The strict sinusitis definition is this: an infection of one or more sinus cavities.  Sinusitis is a sinus infection.  But what does that mean exactly?  What are your sinus cavities and what causes them to become infected.

Your head has air spaces in it.  No, that does not mean you are an airhead, it simply means that you are normal.  Everyone has those air spaces.  Those spaces are called sinuses.  They are part of your overall respiratory system.

Your sinuses play an important role in your overall health.  They are part of your body’s first line of defense.  Your sinuses and your nasal passages act like a filter to keep the air that enters your lungs free from contaminants.  They help to keep dust, pollen and even bacteria from getting into your lungs.

Your sinuses and nasal passages are coated with mucus.  That sounds bad, but it is really not. Mucus is a good thing when you are healthy and your body is performing properly.  The mucus coats your sinuses and acts like fly paper.  Foreign particles and even bacteria get stuck to the mucus coating.

Small microscopic hairs called cilia that line your sinuses then sweep the contaminated mucus away so it can be replaced with new fresh mucus.  The old mucus drains out of the sinuses into the nasal area and then drains into the throat and into the stomach. Once in the stomach it is destroyed by stomach fluids.

Then the cycle repeats itself.  It does this all day and night.  As long as everything is working correctly you never even notice it.  The only time you start to notice it is if something starts to go wrong.

The drainage passageways to the nose from the sinuses is very small.  These can become blocked easily.  When they become blocked the contaminated mucus cannot drain.  The mucus builds up in your sinuses causing pressure and pain.  The bacteria trapped in the sinus starts to multiply and very quickly a full blown infection develops.  Once that happens you have by definition, sinusitis.

Many things can cause a blockage of your sinuses.  A cold is one of the most common.  Allergies can also cause sinus blockages.  Contaminants in the air you breathe such as smoke can cause sinus blockages.  Even dry air can cause your membranes to become irritated enough to swell and cause a blockage.  Once you have a blockage you will almost certainly get a sinus infection.

To summarize, the definition of sinusitis is an infection in one or more sinus cavities.  The sinuses can easily become blocked.  Once a blockage occurs a sinus infection is most likely.  The only way to overcome sinusitis is to eliminate the blockage and kill the infection.  At that point you should see your health care provider.

The general answer to that question is no, sinusitis does not impair vision.  That is the case in almost every sinus infection there is.  In many cases there is little or no effect on the eye in any way.

But as is the case in most of medicine, there are exceptions to the rule.  First of all, there are a significant number of people that suffer from sinusitis that do complain of blurred vision.  When the sinus symptoms are relieved, so is their blurry vision.

There are rare instances where mucoceles can form.  These are mucus filled cystic swellings that can form in the ethmoid sinuses.  These mucoceles can cause problems over time that can result in vision problems.  These are extremely rare but have been known to occur.

Another rare occurrence is an infection of the Eye Socket. This can manifest itself as a rare but serious complication of ethmoid sinusitis. In these cases, you can  lose movement in the eye, and experience pressure on the optic nerve.  This has been known to lead to vision loss. When this happens severe illness and fever are usually present.

One more rare occurrence that can effect vision is when there is a fungal infection of the sinuses instead of a bacterial infection. Fungal infections can be very damaging. They can erode the bone tissue. If the bones that protect the optic nerves are affected, then the optic nerve becomes vulnerable and vision could be at risk.

I have to stress that actual damage to the eye and the corresponding impairment of vision is extremely rare.  Sinusitis just doesn’t usually create severe threats to your vision.  Pressure around the eyes, yes.  Headaches above the eyes, yes.  Watery eyes, yes.  Allergies may also be the cause of these symptoms.

As I stated earlier there are sinus problem sufferers who do claim to get blurry vision when they have a sinus infection.  Is the blurry vision because they are also having an allergic reaction which has caused them to have watery eyes?  Are they experiencing headaches which could be migraines that can cause vision abnormalities?

Any one of those and many other circumstances could be the cause of impaired vision.  There is not any real evidence, other than the exceptions mentioned previously that a normal bout of sinusitis does indeed impair vision.

If you are suffering from impaired vision, regardless of the suspected reason, you need to immediately seek help from your medical professional.  Your eyes are much too precious to waste any time.  Get seen and get diagnosed so you can take care of those vision problems as soon as possible.

Sinusitis and food has been an often discussed topic. The scientific community has done very little testing on the link between sinusitis and food and because of that there is little in the way of hard data on the subject.

