Sinus Infection
Medical Author:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
Medical Editor:
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
- Sinus infection facts
- What is a sinus?
- What is a sinus infection?
- What causes sinus infections?
- What are the types of sinusitis?
- What are the signs and symptoms of sinus infection?
- How is sinus infection diagnosed?
- How is sinus infection treated?
- Are there home remedies for a sinus infection?
- What are complications of sinus infection?
- Can sinus infection be prevented?
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- Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Symptoms
- Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Causes
- Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Home Remedies
- Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Complications
- Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Effective Treatments
- Find a local Ear, Nose, & Throat Doctor in your town
Sinus infection facts
- Sinus infections are caused by infections from a pathogenic microorganism (virus, bacterium, or fungus), which grows within a sinus and causes intermittent blockage of the sinus ostium.
- Most people do not transmit sinus infections; most clinicians agree that except for rare instances, sinus infections are not contagious but arise from mainly viruses and bacteria that, by chance, contaminate a person who sinuses support their proliferation because of minor, and rarely, major abnormalities in the person's sinus tissue (for example, swelling, inflammation, abnormal mucus production, and rarely, facial or nasal trauma).
- Sinusitis is inflammation of the air cavities within the passages of the nose. Sinusitis can be caused by infection, but also can be caused by allergies and chemical or particulate irritation of the sinuses.
- Sinusitis may be classified in several ways such as acute sinus infection, subacute sinus infection, chronic sinus infection, infected sinusitis, and noninfectious sinusitis.
- Sinus infection symptoms include sinus headache, facial tenderness, pressure or pain in the sinuses, fever, cloudy discolored drainage, and feeling of nasal stuffiness, sore throat, and cough.
- Bacterial infection of the sinuses is suspected when facial pain, pus-like nasal discharge, and symptoms that persists for longer than a week and are not responding to over-the-counter nasal medications.
- Sinus infection is generally diagnosed based on patient history and physical examination by a health care practitioner.
- Bacterial sinusitis is usually treated with antibiotic therapy.
- Early treatment of allergic sinusitis may prevent secondary bacterial sinus infections.
- Home remedies for sinus infections include OTC medications such as Tylenol, decongestants, and mucolytics. Nasal irrigation can be accomplished with a Neti-pot or rinse kit (nasal bidet).
- Rare fungal infections of the sinuses (for example, zygomycosis) constitute a medical emergency.
- Complications of a sinus infection that may develop are meningitis, brain abscess, osteomyelitis, and orbital cellulitis.
- There are no fungal vaccines available to prevent fungal sinus infections.
Next: What is a sinus?
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Sinus Infection - Symptoms
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Sinus Infection - Causes
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Sinus Infection - Home Remedies
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Sinus Infection - Effective Treatments
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