Sinusitis

This information covers prevention and treatment of Sinusitis. Sinusitis is an inflammation or infection of the lining of the sinuses.

Sinuses are small air-filled spaces in the bones of your cheeks and forehead. Normally, they drain into your nose through small openings. Sinuses improve the sound of your voice and lighten the weight of your skull. The lining or mucous membrane of you sinuses is similar to the lining of your nose and throat.

Sinusitis frequently starts from simple colds and allergies. Both cause the mucous membrane in your sinuses to swell and secrete more mucus. This natural process can close off the nasal openings to the sinuses. The results–the sinuses become inflamed and irritated. The mucus may become infected with virus or bacteria.

If you have had a sinus infection, you know the miserable symptoms: pressure, headache, facial pain, postnasal drip, fever, thick green drainage, and cough.

Smoking, and second-hand smoke, air pollution, conditions like nasal polyps and diseases like cystic fibrosis may also lead to sinusitis.

Many good health practices are important for a strong immune system. For instance, regular exercise, 8-10 hours of sleep, laughing every day, warm relationships and regular meals with a variety of nutritious foods.

To prevent sinusitis, you will also want to:

• Drink at least eight glasses of fluid every day
• Wash your hands regularly to get rid of viruses that cause colds and flu
• If you smoke, develop a plan for quitting that will work for you.
• If you regularly breathe in second-hand smoke, irritating fumes, or air pollution, can you reduce or eliminate them? Would an air filter help? If not, work even harder at other prevention behaviors.
• Use decongestants and antihistamines when you have a cold or allergy. If you have high blood pressure or a prostate problem, check with your pharmacist or physician before taking a decongestant. And drink even more water then you usually do!

Once you feel that your sinuses are beginning to fill, here are some home treatments that will help:

• Continue with all your good health practices. Find time for extra sleep. If you are starting to feel sick, cut back on your exercise for a few days to give your body a chance to recover.
• Get hot steam into your sinuses. Try warm showers or drinking hot liquids.
• Drink even more fluid. How will you know if you are drinking enough for you? Your mucus should stay thin and your urine should be very light.
• Take medication for headache and congestion.
• Try commercial or homemade saline nose drops twice a day to wash the mucus out of your nose. If you haven’t tried homemade drops before, ask your Advice Nurse to send you the health note called Saline Nose Drops. It’s important to make up the solution correctly. An incorrect solution can increase irritation.

Call your doctor if:

• Your cold lasts longer than 10 days and is not getting better; if you have facial pain and/or numbness especially in the sinus area.
• Your headache is not relieved by aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen
• Or if your headache is especially severe.
• Please call him/her if:
  • You have thick, green mucus
  • You have a fever or persistent cough

If your doctor diagnoses sinusitis, talk about your treatment plan. You will probably continue with the home treatment practices. Discuss your questions about decongestants and antihistamines. Also, you may need to take an antibiotic. If so, remember that you must finish taking every tablet in order to reduce your chance of a relapse.

Tags: fever, thick green drainage, facial pain, headaches, Sinusitis, nasal infection

Headaches and Headache Information

This information is about headaches. It covers what headaches are, why headaches happen, and what headaches can mean.

Everyone knows that a headache is a painful feeling at one or more places in the head. But many people don’t know the real cause of most headaches. Headaches are usually caused by prolonged contraction of the large flat muscles in the scalp. These muscles start in the neck, go up over the top of the head, and extend over the top of the eyes as well. The muscles contract because of stress and tension, and they can cause pain in the back of the head, the front of the head, or all around the head. The pain can be very severe, or it can be a mild, dull ache.

You should also know that headaches are rarely due to eyestrain, bad eyeglasses, or sinus trouble. Extremely few are due to brain tumors or serious problems within the head.

Headaches can be brief and quickly relieved by aspirin or acetaminophen; or they can last for hours or days, with secondary symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Most people have headaches infrequently, but some have histories of repeated headaches going back for years. In these people, headaches are almost certain to be caused by stress and tension.

Everyone is subject to stress. Some people learn to remove its causes; others act nervous and anxious; still others get ulcers and stomach problems — and some people get headaches.

You should know that what are called “migraines” are a very specific type of headache that afflicts 20 percent of all people. Migraines are different from common muscle tension headaches, because they are caused by the action of blood vessels in the head. They are sometimes preceded briefly by visual blurring or another neurological symptom, which clears up completely and is followed by a one-sided headache. Sometimes, but not always, they are severe. In most cases, migraines can be reduced by maintaining a proper diet and by using aspirin or acetaminophen. Some people who have them frequently can be helped by prescription drugs.

Here’s what to do about headaches. First, remember that the vast majority are caused by tension and stress; and only very, very rarely by a serious illness. If you have occasional headaches, rest and take a non-prescription pain reliever. If you have a history of recurrent headaches and have never had them evaluated, you should see your health care provider. In addition, you might want to seek advice on ways to relieve stress and tension. You should also see your provider if you suddenly begin to have headaches repeatedly. You should definitely seek medical help if, along with a headache, you develop neurological problems like temporary loss or blurring of vision, or weakness in an arm or leg.

Most people who have headaches have worried, at times, that they might be caused by a serious problem, maybe even a brain tumor. So it helps to know that almost all headaches are really caused by stress and tension.

Please remember these key points:

• Almost all headaches are caused by tension in muscles of the scalp, brought on by stress.
• Migraines are a specific form of headache suffered by about 20 percent of all people.
• Headaches due to serious medical conditions are very rare.
• In most cases, a headache can be relieved by rest and by a pain reliever such as aspirin.
• You should see your doctor if you have a long history of headaches that has never been evaluated, if you suddenly start getting repeated headaches, or if your headaches are associated with neurological symptoms.

Tags: percent, headaches, headache cures, headache relief, diet