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What is Sinusitis?
Affecting more than 40 million people a year, sinusitis is one of the most common medical conditions in the U.S. In terms of days missed at work and the cost of treatment, sinusitis is a significant public health issue.
But what exactly is sinusitis? Sinusitis is an inflammation of the tissue lining the paranasal sinuses. Paranasal sinuses are air-containing spaces in the facial skull that are located alongside of and drain into the nose. Because the tissue lining is responsible for clearing the healthy mucus they produce, when this lining becomes inflamed, the sinus mucus becomes thick, infected and difficult to clear. If the small openings from draining the sinuses into the nose are blocked as well (from a virus, allergy or nasal anatomy), further inflammation of the sinus tissue lining will occur from retained, infected sinus secretions.
The most common causes of sinusitis are viral upper respiratory infections (URI) and allergies, both of which cause tissue inflammation of the sinus lining and the sinus outflow tracts into the nose. Sinus and nasal anatomy may also predispose to the development of sinusitis. Enlarged turbinates, septal deviations, narrow sinus outflow tracts and polyps are physical barriers to normal sinus drainage.
What is Sinusitis? l Cold, Allergy, or Sinusitis? l Medical Treatments l FESS l Balloon Sinuplasty
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