Understanding Sinusitis

When the small air chambers of your facial bones, located behind your eyebrows, cheeks and jaw, become inflamed, sinusitis is likely the cause. Sinusitis is characterized by pain or pressure in these areas, and often follows a viral cold, changes in air pressure, allergies. If you have the following symptoms for more than a week, you need to see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor.

Sinusitis symptoms include:

• Facial pressure behind the cheeks, jaws and eyebrows
• Stuffy nose
• Runny nose
• Cough and congestion that gets worse at night
• Sore throat

Sinusitis is characterized in as follows:

• Acute Sinusitits has a sudden onset, and often includes a stuffy or runny nose that doesn’t clear up in a week.
• Subacute Sinusitis is the same as acute sinusitis, but lasts longer than a month.
• Chronic Sinusitis is ongoing sinusitis that causes swelling and inflammation of the sinuses. Typically this is caused by allergies, bacteria or a fungus.
• Recurrent Sinusitis is the term used to describe a sinusitis that happens multiple times in a given year.

For chronic and recurrent sinusitis, there are several effective treatments that can be done in office. Call us today to schedule a consultation.

Ramie A. Tritt, MD, President, Atlanta ENT