In the article, we consider acute and chronic sinusitis. What is this pathology?
Sinusitis is an inflammation that affects one or several paranasal sinuses. Pathology can occur in the form of an independent disease or in the form of a certain complication against a background of an illness of an infectious nature. Acute sinusitis is related to one of the most common pathologies that otolaryngologists encounter in their work. Depending on the duration of this disease, medicine divides the disease into acute and chronic form.
Diagnosis of acute sinusitis determines bacterial or fungal lesions of the paranasal sinus. Moreover, the formation of the disease occurs rapidly, which in turn significantly increases the likelihood of various complications. In our article, we will consider what acute sinusitis is, and also find out what symptoms usually accompany it and find out what treatment for this disease should be.
Forms of ailment
There are several types of pathology:
- The acute form of sinusitis. It develops due to complications after a viral or bacterial infection. There are severe pains in the sinus region, aggravated by turns and tilts of the head. Pain, with adequate treatment, usually lasts no more than a week. There is a high temperature of 38-38.5 ° C, fever. The nose is blocked, there is a change in the voice - nasal. With proper therapy, the mucous membrane is completely restored in about 1 month.
- Subacute form. In this case, a milder clinical picture and the duration of the disease up to two months can be noted. The patient has for a long time had mild signs of sinusitis, similar to a common cold. If no therapeutic measures are taken, then the subacute form becomes chronic.
- Chronic form. Poor treatment, and the disease lasts several years. It develops due to improper therapy or its complete absence. We are talking about odontogenic, polyposis and fungal sinusitis. There are scanty symptoms, while the discharge from the nose is not abundant, but they are constantly present, the pains are unexpressed and dull, the fever is usually absent. Chronic sinusitis can periodically worsen and give symptoms of an acute form.
- Hyperplastic (mixed) form of pathology. It combines different types - purulent and allergic sinusitis. Due to the allergic process, the mucous membrane grows, polyps can also develop, overlapping the anastomosis between the nasal cavity and sinus.
The clinical manifestations of sinusitis are determined and divided by the localization of inflammation. So, the following varieties of this disease are distinguished:
- The development of sinusitis. Sinusitis is the most common type of sinusitis. Unpleasant sensations along with pain appear in the region of the upper jaw, flowing into the teeth. Against this background, intensification of pain in the evening, which fade during sleep, is especially characteristic.
- The appearance of frontal sinusitis. Pain due to the development of frontal sinusitis is localized, as a rule, in the forehead and usually increases in the morning.
- The formation of ethmoiditis. Painful sensations in this form of the disease accumulate in the nose and last throughout the day.
- The development of sphenoiditis. Pain in this case occurs in the nape of the neck, their intensification occurs throughout the night.
Running acute sinusitis can cause serious complications, which can manifest in the form of meningitis, cavernous sinus thrombosis and retrobulbar abscesses.
Manifestations of pathology
Sinusitis is one of the special cases of sinusitis. Each person has several sinuses: maxillary, frontal, sphenoid and ethmoid cavities. Each of them has a peculiar mucous structure from the inside, and all of them are united by the presence of a channel scheme.
What is the danger of acute maxillary sinusitis?
In the event that, for one reason or another, the development of the inflammatory process begins, swelling of the mucosa will occur, which, in turn, will block the channels that connect the sinuses to the nasal cavity. Such a phenomenon will lead to the development of a stagnant phenomenon, and at the same time, the process of bacterial reproduction along with the formation of pus will also be activated. With a similar lesion of the maxillary sinus, patients are diagnosed with sinusitis, and if there are problems in the frontal cavity, they will be diagnosed with frontal sinusitis. Consider the main causes of this disease.
The main causes of the disease
One of the main causes of the development of acute sinusitis is poorly treated and neglected rhinitis. In addition, an acute respiratory viral infection can serve as a trigger for the development of the disease. Diseases that develop as a result of a respiratory infection of the upper respiratory tract are usually called community-acquired forms.
Acute sinusitis in itself is not contagious, in addition, it cannot be transmitted from person to person. This cannot be said about bacteria with viruses, because they can be picked up anywhere in the cold. And in the event that the immune system is weakened or there is a predisposition to diseases of the upper respiratory tract, such bacteria can gradually transform into sinusitis. In this regard, in order not to become infected, you need to think in advance about hardening and prevention. The following causes usually contribute to the formation of acute sinusitis:
- The presence of a severe cold, which often acts as a manifestation of chronic rhinitis.
- Presence of a diseased tooth in the oral cavity.
- The appearance of abdominal polyps.
- The presence of adenoids.
- Getting injuries of varying severity, due to which there is a violation of the outflow of mucous exudate.
- Congenital pathology of the nasal septum.
Now we find out what symptoms usually accompany the development of acute sinusitis in adults.
The first signs of the development of the disease
For sinusitis, the manifestation of obvious signs of the disease is typical, which makes it possible to diagnose it yourself, even without anyone else's help, in ordinary home conditions. The severity of symptoms in adults and children has some features.
In an adult, symptoms of acute sinusitis are manifested by the presence of very strong painful sensations. And the child may not notice the pathology for a long time and in this regard not complain about it. This is due primarily to the fact that the sinuses in children fully develop only by the age of eighteen, and until that moment they have a much smaller volume. Otherwise, the symptoms are very similar. So, we highlight some symptoms of acute sinusitis in a child and in an adult:
- The presence of a prolonged runny nose, lasting for a long time. This symptom can cause a lot of inconvenience and anxiety to the patient and often occurs with yellow or green discharge with an admixture of pus, and sometimes you can even notice blood clots.
