if something goes wrong with your little one, immediately check with the nearest doctor to find out if there is a disease in his body.
2. Chronic Sinusitis
The symptoms you feel from chronic sinusitis will be similar to those of acute sinusitis, it’s just that the time will be longer than acute sinusitis. This chronic sinusitis can last for nearly three months and is worsened by the appearance of pain in the head. In addition, in this type of sinusitis, there has been a thickening of the sinus lining and the emergence of inhibiting and blocking tissue known as polyps.
3. Recurrent Acute Sinusitis
Symptoms of this type of sinusitis are similar to acute sinusitis, it’s just that sinusitis often recurs. Usually within one year the child can come back more than four times. And every time this sinusitis occurs, the period can last up to ten days. But not to worry, the child’s condition will be healthy between these recurrence periods.
So that you or your mother at home can be more aware of sinusitis attacks, here are the symptoms you should know that may infect you and your loved ones.
1. Pain in the face
A throbbing dull pain or pressure will be felt on the face as this is an early symptom of sinusitis. This occurs due to the pressure exerted by the inflamed tissue on the nerve endings in the sinus walls. Frontal sinusitis causes pain in the forehead or headache. While maxillary sinusitis can cause cheek pain that can spread to the teeth around the upper jaw. Ethmoid sinusitis will cause pain between the eyes. and sphenid sinusitis causing pain in the back of the eye, along the nape or at the top of the head.
2. Nasal congestion
At the same time as mucus discharge, sinusitis will also have symptoms of a stuffy nose. This is because inflammation or infection will cause swelling of the sinuses and nose inside.
3. Reduced olfactory power
Swelling of the membrane area on the inside of the nose will block the smell you inhale until it reaches the smell. This is what will cause the smell power of a person suffering from sinusitis to be reduced.
4. Reduced Taster Power
The normal sense of taste depends on the integrity of the sense of smell. So that if the sense of smell is disturbed, it will cause a decrease or decrease in the function of the sense of taste.
5. A Painful Head
Continuous high pressure and swelling in the sinuses, especially when you have a cold, can reverberate throughout the skull, causing headaches. Apart from the head, this pain may also appear in unexpected places, such as toothache, pain in the upper jaw and cheeks, and sudden earaches. Headaches due to sinusitis will usually feel so excruciating when you wake up in the morning, this is because the fluid has collected overnight.
6. Cough
This symptom of sinusitis occurs because the nasal mucosal discharge or mucus getting to the back of the throat may touch the vocal cords and trigger irritation, especially if it occurs continuously. This is what can cause a persistent, irritating cough.
Those are the characteristics and symptoms of sinusitis. In principle, when we feel that something is wrong with the body, it is better to immediately consult a doctor. And especially for sinusitis, if the symptoms are suspected, it’s good to see a doctor immediately to get proper treatment and care.