On the other hand, the older healing arts have always included diet as part of the overall cure to sinus problems. That is because those disciplines have always focused on the whole of you and your overall health even when treating a specific problem. Modern medicine treats the specific problem and often misses a lot of the root causes of the problem because of its narrow vision.

There are two ways food can effect your sinus problems. First there are foods to avoid, those that may actually contribute to the problem. Second there are foods to eat that will enhance your body’s immune system and effectively help the problem.

Let’s Start with foods to avoid. There are certain foods that seem to be widely recognized to contribute to sinus problems. These foods have always been linked to increasing the number of the severity of symptoms.

Cold drinks are the worst of all foods. Cold or iced drinks slow the cilia in your sinuses. Why is this bad? Your sinuses have a mucus lining. This mucus lining keeps the membranes lubricated, soft and pliable. The mucus lining captures foreign substances like, dust, pollen and even bacteria. It keeps it from getting into your lungs.

This mucus then needs to be swept out of the sinus, into the nose and then the stomach where it is destroyed. The cilia, which are microscopic hairs lining your sinus and nose, sweep the mucus away with rapid back and forth movements. When something slows them down, the sweeping of the mucus slows or stops. When that happens things start to get blocked and congested and you have the beginnings of an infection.

Cold drinks, by slowing the cilia, can create conditions where you could more easily get a sinus infection. If you already have a sinus infection, cold drinks will just make matters worse by slowing the cilia in a situation where they are already impaired.

Other foods you should avoid are: Alcohol, chocolate, dairy products, sugar and yeast. These foods either promote mucus production or promote inflammation. Both of these are bad for your sinuses.

Those are foods to avoid. What about foods that can help your body, foods that can help fight sinusitis? There are a number of foods that you can start with. These foods contain nutrients that boost your immune system and can lesson or prevent infection.

Certain nutrients act as healing mechanisms for sinusitis. Yellow and orange vegetables contain nutrients called carotenoids. This is beneficial in healing the sinuses. Carrots are a good example of this.

Flax seed oil and fish oil contain essential fatty acids that appear to block enzymes that promote mucus production and inflammation. Peanuts and grapes contain another enzyme blocking substance called resveratrol. This may relieve sinus symptoms by blocking enzymes in the body that are responsible for swelling and inflammation.

Grandma’s chicken soup that has always been a cure in folklore may actually be a legitimate remedy for sinusitis. This Jewish penicillin contains an amino acid called cysteine. Cysteine is very similar to a drug called acetylcysteine that doctors use as treatment for respiratory infections. It helps to thin mucus making it easier to drain. It also helps the cilia move more quickly. The faster the cilia move the faster and easier they can push the mucus out of the sinuses.

Water is one of the most important aspects of your diet. If you are not properly hydrated, your mucus will become thicker. Thicker mucus makes it harder for the cilia to sweep it along. It is harder to drain and could begin to create blockages.

When you are hydrated the mucus in your body is thinner. Thinner mucus will be swept along by the cilia easier. Thinner mucus will be easier to drain and is less likely to cause blockages.

The easiest way to determine if you are properly hydrated is to just check the color of your urine. If you are sufficiently hydrated the color of your urine will be very pale yellow to clear.

Hot spicy foods also help to keep mucus thin. Foods that include cayenne peppers are especially good for your sinuses. Cayenne contains a substance called capsaicin. This substance acts like a natural decongestant. Horseradish is another hot food that does the same thing.

While I mentioned that iced drinks can slow your cilia and stop the sweeping mechanism, hot drinks and hot soups can reverse this. Hot beverages seem to heal damaged or slow cilia helping them to work more efficiently at clearing mucus out of the sinus cavity.

Diet is an important component in the fight against sinus infection. Sinusitis and food are closely connected as certain foods can make things worse and certain foods can make things better. Avoid the foods that make sinus problems and symptoms worse. Make sure you eat the foods that will enhance your body’s ability to rid itself of the sinus infection.

The problems that develop on high altitude flights are simply a matter of physics.  It has to do with air pressure changes.  The biggest change in air pressure that most people experience is during flights.  Air pressure is nothing more than the weight of air.  At sea level there is a force of 14.7 lbs per square inch.  That means that every square inch of your body is being pressed on with a force of about 15 pounds.

