CAUSES OF SINUSITIS
Nasal congestion is a common phenomenon, but chronic nasal congestion often becomes a big and intractable problem. Unsolvable because a person tries to cope with such a “trifle” by himself and sometimes brings himself to a state that is difficult for a professional to cope with. The paranasal sinuses are air-bearing cavities in the bones of the skull, lined with a mucous membrane, communicating with the nasal cavity and being resonators of the voice. There are paired maxillary or maxillary sinus (the largest), paired frontal sinus, sphenoid and sinuses of the latticed bone. Sinusitis can be acute and chronic, exudative (with inflammatory fluid inside the sinuses) and productive (with tissue growth inside the sinuses).
ACUTE SINUSITIS
The most common cause of acute sinusitis is acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI), which can be caused by influenza viruses, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, staphylococci and other pathogens. With acute inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, as a result of swelling of the sinus mucosa, the sinus outlet closes and the infection accumulates in the sinus without having a free outlet, which leads to the development of inflammation in the paranasal sinuses. Acute sinusitis is manifested by headache, increased body temperature, congestion and purulent discharge from the nose, swelling of the soft tissues of the face in the affected sinus area.
Chronic sinusitis
In chronic sinusitis, the causative agent of the disease is often a mixed infection, there is a combination of bacterial and fungal infection. There is such a “rattling mixture” of infection against the background of irrational antibacterial therapy (often in the process of self-treatment), it can maintain a chronic inflammatory process for a long time. In the development of chronic sinusitis, the presence of chronic foci of infection in the body (chronic tonsillitis, inflammatory processes of the dental system, etc.) and a significant decrease in ventilation of the paranasal sinuses, which support the inflammatory process, is of great importance. Outside of exacerbation, patients may be concerned about heaviness in the head, nasal congestion, constant mucopurulent discharge and an unpleasant smell from the nose. Complications of sinusitis. If sinusitis is not treated (or treated incorrectly), complications may develop from the eyes (inflammation of all the membranes of the eye, optic nerve), brain (meningitis, brain abscess), inflammation of the blood vessels of the brain. Sinusitis can also cause osteomyelitis or mucous polyps.
SYMPTOMS OF SINUSITIS
Symptoms and signs of sinusitis, as a rule, occur against the background of common cold symptoms: malaise, weakness, fever. For all forms of acute and chronic sinusitis, the following symptoms are characteristic: purulent, green-yellow sputum from the nose (possibly with an admixture of blood); Severe nasal congestion (often on one side);
Weakening of the sense of smell; Severe dry cough that occurs at night; Redness of the skin area located above the inflamed paranasal sinus; Headache or facial pain. With fronitis, pain is felt in the forehead area, above the bridge of the nose. With ethmoiditis, pain is felt in the area of the bridge of the nose and behind the eyes. With sinusitis, pain is felt in the cheek area, below the eye, on the right or left or on both sides. With ethmoiditis, pain may be felt in the forehead or the back of the head.
In children, sinusitis should be suspected in the presence of purulent discharge and dry night cough for more than 10 days in a row. Symptoms and signs of chronic sinusitis may differ slightly from those of acute sinusitis: Manifestations of chronic sinusitis are less pronounced, but more prolonged; Symptoms of chronic sinusitis may disappear for a while, and then reappear. In general, chronic sinusitis is characterized by the presence of periodic purulent discharge from the nose, persistent nasal congestion, recurrent headache or facial pain, high susceptibility to colds and acute respiratory infections (frequent episodes of the disease).
DIAGNOSIS OF SINUSITIS
Clinical manifestations of sinusitis must be confirmed by laboratory data (signs of inflammation in the blood, seeding of nasal discharge in chronic processes) and radiological (radiological signs of inflammation in the paranasal sinuses) data.
