Inflammation of the mucosa of the paranasal sinuses (sinuses) is called sinusitis. This disease occurs against the background of allergic reactions or as a result of the action of infectious pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses).
In the course of sinusitis are classified into two types: acute and chronic. Acute sinusitis most often occurs as a result of allergic reactions or after an acute respiratory viral infection (acute respiratory viral infection). The duration of such sinusitis is from two to three weeks. If the symptoms of acute sinusitis do not disappear within three months, then chronic sinusitis develops .
What are the sinuses? Sinuses are paranasal sinuses that are localized in the bones of the skull and communicate with the nasal cavity. There are 4 pairs of air cavities: frontal, maxillary, ethmoidal, sphenoidal.
Frontal (frontal) sinuses are localized in the area of the eyebrows. Inflammation of these sinuses is called frontal sinusitis.
Maxillary (maxillary) sinuses are located inside the upper jaw between the upper teeth and the lower edge of the orbits, their inflammation is called sinusitis.
The ethmoid (ethmoidal labyrinth) sinuses are anatomically located behind the nose between the eyes. With inflammation of the mucosa, ethmoiditis develops.
Sphenoidal (wedge-shaped) sinuses are localized behind the ethmoid sinuses. With their inflammation, sphenoiditis develops.
It should be said that the inflammatory process can be localized in one of the sinuses or at once in several. Most often, the maxillary, frontal and ethmoid sinuses are involved in the inflammatory process, much less often the sphenoid sinuses.
Sinusitis: symptoms and methods of treatment
As a rule, the disease "sinusitis" symptoms occur against the background of general clinical signs of colds (general weakness, malaise, hyperthermia). It should be noted that the disease "sinusitis" symptoms are almost the same for its various forms.
When diagnosed with acute sinusitis, the symptoms appear in the form of purulent, greenish-yellow nose, headache, facial pain, fever, weakened sense of smell, severe dry cough that occurs at night. Patches of skin over the inflamed sinuses are hyperemic.
If the doctor diagnosed "chronic sinusitis", its symptoms will be slightly different from the symptoms of this disease in acute form of the course. The clinical picture in chronic sinusitis is not so pronounced, although it can manifest for a long time. With the sinusitis disease, the symptoms of chronic inflammation may disappear for a while, and then reappear. In general, this type of sinusitis is characterized by periodic purulent discharge from the nasal cavity, periodically occurring head and facial pain, and frequent relapses of SARS.
When diagnosing sinusitis, the doctor determines the symptoms by interviewing the patient, his appearance and available test results. The choice of treatment regimen mainly depends on this. Therapy is aimed at eliminating infectious pathogens, normalizing drainage and ventilating the paranasal sinuses. Symptomatic therapy is used to treat sinusitis. In case of a cold, a cold, doctors recommend that in the cold season, refrain from walking. To relieve nasal congestion, experts prescribe inhalations and warm baths with essential oils (mint, eucalyptus, pine, etc.). With an increase in body temperature, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory, antibacterial agents are used.
But nevertheless, the use of vasoconstrictor drugs is the basis for the treatment of sinusitis. By eliminating the swelling of the nasal mucosa, nasal breathing is restored and the ventilation of the paranasal sinuses is normalized. But such drugs can not be used for more than five to seven days. The safest for children are drugs that contain xylometazoline.
When conservative methods of treatment are ineffective, radical ones are used (surgical intervention). A radical method of treatment is a puncture (puncture) of the inflamed paranasal groove, followed by drainage and removal of the growing mucous membrane.