Acute Sinus Infection - Just What Is It?

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A condition refered to as Acute Sinus Infection occurs when your nasal passages become inflamed making it hard for the normal drainage from the mucus. As a result, you will have difficulty breathing and might also experience a headache, fever and even a cough.

The common trigger of acute sinus infection may be the cold climatic condition. Other causes consist of bacteria, allergies, nasal polyps, deviated nasal septum and particular medical conditions. When the doctor is able to determine the exact trigger, only then will treatment be given.

But most from the time, acute sinus infection is either bacterial or viral. Since it's tough to pinpoint what may be the exact trigger doctors speculate that if the issue persists longer than 14 days, then it's a lot more likely that the trigger is bacterial.

You'll know if you've acute sinus infection if you've any of these symptoms. These consist of bad breath, cough, dental pain, erythema, fatigue, fever, nasal congestion, nausea or perhaps a sore throat. You might encounter one or perhaps a few of these at the same time and you ought to treat it instantly to prevent this from becoming a chronic sinus infection or even at worst trigger complications.

This means that the sinus infection could last longer than 8 weeks or you could develop acute asthma, aneurysms, meningitis or vision problems.

If the symptoms of acute sinus infection are mild, you can try self-care like drinking lots of fluids and bed rest. However if the ever exceeds 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or 39 degrees Celsius, then you have to seek medical advice.

When you to the doctor, he or she will be asking you a few questions to gather information about your medical history, conduct a physical examination and in some cases call for a CT scan to pinpoint which areas are inflamed.

If the test results show that the cause is bacterial, then you may be prescribed some antibiotics like amoxicillin or the combination drug trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. If there are no changes, then a different antibiotic will be recommended.

Should this be caused by an allergic reaction, the doctor will likely recommend an antihistamine.

Other possible treatments for acute sinus infection include the use of prescription decongestants, nasal corticosteroid spray, oral corticosteroid pills to relieve stuffiness, over the counter decongestants or pain relievers and spraying a saline solution inside your nose several times a day.

But do you always have to wait for acute sinus infection to strike before taking any action? The answer is no because this can be prevented. Some simple things you can do includes practicing proper hygiene, getting flu shots annually, staying away from people who have colds, keeping yourself hydrated, limiting alcohol use, investing in a humidifier, avoid going to polluted areas and hanging out with people who smoke.

If you already have acute sinus infection, steam your sinus cavities by mixing Vicks Vaporub with warm water or with a few essential oils then inhale it for about 10 minutes. You can also take a hot a shower and breathe the warm air. Don’t forget to also take some decongestants and drink lots of fluids as this will all reduce congestion and promote drainage.

An acute sinus infection doesn’t last that long but when its there, you will really have a bad day. It can happen to anyone and at anytime so you have to take good care of yourself.