Sinuses of the nose are empty spaces located in the facial bones of the skull and communicating with the nasal cavity. They form in the fifth year of life. In the medical literature, the paranasal sinuses are often referred to as the "paranasal sinuses."
Sinuses include:
- frontal sinus located in the frontal bone directly above the eyebrows;
- maxillary or maxillary sinuses located on the sides of the nose under the orbits;
- sphenoid sinuses located behind the nasal passages deep in the skull.
In addition, a nasal sinus system also includes a pea-sized system of air cells located in the ethmoid bone between the nasal cavities and the orbits. The sinuses of the ethmoid bone are divided into anterior, middle and posterior, depending on which part of the nasal passage they communicate.
Normally, in a healthy person, the sinuses are filled with air freely circulating through the nasal passages. But it often happens that pus or mucus accumulates in the sinus cavity, or neoplasms grow on the mucous membrane. In such cases, a person begins to experience various unpleasant and painful sensations.
There are no specific sensations of damage to the paranasal sinuses. Most often, patients complain of a feeling of heaviness in the head, swelling of the face, eyelids, nasal congestion, headaches and pains in the face. Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses is called sinusitis and is usually a complication of a cold or viral disease. Sinuses of the nose can become inflamed - the process can be simple and purulent. In simple cases, the mucous membrane inside the sinus becomes inflamed and swells. This is quite common with SARS, when a person due to edema of all mucous membranes hurts both his head and face. After removing the inflammation, the edema passes, the sinus condition returns to normal, and the pain stops. But it happens that during a cold in the sinuses, mucous and purulent secretions accumulate, which then themselves clog the exit from the sinus and then the sinus is filled with pus. Purulent sinusitis is characterized by quite intense, sometimes pulsating or paroxysmal pains in and around the sinuses.
Benign neoplasms and growths of the sinus mucosa, for example, polyps, are most often almost asymptomatic. Only difficulty in nasal breathing can be observed if the sinuses are filled with strong growths. Pain for polyps, as a rule, is not characteristic.
Inflammation most often affects the maxillary (maxillary) and frontal sinuses, due to their structure and location. It is the maxillary sinuses that are most often inflamed, and it is sinusitis that in most cases causes pain in the upper jaw, cheekbone, and under the eye. Pain can be given to the ear, eye, nose, and also cause a general headache. Only an ENT doctor can determine the defeat of the nasal sinuses. The sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses become inflamed much less often, usually against the background of any serious systemic diseases and decreased immunity.
Untreated or not recognized on time inflammation of the nasal sinuses can go into a chronic process that is difficult to treat and can itself serve as a source of other complications, inflammation of neighboring organs.
It is important to remember that pain in the area of the nasal sinuses (referring to the frontal and maxillary) can occur with trigeminal neuralgia and with benign tumors of the cranial nerves. If the sinuses are sore, one must be wary. Therefore, with headaches and pains in the face, in no case should you engage in self-diagnosis and self-medication, but you should consult a doctor. An accurate diagnosis is easily determined upon examination by a specialist and a simple examination (x-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography).