Sinusitis
Disease
DOÇ. DR. OSMAN HALİT ÇAM
What is Sinusitis?
Sinus means air-filled cavity in Latin. Sinuses are located at the bottom of our skull, i.e. in our face and nasal cavity, in pairs, right and left.
Why do these air chambers exist and what are their functions?
Because the sinuses are full of air, they reduce our head weight. This makes it easier to carry our head on our torso and swim with our head out. They act as a protective shield and energy absorber for the brain during facial trauma.
They contribute to the timbre of the voice as they create extra space for sound waves to hit during speech. However, the most important task is the production of mucus by the cover lining the sinuses, and the micro hairs on the cover direct this mucus to the pharynx and stomach.
In every person, the sinus cover produces a mucus discharge of 200-300 cc per day. In this way, harmful microparticles in the air we breathe adhere to this mucus discharge and micro hairs direct this mucus to our stomach.
In addition, there is an air flow formed by complex principles in the sinuses and gas ratios that are much different from the air we breathe, and research on these issues is still ongoing.
Sinusitis
Sinusitis means oedema and inflammation of the tissue covering the sinus cavities. This oedema and inflammation may be due to microorganisms, chemicals such as air pollution, organic substances such as pollen, and sometimes genetic hypersensitivity. Sinusitis should be treated according to its causes. From this point of view, not every sinusitis disease requires antibiotic treatment.
At the same time, we divide sinusitis into two groups as acute and chronic according to their duration.
Acute sinusitis
Acute sinusitis is a sinusitis that does not last more than three weeks from the beginning to the end. The main complaints are nasal congestion, a feeling of pressure in the head or headache and a runny nose. They significantly affect both daytime work performance and sleep comfort. The most common causes of acute sinusitis are viral upper respiratory tract infections and sometimes bacterial sinusitis.
Medications are used in the treatment of acute sinusitis. Surgical procedure is rarely needed.
Chronic Sinusitis
It would be more appropriate to divide chronic sinusitis into polypous and non-polypous sinusitis. The formation mechanisms and treatments of sinusitis with polyps are more complex than those of sinusitis without polyps. In this article, we will be using the term chronic sinusitis in the sense of chronic sinusitis without polyps.
Chronic sinusitis means a condition in which the inflammation or infection in the sinus cover lasts longer than three weeks. Unlike acute sinusitis, this type of sinusitis is not of viral origin. They are caused by bacterial, allergic, irritative, tooth root problems, genetic causes. Pressure in the head and headache, which are at the forefront in acute sinusitis, are almost non-existent. More disturbing nasal discharge or nasal discharge is in the foreground. Sometimes there may be a bad odour in the nose. Nasal congestion may often accompany this picture.
In addition to the long-term use of medication, it is essential to avoid factors that exacerbate and trigger sinusitis. For example, if irritation of the mucosa has developed in response to cigarette smoke or cold weather, and the secretion of the sinus cover has increased due to this, it is not possible to relieve chronic sinusitis without controlling these factors.
Sometimes, despite drug treatments and control of triggers, oedema and inflammation due to chronic sinusitis can block the drainage pathways of the sinuses, and in this case, the mucus in the sinuses cannot flow and begins to press on the surroundings. In such cases, surgical intervention is inevitable and the aim is to reopen the blocked drainage pathways. It should not be forgotten that: Surgical treatment in chronic sinusitis is performed to control the disease, not to treat it.
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