If all that weight is on us, why don’t we get crushed?  Good question.  We don’t get crushed because there is also air inside our bodies.  The air inside our bodies is pushing out at a pressure equal to the air pushing in.  We are at equilibrium.  At equilibrium we don’t feel the air pressure.

When the jet you are flying on reaches cruising altitude, it is at about 30,000 feet above sea level.  There is a lot less air at 30,000 feet, so the weight of the air is much less.  If the air weighs less then there is less air pressure.  But the cabin we fly in is pressurized, so why would should I be concerned with air pressure at altitude, you may be thinking.  You are right, the cabin is pressurized, but it is only pressurized to 1/2 the air pressure at sea level.

The air pressure you fly in, is thus only half the pressure you are used to.  Now the air in your body needs to stay in equilibrium with the air outside of your body.  The air at full pressure in your body needs to escape till it gets down to half pressure.  All that being said, what does that have to do with your sinuses?

You may or may not know but your sinuses are basically just big empty spaces in your head that are filled with air.  Since they are filled with air, they need to be able to equalize with the outside air pressure.  That means that by the time you reach high altitude, where the cabin pressure is half of the normal air pressure, enough air had to escape from your sinuses to bring the air pressure in your sinuses to the same half normal air pressure.

Going up is usually easier than coming down.  It seems that your body has an easier time expelling air out of it’s structures than the other way around.  So while you may feel some pressure change when you first take off, you usually don’t really feel the change in pressure until you start to descend.

Once you start to descend, the air pressure starts to increase as you get lower and lower.  Your body now needs to get more air into it’s air spaces in order to compensate for the increase in air pressure.  If you have done any flying at all, you have probably felt your ears popping.  That’s your body getting air into the inner ear area to equalize for the increase in air pressure.

This is where problems can start.  The areas that the air transfers from the ear and from the sinuses are very small.  It does not take much to pinch them closed.  A change in air pressure could pinch them closed.  When that happens the first thing you start to experience is discomfort followed by pain and then possibly severe pain.

The first pain you feel is in your ear.  If your eustachian tube is pinched closed then your ear cannot equalize.  If the pressure difference in the ear and the outside becomes too great, you can even get a ruptured ear drum.

The ear, the sinuses and the nose are all connected.  If you have a problem with one you will most likely have a problem with the others.  Like the ear, the small openings that allow the sinuses to drain and pass air are very small and easily susceptible to closure or blockage.  If there is any blockage then the sinuses cannot equalize.  Two things will happen, first you will start to experience pressure and pain in your sinuses.  Secondly, the pressure will start to damage the sinus membranes, causing them to swell which will make things worse.

Even when your sinuses are clear and can equalize, if you have had a propensity for sinus problems, you sinus membranes will be more sensitive and just the normal changes in pressure could cause them to swell and create blockages which will eventually lead to an infection.

The bottom line on your sinuses is, if you have had sinus problems, it is probably harder for you to fly.  There is a possibility that the changes in pressure could irritate the membranes enough to create a blockage and initiate the first stage of sinusitis.

If you have a sinus infection, then you already have a blockage and flying will only make conditions worse on top of causing you a lot of acute pain.  What can you do under any of these circumstances?

You can take an over the counter decongestant when you get on the aircraft.  This can open your blocked areas long enough for your flight.  You must be careful though because if the decongestant wears off before your flight is done, you will end up with a greater blockage at just the wrong time.  It can make things even worse.

While I have seen many use this method to fly, it is certainly not the best alternative since decongestants are very hard on your body.  One of the things that has been an old stand by has been chewing gum.  The motion of the jaw can help keep the ear and sinus areas from getting blocked.  You can also proactively open your earways by holding your nostrils closed and gently blowing till you feel your ears pop.  That’s how divers equalize their ears when diving.  The operative word here is blow GENTLY!  If you have a blockage and you blow too hard you could damage your inner ear.  Do not try to blow hard if you cannot equalize.  You could damage your ears!

Another thing you should do while on the flight is to drink a lot of water.  Dry nasal and sinus passages lead to thick mucus which leads to blockages.  Drinking water to keep you hydrated is a must.  You could even bring some saline solution in a spray bottle to spray into your nostrils a few times during the flight.  This would also help you keep your nasal passages moist.

If you have a current sinus infection, flying is not a good idea.  If there is no way to avoid it, discuss the matter with you health professional.  They can tell how much of risk there is involved and may be able to offer some more advice or even prescriptions that might make it easier to cope with flying.

