What is a sinus?
A sinus is a hollow, air-filled cavity. Humans have four pair of these cavities each referred to as the :
- Frontal sinus (in forehead),
- Maxillary sinus (behind cheeks),
- Ethmoid sinus (between the eyes), and
- Sphenoid sinus (deep behind the eyes)
Each sinus has an opening into the nose for free exchange of air and mucus.
What is Sinusitis?
Sinusitis occurs when your sinuses get inflamed. The inflammation is often due to an infection, caused by a virus, bacteria, or fungus. The sinus infection causes intermittent blockage of the sinus opening.
Sinusitis can be acute (going on less than four weeks), subacute (4-8 weeks) or chronic (going on for 8 weeks or more)
Common causes for sinusitis
- Allergens such as dust mites, molds, pollen, fungi etc could trigger allergic rhinitis, which may lead to sinusitis.
- Chronic colds & inflammation of the nasal passages.
- Deviated nasal septum.
- Nasal polyps
- Swimming
- Pollutants
- Susceptibility to damp weather and climatic changes
- Asthma and lowered immune response
What are the symptoms of acute sinusitis?
- Facial pain or pressure
- Nasal stuffiness
- Nasal discharge
- Congestion Nasal or Chest
- Cough
- Loss of smell
- Earaches and neck pain, indicates sphenoid sinuses inflamed.
- Pain in your cheeks, upper jaw and teeth indicate maxillary sinuses inflamed.
- Pain when your forehead over the frontal sinuses is touched indicates frontal sinusesinflamed.
- Pain between and around the eyes, sides of your nose and loss of smell indicates
Ethmoid sinuses inflamed.
- May also include some additional symptoms, such as fever, bad breath or toothache.
Why are antibiotics not effective in the treatment of sinusitis?
When the sinus cavities are inflamed, their openings narrow or become completely blocked. Antibiotics are unable to permeate the blocked sinus cavities in sufficient concentration to kill the bacteria. At the same time, more and more bacteria gain resistance to antibiotics. Furthermore, long-term antibiotic treatment is almost always followed by development of fungal infection.
Fungal infections of the sinuses have recently been blamed for causing most cases of chronic sinusitis.
Antimycotic drugs often have no long-term action and the infection lingers on.
Homeopathic treatment for sinusitis
Homeopathic treatment is fast acting and effective in acute and chronic sinusitis. The treatment of sinusitis does not only drain the sinuses and kill the germs but it also acts on the root cause thus preventing recurrences.
