Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Sinus infections are caused by infections from a pathogenic microorganism
(virus, bacterium, or fungus), which grows within a sinus and causes
intermittent blockage of the sinus ostium.
Most people do not transmit sinus infections; most clinicians agree that except for rare instances, sinus infections are
not contagious but arise from mainly viruses and bacteria that, by chance, contaminate a person who sinuses support their proliferation because of minor, and rarely, major abnormalities in the person's sinus tissue (for example, swelling, inflammation, abnormal mucus production, and rarely, facial or nasal trauma).
Sinusitis is inflammation of the air cavities within the passages of the
nose. Sinusitis can be caused by infection, but also can be caused by allergies
and chemical or particulate irritation of the sinuses.
Sinusitis may be classified in several ways such as acute sinus infection,
subacute sinus infection, chronic sinus infection, infected sinusitis, and
noninfectious sinusitis.
Sinus infection symptoms include
sinus headache, facial tenderness,
pressure or pain in the sinuses, fever, cloudy discolored drainage, and feeling
of nasal stuffiness, sore throat, and
cough.
Bacterial infection of the sinuses is suspected when facial pain, pus-like
nasal discharge, and symptoms that persists for longer than a week and are not
responding to over-the-counter nasal medications.
Sinus infection is generally diagnosed based on patient history and
physical examination by a health care practitioner.
Bacterial sinusitis is usually treated with antibiotic therapy.
Early treatment of allergic sinusitis may prevent secondary bacterial sinus
infections.
Home remedies for sinus infections include OTC medications such as
Tylenol,
decongestants, and mucolytics. Nasal irrigation can be accomplished with a Neti-pot
or rinse kit (nasal bidet).
Rare fungal infections of the sinuses (for example, zygomycosis) constitute
a medical emergency.
Complications of a sinus infection that may develop are meningitis, brain
abscess, osteomyelitis, and orbital cellulitis.
There are no fungal vaccines available to prevent fungal sinus infections.
Reviewed by William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR on 1/31/2013
Commonly sinus infection signs and symptoms are headache, facial tenderness, pressure or pain, and fever. However, as few as 25% of patients may have fever associated with acute sinus infection. Other common symptoms include:
cloudy, discolored nasal drainage,
a feeling of nasal stuffiness,
sore throat, and
cough.
Some people notice an increased sensitivity or headache when they lean forward because of the additional pressure placed on the sinuses. Others may experience tooth or ear pain, fatigue, or bad breath. Nasal drainage is usually clear or whitish-colored in people with noninfectious sinusitis.
Nosebleed is common in dry climates during winter months, and in hot dry climates with low humidity. Individual taking blood clotting medications, aspirin,
Most sore throats are caused by viruses or mechanical causes (such as mouth breathing) and can be treated successfully at home. However, a person should
Headaches can be divided into two categories: primary headaches and secondary headaches. Migraine headaches, tension headaches, and cluster headaches are
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Chronic cough is a cough that does not go away and is generally a symptom of another disorder such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinus infection, cigarette
Hay fever (allergic rhinitis) is an irritation of the nose caused by pollen and is associated with the following allergic symptoms: nasal congestion, runny
Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve, the structure that connects the eye to the brain. The precise cause of optic neuritis is unknown, but
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The common cold (viral upper respiratory tract infection) is a contagious illness that may be caused by various viruses. Symptoms include a stuffy nose,
Sinus headache is caused by a sinus infection or inflammation of the sinus cavities. The primary symptom of a sinus infection is pain and increasing pressure
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Wegener's granulomatosis, a condition that usually affects young or middle-aged adults, is an inflammation of the arteries supplying blood to the sinuses,
A deviate septum is a condition in which the bone and cartilage that divide the nasal cavity of the nose in half (nasal septum) is significantly off center
Acid backing up into the larynx (voice box), it causes reflux laryngitis. Irritation of the lining of the esophagus, larynx, and throat can lead to esophagitis,
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Before treating a cold, the flu, or allergies with over-the-counter (OTC) medications, it's important to know what's causing the symptoms, which symptoms
Kids get headaches and migraines too. Many adults with headaches started having them as kids, in fact, 20% of adult headache sufferers say their headaches
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Cleidocranial dysplasia is a genetic condition. Cleidocranial dysplasia is also referred to as cleidocranial dysostosis and cleidocranial dysostosis. Cleidocranial
The purpose of the nose is to warm, clean, and humidify the air you breathe
as well as help you to smell and taste. A normal person will produce about two
quarts of fluid each day (mucus), which aids"...
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