Sinusitis and flying are linked together but not in a good way.  If you have sinusitis, flying is not a good idea.  If you don’t have a current case of sinusitis, flying can actually create conditions that can initiate its onset.    In that case, chew gum, drink liquids, use saline spray and hopefully you can avoid aggravating your sinuses.

One of the best and fastest ways to add moisture to your sinuses is through a treatment called sinusitis  irrigation.  This is a treatment in which you add liquid directly into the affected area.  There are a number of different ways to do this.  I will briefly outline a few of them.

First of all, what liquid should you use.  Plain water is a possibility.  Plain water can be a little harsh on your inflamed membranes so a better alternative is saline solution.  You can find saline solution at your drug store in squeeze bottles specifically for the purpose of irrigating your nasal passages.

Another alternative that may be even better is to make your own.  It certainly will be more economical.  Mix 1/3 teaspoon of non-iodized table salt and a pinch of baking soda in 8 ounces of water.  You should use bottled water that has not been chlorinated like your tap water.  The water should be lukewarm.  Don’t use sea salt as this usually has iodine.  This mixture is very close to the make up of your normal body fluids and should be much more comfortable than using just water.

Use a small squeeze spray bottle.  You should be able to get the right kind at the drug store.  Look at the commercial saline sprays to see what kind of bottle you should have.  If you can’t find an empty spray bottle, then buy a saline spray once and use it, then substitute your own mixture once it runs out.

Spray into each nostril while holding the other nostril closed and inhaling through the open nostril while spraying.  This is completely free of side effects and can be done as much as you want.

While spraying is good, it is not as effective as actually pouring the mixture into your nose and doing a complete sinus irrigation.  This can be a little more difficult and a little messier but will produce better results.  With this treatment you get a more complete irrigation.

One way to do this is to use a rubber ear syringe.  This should also be available at your pharmacy.  Use the same 8 ounce mixture as described for the spray.  Use 4 ounces for each nostril.  Lean over a sink and close one nostril as you insert the syringe into the other nostril and squeeze gently.  I will repeat, squeeze gently.  Squeeze a few times to get all the water into the area and then release the other nostril.  Water should drain from both nostrils and your mouth.  That is why you need to do this over a sink and have some towels available.

You can do the same procedure in the shower.  It might be easier and less of a mess doing it in the shower.  You get the added benefit of the steam and overall moist environment in the shower.

You may have heard of a device called a neti pot.  This is a pot shaped like the ancient oil lamp bottles that Aladdin rubbed to call the genie.  The neti pot is a miniature version of this.  The neti pot has been used for centuries in the Hindu healing arts for this very procedure, irrigating the nose and sinuses.  You can use this the same way that the ear syringe was used.  It is a little harder as you are just pouring the liquid into your nostrils and you have to lean over more for it to be effective.

An alternative to a neti pot is to use a small paper cup.  You can crease the top of the cup to create a spout to help you control the flow of the liquid as you pour it into your nose.  Again, I might suggest that using this procedure in the shower might be a more practical way to administer this therapy.

After irrigating the area you should blow your nose very gently.  Again I will stress the word gently.  When you blow you should see a lot mucus draining.  You should feel much better right away after this procedure.

Irrigation is a very beneficial treatment that provides immediate relief to your sinusitis symptoms.  It is non addictive.  There are no side effects and can be done frequently.  It is one of the best things you can do for your sinuses.

It seems in all of this that the bad guy is mucus.  That is really not the case.  In fact, when you don’t have a sinus infection, mucus is what helps to keep you healthy.  Yes mucus is actually your bodies first line of defense in keeping your respiratory system clean and healthy.

In a normal healthy respiratory system, the nasal passages and the sinuses are lined with mucus.  That’s right, when you are perfectly healthy you have lots of mucus in your nose and sinuses.  It’s just that when you don’t have an infection and things are working normally, you don’t notice it.

The mucus that lines your sinuses does two things.  First it keeps the membranes moist and lubricated. Secondly it acts as a filter or trap to keep things out of your respiratory system that don’t belong there.

In normal healthy sinuses, mucus is continuously being produced and coats the sinuses and moves through and drains into your nose and then your throat and down to your stomach where it is broken up by your stomach fluids.  Normally you don’t even notice this. The amount of mucus your healthy body produces and moves through your system each day is between a pint and a quart.

