Sinusitis Treatment News
Your Opinions: Compelling link to sinusitis
Reflux of digestive contents occurs when the one-way safety valve at the bottom of the esophagus fails to close correctly. Heartburn is the usual response to the reversed flow of harsh, acidic, digestive juices. However, many GERD sufferers do not signal this problem with heartburn. Called atypical/silent GERD, patients have little or no heartburn. They have numerous manifestations, i.e., hoarseness, lump feeling in the throat, runny nose, post nasal drip, ear pain, fatigue, chest pain, short of breath, cough, etc. (atypical GERD has been called “The Great Masquerader”).
This compelling information, as novel as it may seem, clearly reinforces the minority position maintained for well over 15 years that GERD can cause a variety of recurring, often hard to treat, non-digestive problems. The vagus nerve links internal organs allowing for mutual communication. The “excited” response from the lower esophagus is mimicked by the sinuses via vagus communication; both organ tissues leak fluid, swell, make mucus and become inflamed. This is good for the esophagus but the unintended response causes sinus problems and more. Treat the cause (GERD) and these noxious, unhealthy symptoms vanish.
Atypical/silent GERD is exceptionally common and can be ongoing for years. Great relief results from the expanded understanding, acknowledgement and successful treatment for atypical/silent GERD. I encourage questions about this condition.
Sinusitis difficult to self-diagnose
It’s getting to be the time of year when everyone seems to have a runny nose. Sometimes it’s a cold or allergies. And sometimes it’s sinusitis, or inflamed linings in the sinus cavities. The cavities become blocked and infected. Dr. Alan Oshinsky, an otolaryngologist at Mercy Medical Center, says it’s not always easy to self-diagnose sinusitis, but there are treatments that can help.
Question: What is sinusitis, and who is likely to develop it?
Answer: Sinusitis means inflammation and infection in the paranasal sinuses. We are born with eight sinuses around our head and face. These are air-filled bony cavities. When the lining of the sinus gets inflamed (swollen) or infected, you have sinusitis. Sinusitis will likely affect everyone multiple times in their lifetime, from infancy through adulthood. The most common cause of sinusitis is the common cold. Other causes of sinusitis are bacterial infection, inhalant allergies, nasal polyps, exposure to smoke, various systemic diseases and use of illicit substances in the nose.
Q: Everyone’s nose runs in the colder months, so how do you tell if you have a sinus problem versus an allergy or cold?
A: The distinction between the symptoms of a cold, allergy and a bacterial sinusitis can be difficult. All of these conditions can cause the nose to run. Most colds have multiple symptoms, including sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose and cough. These symptoms rarely last more than 10 to 14 days. If they persist, then the cold may have developed into an acute bacterial sinusitis. Allergy symptoms can present with similar symptoms to a cold but people rarely feel as sick and the symptoms usually recur in the same seasons each year. Facial pressure, facial pain and dental pain are among the most specific symptoms of bacterial sinusitis.
Q: How common is sinusitis, and are the number of sufferers increasing?
A: Bacterial sinusitis is relatively uncommon compared with the common cold. Every year approximately 30 million Americans will suffer from a viral cold. Only about 1 percent to 2 percent of these cases will fail to clear and result in an acute bacterial sinusitis. There are also people who suffer with recurrent episodes of bacterial sinusitis and they are diagnosed with chronic sinusitis. It is most important that the patient have an X-ray study to confirm the diagnosis of chronic sinusitis. The standard is to get a CT scan. Many people believe that they have “chronic sinus” only to find out that they just have some type of nasal problem.
Q: Will the problem go away on its own?
A: The common cold will resolve without the use of antibiotics over 98 percent of the time. Bacterial sinusitis may resolve on its own but will usually require antibiotics and other medications such as decongestants. When the natural openings that lead from the sinuses into the nose get blocked, mucus and bacteria may back up in the sinus and cause sinusitis.
Q: What are the best treatments?
A: The best treatment for bacterial sinusitis is an appropriate antibiotic. Decongestant tablets can be of some value but patients with high blood pressure usually need to avoid these medications. Patients will also do well with using saline sprays multiple times per day in both nostrils. No antibiotics should be used for the common cold.
Q: When might the new technique, sinuplasty, be necessary?
A: When patients have persistent symptoms and the X-rays show evidence of chronic sinusitis, additional treatment is usually necessary. Conservative therapy may include a more prolonged course of antibiotics. An allergy evaluation may be helpful if the history indicates the possibility of allergy. Topical nasal sprays containing steroids can also be very helpful and are very safe. If conservative medical therapy fails to resolve the symptoms, then surgery may be an appropriate alternative. We now have a much less-invasive procedure to handle chronic sinusitis called Balloon Sinuplasty. With this technique we use a specially designed balloon to open the natural openings that are blocked because of chronic infection. The operation is quick, practically painless and done as an outpatient. Most patients can return to work in one or two days.
Put a Stop To Sinusitis With Food Intolerance Testing
Do you suffer from chronic congestion of the sinuses, ears and / or the nose? Frustrating sinusitis problems that do not ever truly seem to go away? The primary age group for chronic sinus problems are working adults 20 to 65 years of age, their sinus problems are often co-workers problems since the pain and discomfort of sinus problems means 25 million missed workdays annually!
In terms of treatment your doctor may prescribe a nasal steroid spray to reduce congestion and swelling. If there is a bacterial infection, antibiotics may be given. Other drugs may be used to reduce the risk of attacks, and stop the pain and discomfort. Giving medicines to control symptoms is easy to do, however, along with their therapeutic effects, medicines can cause side effects, and often do not tackle the route cause. It is clear now that it isn’t only factors such as pollen or house dust that are the triggers, and it appears likely that a delayed form of food allergy or food intolerance may explain some of these cases.
However which foods are causing the problem? Unfortunately there is no one clear answer as people react differently to certain food groups than others. Therefore to find out if food is causing sinusitis, tests have to be run to determine whether you have intolerance to food. For years the way to do this is through an elimination diet whereby certain foods are restricted from your diet for a certain period of time and the effects were analysed. However elimination diets are a long process and it goes without saying that it’s rather impractical for the vast majority of the population. Also due to the combination of different foods it is virtually impossible to ever the effects of all foods on a given person making the elimination diet pretty ineffective.
Luckily over time there is a new method of testing for food intolerance and allergies and that is via a simple finger prick blood test. These tests measure food-specific IgG antibodies which can help to determine a reaction you may have to a particular food or food group. Compared to elimination diets the process is extremely quick and hassle free and means that you can easily make dietary changes to help yourself to feel better if food intolerance is detected.