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- What is sinusitis?
- Symptoms of sinusitis
- Causes of sinusitis
- Prevention of sinusitis
- Risk factors for sinusitis
- Complications of sinusitis
- When to see a doctor about sinusitis
- Diagnosis of sinusitis
- Conventional treatment of sinusitis
- Alternative/complementary treatment of sinusitis
- Living with sinusitis
- Caring for someone with sinusitis
Conventional treatment of sinusitis
Conventional treatment of sinusitis consists of a combination of strategies:
Dietary modifications
Certain strategies can help help prevent sinusitis in the first place, or improve symptoms in an existing condition:
- Drink plenty of fluids - water and juice can help to rehydrate the body and replace all the fluids being lost with the runny nose and dripping mucous
- Keep immune system strong - eat plenty of fruits and vegetables which provide good levels of nutrients that may prevent sinusitis from developing in the first place
Immunotherapy
This involves gradually increasing doses of the substance (or allergen) to which the person is allergic over time, this has the effect of making the immune system less sensitive to that allergen and reducing symptoms
Lifestyle modifications
Certain strategies can help help prevent sinusitis in the first place, or improve symptoms in an existing condition:
- Avoid allergens - known allergens that cause chronic sinusitis should be avoided as much as possible
- Avoid irritants - known irritants that cause chronic sinusitis should be avoided as much as possible
- Humidifier - these moisten the air and help loosen and remove mucous from the infected sinus passages, reducing symptoms
- Rinse sinuses with saline - either purchase a saline solution (to be used in the nasal and sinus passage) or make up one (mix lukewarm water with some salt to taste like tear drops, slightly salty) which should be used to rinse out the nasal passages - this helps reduce symptoms
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Medications
These can be prescribed by a doctor or purchased over-the-counter from a pharmacy:
- Antibiotics - these are usually prescribed when a bacterial infection is suspected, to help clear up the infection or when bacterial infection could occur
- Antihistamines - these are prescribed to reduce the allergic reaction which caused the inflammation of the sinus passages (for those whose sinusitis was caused by an allergy)
- Corticosteroid nasal sprays - these medicated nasal sprays help to reduce inflamed sinus passages and are very useful for people with chronic sinusitis whose sinus passages may be very inflamed and irritated
- Corticosteroid nasal tablets - these are taken orally and also help to reduce the inflammation of the sinus passages. These medications are especially used in people with chronic sinusitis
- Decongestant nasal sprays - these medicated nasal sprays help to shrink the mucous inflammation in the sinuses, which encourage sinus drainage and reduction in symptoms. These types of nasal sprays should only be used short-term (around 1 week at the most)
- Decongestant tablets - these tablets are taken orally and have the same effect as the sprays but can usually be taken for a longer period than the sprays as they have less (but not none) rebound effects
- Pain killers - a number of over-the-counter pain killers can be taken to help to relieve pain, headache and fever that is associated with sinusitis. The most common pain killers used are: Paracetamol or ibuprofen
Surgery
Surgery is usually a strategy of last resort and is recommended only for patients whose sinusitis is really chronic and does not respond to the treatment options normally recommended (medication, lifestyle and dietary modification and immunotherapy).
Surgery removes the inflamed tissue inside the sinus passages, some nasal bone and any nasal polyps that are present to try to resolve the problem.
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