When foreign material enters your respiratory system, dust, pollen and even bacteria, it is trapped by the mucus.  There are microscopic hair like filaments called cilia which are always moving, that sweep the mucus across the membranes.    The trapped particles are swept away and end up in the stomach where it is destroyed by your digestive system.

That’s a pretty good filtering system protecting your lungs, until something goes wrong.  The weak point in the system are the openings that connect the sinuses to the nasal passages allowing the sinuses to drain the mucus.  Those openings are very small and are easily blocked.  That’s how your sinus problems usually start.

When there is a blockage, the mucus can no longer drain. Along with the mucus being trapped and having no where to go, the bacteria that would normally be swept away is also trapped. The bacteria begins to multiply.  The bacteria count can go from a few hundred to hundred thousands very quickly.  In that concentration you then have a full blown infection.

When you body senses that there is an infection it kicks into defense mode.  The first thing it does is to put your mucus production into overdrive to try and sweep the infection out.  So now your body is producing a lot more mucus a lot faster than normal.  This is why you start to get a full head and a runny nose.  All that extra mucus is being produced.

Your body will continue to produce extra mucus until the condition is cleared up.  That is why you will continuously have lots of extra mucus to deal with until you have successfully cured your sinus infection. Once your sinus infection is successfully cured, your sinuses and your mucus production should return to it’s normal unnoticeable levels.

There are a specific few that are particularly well suited to treat infections of the sinus areas. You can consider this group the sinusitis herbs.   This group consists of the following, sage, garlic, goldenseal, mullein, slippery elm, ginger, horehound, echinacea, red clover and rose hips.

Before I continue, I must offer this caveat to consider when using herbs.  The power of herbs must be respected.  They can be every bit as strong as prescription drugs.  You must use caution when treating yourself with natural medicines just like you would using conventional medicines.

You need to discuss the use of any herb remedies with an expert.  You need to know how your body will react to herbs and you need to know what medicines and other substances the herbs will interact with.

There are a number of ways you can use herbs as sinusitis treatments.  You can make tea from many of them.  If you make an herbal tea, you can also use the steam and heat from the tea to help relieve your symptoms.  Breathe in the steam as you sip your tea.  Most are available as teas already or as one of a number of herbs in many herbal teas on the market.

Almost all of the herbs listed can be found in a supplement form at any store selling herbs.  These capsule or pill forms can be found in varying strengths and may be produced with different quality plants.  This is another reason to get advice from an expert as to the brands and strengths you should consider.

Some of the herbs can be used in cooking.  Garlic and ginger are good examples of this.  Both have shown to help sinusitis.  Garlic in particular has antibiotic properties and has been used in many circumstances as a main line antibiotic treatment.

Sage can be used as a food supplement and can be used to flavor salads, soups, stews meats and vegetables.  It can be added to oils and can be made into tea.  Making sage tea is a good way to treat your sinusitis.

Goldenseal is a powerful herb and is often combined with echinacea to strengthen your immune system.  It contains berberine, a substance that appears to activate white blood cells to fight infections in your body.  Berberine also has shown some antibiotic properties.  This is most often taken as an oral supplement.  It should be taken only for short periods of time.

Mullein tea brewed from either the flowers or the leaves of the Mullein plant, has been used as a remedy for coughs and colds for many years. It had to be very finely strained, though, to prevent it’s very fine hairs from being ingested. It is known for it’s ability to reduce mucus.  You can find it as a common part of many commercial herbal teas.

Slippery elm has long been used to treat sore throat, coughs and pneumonia.  It is available as teas, lozenges, syrups and pills.  According to the National Geographic Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine, the US Drug Administration recognizes slippery elm as a safe and effective option for sore throat and cough.

Red clover teas were used by the Chinese for coughs and other respiratory ailments. Horehound also known as white horehound has been made into tea and candy for use in the treatments of coughs and colds.  It has even been brewed into Horehound Ale that has some local popularity in the southeast of the US.  The candy would be a soothing way to get sinus relief.

Rose hips are the fruit of the rose plant.  Rose hips are great sources of vitamin C.  Vitamin C has long been promoted as an essential element needed by your immune system, especially when fighting off sinus infections.  Rose hips are used in making many herbal teas, jams, jellies and beverages.

Echinacea has been known as an immune system enhancer.  It has been used to help prevent colds and infections and claims are made that it shortens the duration of these ailments. There are many commercially available forms of echinacea.  You can find echinacea teas and you can find all forms of echinacea as a dietary supplement.

