Sinusitis -What is the sines?

Sinusitis

What is the sines?

The sines are air cavities, therefore filled of air, located in the bones of the face (at the level of the face and the cheeks) and in those which constitute the base of cranium. They are in contact with the nose and the throat – and thus the ambient air by small openings.

They develop during childhood until towards 12-13 years. With the birth, only the sine of the bone ethmoïde (a small bone located in the nose between the two eyes) is present.

The sinusitis is a disease of the sines

The sinusitis is an ignition of the mucous membrane of the sines. It is generally due to a secondary bacterial superinfection with an affection of the higher air routes (nose-stop-throat) like a cold for example.

A cold which trails

Classically, it is a cold which trails week beyond: the patient with the impression to have the full head, the nose “is taken”, it fly, sniffing is more or less abundant, the voice is more or less nasillarde, it coughs sometimes, has a headache especially while leaning ahead (lacing of the shoes), the pressure with the top of the eyes or under the eyes is painful, it has fever.

The mucous membranes which paper the sines are inflated, the openings communicating with the nose are more or less stopped, secretions stagnate inside the cavities sinusiennes because they are badly evacuated: all is joined together to create an increase in pressure in these cavities and to involve a pain.

It is probable that the cold became complicated of a bacterial superinfection, the patient has fever; it is the acute sinusitis.

Do not let trail a sinusitis

The trouble with this disease, apart from discomfort created, it is the risk of passage to chronicity where the treatments are less effective.

Then it is necessary to be looked after correctly: initially with simple means to drain the sines: sniffing, washings of the nose with a hypertonic product like physiological salt solution (sold in pharmacy) or other, even inhalations containing essential oils in a warm water bowl (there exist preparations done everything in pharmacy); sometimes the change of position can help to drain the sines; it is also possible to put drops relieving congestion in the nose; they decrease the edema of the mucous membranes and open the openings of the sines. Caution! One should not give some the children of less than 12 years nor using them too a long time because these products risk with long to be harmful.

As soon as the sines are emptied, the pain grows blurred; as long as the pain persists, the patient can of course take analgesics, that is not used for nothing to suffer.

In the majority of the cases, it will also be necessary to take antibiotics to suppress the bacterial infection. The patient may find it very beneficial to follow the antibiotic treatment until the end, minimum a 5 days asserts himself even if the disease appears finished front; as in any bacterial infection, there is a risk of relapse if the sines are not completely cleaned.

Sometimes the sinusitis is very painful, pulsatile, it does not have no exteriorized secretion there, the patient has fever, it is probable that an abscess is made up in the sine; it is necessary to intervene quickly to empty the sines and to avoid a propagation of the infection to the close bodies.

In the child

The colds of the children between 6 months and 6 years often trail, they are “snotty-nosed kid” during days, it is normal, they manufacture their immunity. But it is necessary to clean the nose with produced physiological salt solution or other to them and the moucher either with a fly-baby, or simply with a small twisted dry cotton which it is necessary to insert in the nose and to withdraw delicately, the mucosities stick to cotton and are removed all alone.

It is not serious, but they should all the same be supervised.

The ethmoïdite is a serious sinusitis (risk of infection of the eye) but fortunately rare that the child can contract; it is better that it is treated without delaying at the hospital.

The infants before the 6 months age, are in general protected by the antibodies from their mother and seldom have a cold.

Chronic sinusitis

The chronic sinusitis is a sinusitis which trails more than 3 months in spite of a well led treatment.

It is necessary to make radiological examinations to find the cause of this sinusitis.

Infectious chronic sinusitis

The antibiotics in the chronic forms are less effective than in the acute forms, the openings of drainage are chronically stopped, the treatment is longer, the cure is longer to come.

A doctor having a qualification in acupuncture can sometimes come to end from a sinusitis which trails in one or two meetings: the action of the needles opens the openings, allows the drainage of the sines and can cure the patient; a complementary treatment with antibiotics is desirable.

Sometimes, only the surgery can arrive at end of the infectious chronic sinusitis: the surgical gesture consists in opening the openings to drain the sick sine.

Allergic sinusitises

A sinusitis is not always due to a bacterial superinfection, itself secondary with a viral infection, it can be due to an allergy where it is necessary to seek the factor responsible for the allergy and to radically treat the cause by the ousting of the allergen or to desensitize, to even make cures at a watering-place.

Local causes

They can also be due to local mechanical factors: a deviation of the nasal partition, polyps in the nose (they are small tumors which when they are badly placed stops the openings of the sines, often in connection with an allergy): here it is necessary to intervene surgically – today, the surgeons use micrurgy or the endoscopic surgery with fiberoptics and all small instruments.

Sometimes, several causes are intricate: infection, allergy, polyp.

It also happens that sinusitises are secondary with dental caries or a dental treatment led evil.

Lastly, all that stops the sines and causes a retention of secretions, can involve a sinusitis in particular the tumors, an osseous fracture,…

What you can retain

A sinusitis is often a bacterial superinfection of the secondary sine to a cold.

Your doctor will seek and treat the cause of your sinusitis.

In front of an acute sinusitis: he will propose a drainage of the sines by simple means to empty them and probably an antibiotic regulation.

In front of a chronic sinusitis: less easy to treat, it is possible to test acupuncture (doctor having a qualification in acupuncture) before the surgery.

The surgery can be the only means to calm an important pain, to evacuate an abscess or to emerge an opening become too small or to remove an obstacle.

In the child, one should not pass beside a ethmoïdite.