Causes & symptoms
Causes & symptoms
Although swelling from allergies can mimic the symptoms of pressure, pain, and congestion, allergies can set the stage for a bacterial infection. Bacteria are the most common cause of sinus infection, however, recent research has suggested that fungi is the most common cause. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes about 33% of all cases, while Haemophilus influenzae causes about 25% of all cases. Twenty percent of sinus infections in children may be caused by Moraxella catarrhalis. In people with weakened immune systems (including patients with diabetes; acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS; and patients who are taking medications that lower their immune resistance, such as cancer and transplant patients), sinus infections may be caused by fungi such as Aspergillus, Candida, or Mucorales. Additionally, those repeatedly on antibiotics may be predisposed to sinus infections.
Acute sinus infections usually follows some type of upper respiratory tract infection or cold. Instead of ending, the cold seems to linger on, with constant or even worsening congestion. Drainage from the nose often changes from a clear color to a thicker, yellowish-green. There may be fever. Headache and pain over the affected sinuses may occur, as well as a feeling of pressure which may worsen when the patient bends over. There may be pain in the jaw or teeth. Some children, in particular, get upset stomachs from the infected drainage going down the back of their throats, and into their stomachs. Some patients develop a cough.
Medical practitioners have differing levels of trust of certain basic examinations commonly conducted in the office. For example, tapping over the sinuses may cause pain in patients with sinus infection, but it may not. A procedure called sinus transillumination may, or may not, also be helpful. Using a flashlight pressed up against the skin of the cheek, the practitioner will look in the patient's open mouth. When the sinuses are full of air (under normal conditions), the light will project through the sinus, and will be visible on the roof of the mouth as a lit-up, reddened area. When the sinuses are full of mucus, the light will be stopped. While this simple test can be helpful, it is certainly not a completely reliable way to diagnose or rule out the diagnosis of a sinus infection.
X-ray pictures and CT scans of the sinuses are helpful for both acute and chronic sinus infections. Those experiencing chronic sinus infections may need a procedure with a scope to see if any kind of anatomic obstruction is causing their illness. For example, the septum (the cartilage that separates the two nasal cavities from each other) may be slightly displaced, called a deviated septum. This can result in chronic obstruction,
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