Once again, remember that herbs can be very potent and you need to consult with a health professional before taking any herbal regimen.  With that said, there are many herbal remedies that can supplement conventional treatments and speed you to your goal of curing your sinusitis.

One of the most common symptoms that seem unrelated to sinusitis is pain in a tooth. Sinus problems can cause severe tooth pain.  There have been many instances where people experience tooth pain so great they end up seeing a dentist.  The dentist upon a thorough exam finds absolutely nothing wrong with the tooth.

Later, after that same patient is diagnosed with sinusitis and gets the proper treatment the tooth pain goes away.  That is a classic example of a symptom of sinusitis appearing to be something else.  This happens more than you would think.

Why can sinus problems lead to tooth pain?  It has to do with the way sinusitis manifests itself and the position of the sinus cavities in relation to your teeth.

A sinus infection is an infection of the sinus cavities in your head.  Two of the sinus cavities, the maxillary sinuses, are located on either side of the nose behind the cheek.  These are the sinuses that cause tooth pain.

When a sinus cavity becomes infected the cause is a blockage that does not allow the sinus to drain.  When a sinus cannot drain, it can’t rid itself of the mucus it produces to clean the area of bacteria.  Once the drainage is cut off, the bacteria in the sinus begins to multiply.  The bacteria count can quickly go from hundreds, found in normal sinuses, to hundreds of thousands or even millions.

You have pus, mucus and air trapped in the infected sinus.  Without anywhere to go the fluids in the sinus build up pressure.  The pressure turns into pain.  Pain in the maxillary sinuses is felt in the cheeks and surrounding areas.  One of those areas is your teeth.

An infected maxillary sinus will cause pain and sometimes swelling in the area of the cheek.  You might feel pain under your eye and you might feel pain in the tooth.  It could be severe enough that you feel like you have a bad toothache.

Not only can pain be caused by the pressure on the inside of the sinus, it can be caused by pressure on the outside as well.  Along with the mucus and fluids trapped in the blocked sinus, air is also trapped.  Any air spaces in your body have to have a pressure equal to the pressure outside your body.  When open and not blocked, air flows in and out of the sinuses freely.

If there is a change in the barometric pressure, your sinuses compensate because the airway is open.  When there is a blockage the air in the sinus cannot equalize to the outside air pressure.  If the pressure outside increases, that can create a vacuum in the sinus.  This causes more pain in the area around your teeth.  Another way a blocked sinus can cause tooth pain.

The good thing about tooth pain caused by sinus problems is that once the sinus problem is treated properly the tooth pain goes away.  Treatment always consists of two things.  Kill the infection and open the blockage.  Once those two things happen the tooth pain will be gone.

If you are experiencing tooth pain and there is no apparent dental reason for this, the cause may be sinusitis.  Get diagnosed and treated by your health care professional.

Your sinuses are not part of your nose.  They are a very different part of your body.  Sinuses are air filled cavities in your head.  They are next to, behind and above your nose. They are connected to your nose, but they are a separate system of your body.

The sinuses and the nose work together.  There are small openings or ducts called ostia that connect the sinuses to your nose.  They are about the size of pencil lead,  very small, and therein lies the underlying problem between your nose and your sinuses.

Here is what happens when everything is working well.  Your sinuses are constantly bathed in mucus.  Sounds bad, but normally it is good.  The mucus traps bacteria and other foreign substances and is the foundation of the mechanism that gets rid of all the bad stuff leaving your sinuses clean. It is a filter for your respritory system. This mucus is swept out of the sinuses by cilia, microscopic hairlike filaments that are constantly moving sweeping the mucus out of the sinuses into the small opening, the ostia, and then into the nose.

Normally the entire mucus covering of the sinuses is cleared every ten minutes or so.  Your respiratory system which includes your nose, and your sinuses produce between a pint and a quart of mucus per day.  Sounds like a lot, but you never really even notice it.  This mucus is swept to the back of the nose and drains into the stomach where it is broken down by stomach acids.

When things are working as they should, you hardly if ever notice the mucus produced by your body.  As soon as something goes wrong though, you certainly become aware of all that mucus.  That’s when you start to get symptoms in your nose.

You read earlier of the tiny ducts, the ostia that connects the sinuses to the nose.  As I stated, they are only about the size of a pencil lead.  Because it is so small the ostia can easily become blocked.  Once there is a blockage, that’s when everything else starts to go wrong.

