MedicineNet.com
About Us | Privacy Policy | Site Map
November 22, 2009
MedicineNet home Picture Slideshows Diseases and conditions Symptoms and signs Procedures and tests Medications Health and Living Picture Image Collection MedTerms medical dictionary
Font Size
A
A
A

Sinusitis (cont.)

What are the symptoms of sinus infection?

Commonly the symptoms of sinus infection are headache, facial tenderness 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, a sore throat, and a cough. Some people notice an increased sensitivity or headache when they lean forward. In allergic sinusitis other associated allergy symptoms of itching eyes and sneezing may be common.

How is sinus infection diagnosed?

Sinus infection is most often diagnosed based on a history and examination made by your doctor. Because plain x-ray studies of the sinuses may be misleading and procedures such as CT scans and MRI scans, which are much more sensitive in their ability to diagnose sinus infection, are so expensive, most cases of sinus infection are initially diagnosed and treated based on clinical findings on examination. These physical findings may include redness and swelling of the nasal passages, purulent (pus like) drainage from the nasal passages, tenderness to percussion (tapping) over the cheeks or forehead region of the sinuses, and swelling about the eyes and cheeks. If sinus infection fails to respond to the initial treatment prescribed, then more in-depth studies such as the above scans may be performed. Rhinoscopy, a procedure for directly looking in the back of the nasal passages with a small flexible fiber optic tube, may be used to directly look at the sinus openings and check for obstruction of these openings by either swelling or growths. It may sometimes be necessary to perform a needle aspiration of a sinus to confirm the diagnosis of sinus infection, and to get infected material to culture to determine what bacteria is actually causing the sinus infection. Cultures of the nasal passages are rarely helpful in determining what bacteria or fungus is causing a sinus infection.



Next: How is sinus infection treated? »

Sinus Infection - Effective Treatments

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

What kinds of treatments have been effective for your sinus infection?

Comment submissions for this question have ended. Patient Discussions FAQs
See 20 Viewer Comments

View Comments


Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend


Suggested Reading by Our Doctors
MedicineNet Doctors
  • amoxicillin, Amoxil, Dispermox, Trimox - Learn more about amoxicillin, including a description, generic and brand names, drug class and mechanism, preparations, storage, reasons for prescription, dosing, effect on pregnancy and nursing mothers, and common side effects.
  • CT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography) - CT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography, CAT scan) is a procedure that assists in diagnosing tumors, fractures, bony structures, and infections in the organs and tissues of the body.
  • Chronic Rhinitis and Post-Nasal Drip - Information on post nasal drip and chronic rhinitis includes symptoms such as itchy runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, ears, and throat, and nasal congestion.

Latest Medical News


Allergies & Asthma

Improve treatments & prevent attacks.


Are you Depressed? Take the Quiz

Your Guide to Symptoms & Signs: Pinpoint Your Pain












Health categories:

Slideshows | Diseases & Conditions | Symptoms & Signs | Procedures & Tests | Medications | Health & Living | News & Views | Medical Dictionary

Popular health centers:

Allergies | Arthritis | Cancer | Diabetes | Digestion | Healthy Kids | Heart | Men's Health | Mental Health | Women's Health | More...

Publications:

ePublications (PDFs) | XML News via RSS | Audio Podcasts | Email Newsletters

MedicineNet.com:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Site Map | WebMD® | Medscape® | eMedicine® | eMedicineHealth® | RxList®

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. This site complies to the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

©1996-2009 MedicineNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Notices and Legal Disclaimer.
MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.