Acute sinusitis

Acute sinusitis is a common name for a group of inflammations of the paranasal sinus (maxillary, wedge, frontal and latticed maze). The airborne sinuses communicating with the nasal cavity perform the following physiological functions:
- Thermo-regulating (equalization of the temperature of the inhaled air and protection from temperature changes in the roots of the teeth and eyeballs);
- Buffer (softening and damping of blows in trauma of the bones of the facial skull);
- Warming and moisturizing (heating the air of body temperature).
Acute sinusitis is a disease that, in the absence of adequate treatment, can lead to the development of severe complications.

Causes of acute sinusitis

The development of the disease provokes some pathological condition, leading to swelling of the mucous membrane, blocking the communication of airways with sinuses of the nose and stopping the outflow of mucus. Some frequent causes of sinusitis are:
- Acute respiratory infections of the upper respiratory tract (ARVI, influenza);
- Childhood infectious diseases, accompanied by a runny nose (scarlet fever, measles);
- Allergic reactions;
- Presence of mechanical obstacles (polyps, adenoids, tumorous neoplasms, curvature of the nasal septum, consequences of a nose trauma);
- Congenital anomalies.

Factors that provoke the development of acute sinusitis include:
- Dust and gas contamination of the air;
- Active and passive smoking;
- Contact with toxic volatile substances;
- Adverse working conditions (for example an elevated atmospheric pressure).

Symptoms of acute sinusitis

The clinical signs of the acute form of sinusitis depend on the localization of the pathological process (from the sinus in which the inflammation occurred). At the same time, there are a number of features that are characteristic of all forms of acute sinusitis, without exception:
- Pressing, spreading pains in the facial part of the skull, arising after awakening and intensifying when the head is tilted down;
- Discharge from the nose of the mucous, mucopurulent, purulent or bloody;
- Discomfort or tenderness when touching the bridge of the nose, the superciliary arches or the area of the eye cavities (as a rule, acute sinusitis is localized in the area with the most pronounced sensitivity);
- Severe pain in the eyes (sinusitis with frontal sinus lesions);
- Swelling of the face, especially pronounced in the eye area;
- Increasing of body temperature to +38 ... + 39 ° C.

In the absence of adequate medical care, acute sinusitis can go on into a chronic form, as well as cause the spread of the inflammatory process to nearby tissues, up to the periosteum and meninges.

Treatment of acute sinusitis

The immediate goal of the treatment of sinusitis is to eliminate the edema of the mucous membrane, overlapping the openings of the tubules, providing an outflow of pathological contents. For this, vasoconstrictive nasal drops and sprays are used in clinical practice. With simultaneous bacterial infection, a patient is prescribed antibiotics that are selected with taking into account the sensitivity to the causative agent of sinusitis. The preventive measures include the treatment of rhinitis and the elimination of allergic reactions.