You're miserable. You've got a headache. Your nasal passages are congested. Your eyes hurt. You've got a cough. You've probably got sinusitis.

While you're uncomfortable when it strikes, sinusitis is generally harmless. Severe cases may require an antibiotic, but over-the-counter remedies may relieve most of the symptoms.

What's the difference between sinusitis and the effects of a bad cold? It is a matter of degrees. "Sinusitis is a clinical diagnosis," says Britt Marcussen, M.D. UI Family Care, North Liberty physician. "You can probably find as many approaches to this conclusion as there are doctors. A headache and colored nasal drainage does not mean bacterial sinusitis. It may simply be a bad cold, which is viral."

The most reliable clinical indicators of sinusitis are:

• Unilateral facial pain, usually below the eye
• Purulent nasal drainage
• Tooth pain
• Fever
• Headache

Viral upper respiratory infections typically last from seven to 10 days. If you have been sick longer than that, contact your doctor.

They help reduce the weight of the skull and provide insulation for the skull. They secrete mucous that warms and moistens the air you breath. Without sinuses, we wouldn't sound the way we do. When you're healthy, your sinuses provide resonance for your voice. When you have clogged sinuses, your voice can sound alien.

Back to top

While everyone gets viral colds and the flu with some upper respiratory symptoms, 85 percent get inflamed sinuses as well, but fewer than five percent actually develop true sinusitis.

To help you prevent sinusitis try these suggestions:

• Keep the humidity level in your home between 45 to 50 percent.
• Quit smoking.
• If you have a history of chronic hay fever or other allergy symptoms, contact your doctor for advice.

Back to top

Prevention didn't work and you've got sinusitis. Here are some self-care measures to try.

• Take hot baths and showers -- the steam soothes your sinuses. Don't inhale steam from a kettle, you may get scalded.
• Use a vaporizer at night to keep your nasal passages from drying out.
• Control your allergies. Use air-filtering vacuum cleaners and HEPA filters.
• Drink more fluids.
• Acetaminophen/Tylenol or ibuprofen/Advil/Motrin may help alleviate the pain caused by the pressure.
• Saline sprays or washes may help loosen and clear secretions.
• Antihistamines/Benadryl should be avoided because they make the situation worse by drying the nasal passages and turning nasal secretions to glue, making sinusitis a more likely complication of a cold.

If you have a health-related question, or to make an appointment, call UI Health Access - 800- 777-8442 or 319-384-8442.

Back to top

Why do we even have sinuses?

This may help

Now what

How about a new attitude instead of another resolution?

Old problems, new solutions

Swing stress

It's getting easier

These are second only to a cold

Tis the season

Health: screenings and tests

UI Family Care, Southeast Iowa City opens

Well&Good home