- Nasal congestion. The patient’s nose is constantly in a stuffy state, and only very rarely is it possible to pierce one nostril in order to be able to breathe more or less fully.
- The presence of cough. Microbes that enter the lungs with breathing soon cause a dry and, at the same time, excruciating cough, whose strength usually increases at night. Symptoms and treatment of acute sinusitis in children are often interrelated.
- The presence of discharge from the nose. In the morning, a strong discharge of snot with a mucous structure can be observed, and, in addition, an unpleasant dryness of the nasopharynx can be felt.
- Temperature rise. Against the background of the disease, the patient's temperature may rise sharply, so his body will try to fight the infection.
- Problems with smell. There may be problems with smell, on the background of which a person will lose his ability to distinguish smells and tastes.
- The appearance of edema. The face can become swollen, which in turn will be especially pronounced in the area of the affected maxillary or frontal sinus.
- Presence of headache. Periodically, severe headaches may occur, the place of localization of which, as a rule, is the temporal-frontal part. During any bending or turning the head, patients may experience a significant increase in pain.
Acute Sinusitis Treatment
Treatment is carried out in three main directions:
- The fight against infection and the elimination of inflammatory processes.
- Removing edema and regulating the outflow of purulent contents from the sinus.
- Prevention of the formation of severe consequences.
Methods with the methods used in the treatment of this disease directly depend on the severity of the disease and the number of damaged sinuses.
What else is the treatment for acute sinusitis in adults?
Antibiotic use
In situations where sinusitis occurs in mild or moderate form, its therapy is performed at home. The main component of this treatment is the use of antibiotics to help neutralize the bacteria that caused the development of acute sinusitis.
As a rule, preference is given to broad-spectrum antibiotics, for example, Amoxiclav, Augmentin and Ceftriaxone. The course of taking each of these drugs depends on various factors and is selected individually for each patient.
The use of secretolitics
A thick mucous secretion that accumulates in the paranasal sinus disrupts its normal ventilation. The use of secretolitics makes it possible to stimulate the motor functions of tissues, improving the outflow of mucus. The most effective, and at the same time demanded secretolitics, are considered such drugs as “Acetylcysteine”, “Carbocysteine”, “Ambroxol”. Often, the phytotherapeutic medicine Sinupret is prescribed for the treatment of acute sinusitis, which makes it possible not only to regulate the viscosity of the secretion of the mucosa, but also to reduce the edematous state of the tissue.
Anti-inflammatory drugs
The use of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of sinusitis can reduce swelling of the nasal mucosa, eliminating its congestion, which helps to ease breathing. In this case, the following procedures are used for treatment:
- The use of drops and sprays. In a recommended order, drops of local exposure are prescribed to patients, the use of which is capable of producing a vasoconstrictor effect. Among the general variety of drugs, it is possible to distinguish funds based on substances such as oxymetazoline and xylometazoline. The consequences of their influence are manifested in the temporary elimination of nasal congestion, which, in turn, helps to use other local drugs.
- Flushing the nose. The simplest method of therapy is rinsing the nose with a solution of furatsilina in combination with sea salt or herbal extracts. This makes it possible to relieve the sinuses of the nose from mucus with pus and greatly facilitates the patient's condition.
Treatment of acute sinusitis may not be limited to this.
Surgical treatment
Treatment of severe sinusitis requires a nasal puncture, thanks to which it is possible to quickly remove purulent contents from the sinuses. The principle of this procedure is as follows: the doctor makes a hole with a special surgical needle in the soft cartilaginous tissue of the nose. In the event that we are talking about sinusitis, then such an operation will be called a puncture. With the development of frontal sinusitis, a puncture is done under the eyebrow, this procedure is called trepanopuncture.
Through the hole formed, all purulent contents are removed, the sinus is washed with an antiseptic solution. If necessary, doctors leave a small catheter in order to re-rinse several more times. Surgical treatment of sinusitis is the fastest way to get rid of the disease. But after the operation, doctors must prescribe antibacterial agents to patients in order to consolidate the achieved result.
We examined the symptoms and treatment of acute sinusitis.
What are the complications?
Doctors distinguish the following possible complications of this disease:
- The appearance of craniocerebral disease. The progression of acute forms of the disease is able to involve in the pathological processes not only the sinuses, but also various intracranial structures.
- The development of eye disease. The accumulation of a significant amount of purulent mass leads to the appearance of complications such as phlegmon with abscesses of the eyeballs, which in the future can cause loss of vision.
- The appearance of problems with the vascular system. In the event that the necessary treatment is missing, the formation of thrombosis of cavernous sinusitis may occur, which will entail the development of coma. In addition, there are well-known cases in which acute sinusitis led patients to blood poisoning and sepsis.
Finally
Thus, any disease is much easier to prevent than to spend later on efforts to combat it. Timely elimination of various defects of the nose, along with compliance with the rules of oral hygiene and increase the protective functions of the immune system, will make it possible to prevent the onset of the disease and its unpleasant complications.
Symptoms and treatment of acute sinusitis in adults and children are now known.