When there is a blockage in the ostia, the sinus can not drain the mucus.  Mucus starts to fill up the sinus quickly.  Based on the volume of mucus produced each day, you can imagine that it would not take long to significantly fill the sinuses with mucus if the drainage path, the ostia were blocked.

But that’s just the beginning, things get even worse and your body’s immune system is the culprit.  As mucus builds up the bacteria it is supposed to sweep away also builds up.  In fact, a blocked sinus becomes a bacterial haven.  It happens to be a perfect environment for bacteria to breed.  So that’s what it does.  The bacteria count can go from the hundreds, the normal amount, into the hundred thousands and even millions very fast.  When that happens you have a full blown sinus infection.

When you body senses that there is an infection your immune system responds automatically.  This response makes conditions worse.  The first thing your body does is ramp up the production of mucus.  The sinus is already blocked and has too much mucus but your body’s response is to increase the rate mucus is produced so you get more mucus backed up into your sinuses even faster.

The next thing your body does is swell the blood vessels in the area in order to get more white blood cells there to fight the infection.  The blood vessels in the whole area swell including the ones in your nose.  This constricts the airway in your nose and makes it harder to breathe.

Now you can see why all of a sudden you have trouble breathing through your nose when you have a sinus infection.  You can also see why you get a runny nose because of all the extra mucus your body is producing.

How does all of this get resolved?  Two things have to happen.  The infection has to be killed and the blockage has to be removed.  That is the basis for all treatment of sinusitis.  That is why your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic to kill the infection and a decongestant to open the blocked passages.

When you are at the point where you believe you have a sinus infection you need to see your health professional.  In some cases your body can successfully deal with a sinus infection and can fight it off.  In many if not most cases your body needs some help.  Your health professional will help you determine what course of treatment you may need.

Often you may need to use natural and alternative methods of solving your sinus problems.  There are many that will quickly relieve your nasal symptoms so you feel better and are able to heal quicker.  These natural methods can stand on their own or can be used along with conventional treatments.  You should discuss alternative and natural methods with your health professional as part of your overall treatment plan.

The number one question is, how do you know if you have a sinus infection?  How do you know it is not just a cold?  This question is the one that keeps most people from seeing their health professional when they have a sinus infection.  They think they have a cold so they don’t look for treatment.

First of all, a cold can precede sinusitis.  If you were feeling fine and all of a sudden you get a runny nose, you feel congested and you have a headache, and this is the first time you have felt this way in a long time then chances are you have a cold.

The important thing that sets this apart from sinusitis is that this is a first case of symptoms and you were feeling just fine before the onset of the symptoms.  Sinusitis doesn’t just appear out of nowhere.  It comes on due to many different factors but those factors all produce symptoms first.  So the first set of symptoms in this case are most likely just those of a cold.

If those symptoms clear up within two weeks and you feel fine then you just had a cold and don’t need to be concerned with the possibility that you have sinusitis.  On the other hand if you have lingering problems beyond the two week period, then you may have developed a sinus infection.

Here are some of the symptoms that may indicate a sinus infection.  One of the most prevalent is coughing all night because of a continuous thick post nasal drip that runs down the back of your throat.  If this coughing has been going on for some time it is a good indicator of a sinus infection.

Painful headaches is another symptom of sinus infections.  They can be pounding headaches, or dull headaches but if they occur a lot and on a regular basis, a probable cause is sinusitis.

Constantly clearing your throat all day long and the hoarseness and discomfort that comes with it is another sign of sinusitis.  It can also be accompanied by the coughing mentioned earlier.

Constant pressure around the nose, next to and above the nose in the face is a common symptom of sinus sufferers. Congestion and trouble breathing clearly is another symptom.  The major difference, again, from these symptoms and those of a common cold is longevity.  The symptoms of a cold will go away.  The  symptoms of a sinus infection will linger.

Other things to look for are sore throat, ear pain and fatigue.  Even dental pain can be a symptom of sinusitis.  There have been many cases where an individual has had teeth pain, seen a dentist and the dentist finds absolutely nothing wrong.  If the patient subsequently sees an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat specialist) and is diagnosed with a sinus infection and is then treated properly the dental pain goes away.

As you can see, the symptoms generally associated with sinusitis are also symptoms that could be attributed to other problems.  The significant indicators of sinus infections would be how many of these symptoms have you been experiencing and for how long.  One or more of these symptoms that have lingered for a while could certainly be diagnosed as sinusitis.