Chronic sinusitis is a sinus infection that lasts longer than eight weeks or recurs more than four times per year with symptoms lasting longer than 2.5 weeks during each recurrence. Common chronic sinusitis symptoms are similar to those of acute sinusitis, but tend to last longer, be more debilitating and not cause fevers. These symptoms include nasal congestion, thick drainage down the back of the throat, facial pain and feeling of pressure in the face. They can also include headaches, dental pain in the upper teeth, aching jaw and coughing. Some other chronic sinusitis symptoms that are less common include earaches, fatigue, throat pain and feelings of nausea.
The causes of chronic sinusitis vary greatly among patients. It can be difficult for doctors to determine what is causing the disease to last so long rather than heal normally. Under many circumstances, the human body is able to get rid of sinus infections on its own over time, but some people are not able to recover. Certain physical problems, like small sinus openings and scar tissue in the sinuses, can disable the body’s ability to cleanse the sinus cavities. These problems can also lead to frequent recurrence, and they can cause regular treatment procedures to fail.
If a person is suffering from chronic sinusitis symptoms, doctors may try a wide variety of treatment strategies. Antibiotics are a common approach, but they can often fail. Various bacteria can cause sinus infections, and they often respond to different antibiotics, so choosing the right one can be difficult. Some sinus infections are also fungal, and in those cases, specialized anti-fungal medicines are often required.
When chronic sinusitis symptoms continue to linger even after treating the infection directly, other strategies may be attempted. Doctors may choose to treat the body’s inability to recover on its own by reducing inflammation around the sinus openings with steroid nasal sprays and using nasal washes to encourage more drainage. If a patient has allergies that are an underlying cause of sinus congestion, antihistamines may be an option, but this can cause complications by drying out the sinuses too much. When other treatments fail, there are surgical procedures that can increase the size of sinus openings or reduce scar tissue. Most patients who receive sinus surgery will have a much lower rate of recurrence and are much less likely to develop chronic sinusitis symptoms in the future.