TREATMENT OF SINUSITIS
In the treatment of acute sinusitis, general and local therapy is used. As a general treatment, drugs that strengthen the immune system are prescribed (for example, echinacea, vitamin and mineral complexes, etc.). Antibiotics are prescribed only for purulent process after microbiological examination. Anti-inflammatory drugs (for example, colloidal silver) are applied topically, the paranasal sinuses are washed with disinfectant solutions. With non-purulent processes, punctures of the maxillary sinuses are not carried out. After the acute phenomena subside, physiotherapy procedures (UHF, paraffin, ozokerite) are added to the treatment. With exacerbations of chronic sinusitis, treatment is carried out in the same way as with acute sinusitis, but punctures of the maxillary sinuses are carried out more often. In addition, sanitation of the oral cavity and nose is of great importance (removal of carious teeth, surgical treatment of a curved nasal septum, treatment of chronic rhinitis). Productive (cystic-polypous) chronic sinusitis is treated mainly by surgical methods (removal of all growths).
Therapy of acute sinusitis is aimed at relieving pain, eliminating the cause of the inflammatory process and restoring sinus drainage. To normalize the outflow, vasoconstrictive drugs (naphthysin, nasol, sanorin, galazolin, etc.) are used to eliminate swelling of the nasal mucosa and sinus cavities. Vacuum drainage finds practical application in sinusitis. The procedure is carried out as follows: two catheters are inserted into different nasal passages. The antiseptic is fed into one catheter and sucked out through the other. Together with the antiseptic, pus and mucus are removed from the nasal cavity and sinus cavity. With bacterial sinusitis, antibiotics are used. In viral sinusitis, antibiotic therapy is not indicated, since antibiotics in this case are ineffective, can aggravate the violation of the immune status, disrupt the normal composition of the microflora in the ENT organs and cause the chronization of the process. Patients with acute sinusitis are prescribed antihistamines and absorbants (to prevent the formation of adhesions in inflamed sinuses). Antiallergic therapy is indicated for patients with sinusitis of allergic etiology. Treatment of exacerbation of chronic sinusitis is carried out according to principles similar to the therapy of acute inflammation. In the course of treatment, physiotherapy procedures (diadynamic currents, UHF, etc.) are used.
If conservative therapy of chronic sinusitis is ineffective, surgical treatment is recommended. Operations performed in patients with chronic sinusitis are aimed at removing obstacles to the normal drainage of the paranasal sinuses. Polyps are removed, nasal septum deformity is eliminated, etc. Operations are carried out both according to traditional methods and using endoscopic equipment.An alternative or supplement to antibiotics in the treatment of sinusitis (sinusitis). The use of antibiotics often entails side effects, reduces immunity, which again leads to an exacerbation of the disease. As an alternative, doctors successfully use Sinuforte, a medicinal product based on cyclamen plant extract, which on the contrary enhances local immunity, stimulates the mechanisms of natural cleansing of the nasal cavity and maxillary sinuses from mucus and purulent secretions. For patients with chronic forms of sinusitis or sinusitis, it is important that Sinuforte is not addictive. Sinuforte is used once a day, for 6-8 days, independently or in a complex treatment regimen.
TREATMENT OF SINUSITIS AT HOME
Treatment of sinusitis at home with the help of folk remedies helps in many cases to avoid the use of antibiotics. Horseradish was used in Russian folk medicine to treat sinusitis at home. Grate the fresh horseradish root on a fine grater. Pour a third of a glass of fine chips with the juice of three lemons and stir until smooth. This mass should be taken every day for one teaspoon half an hour before meals. Unaccustomed to this home remedy causes severe lacrimation, which gradually passes. The course of treatment of sinusitis with horseradish is about three months, then a two-week break is taken and the course of treatment is repeated.
Other home recipes for the treatment of sinusitis:
In each nostril, instill a few drops of the juice of raw celandine or radish.
Boil the potatoes in the peel, mash with a spoon, add a little hot broth and make steam inhalations.
Massage the sore sinuses with your fingers with a few drops of mustard oil.
In warm water, dilute three drops of potassium permanganate or the same amount of iodine tincture and rinse the nasal sinuses with this solution.
Chop the head of a small onion, brew with boiling water and add a tablespoon of honey. Insist for six hours and apply to wash the nasal sinuses.
In a glass of boiling water, dissolve a tablespoon of salt and five drops of iodine tincture. The solution must be drawn in through the nose and gargled three times a day.
HOW TO PREVENT SINUSITIS. PREVENTION OF SINUSITIS
