According to a fairly large percentage of people, a runny nose is an inevitable disease. From a certain point of view, they are right, however, snot and nasal congestion are a symptom of an existing problem. At the same time, the most common diseases among chronic and acute are sinusitis in general. As a particular example, a common problem is a disease such as acute frontal sinusitis.
A specific variation of sinusitis should be considered in some detail for the reason that frontal sinusitis without a runny nose and fever is a fairly common occurrence. There is no doubt that manifestations of frontal sinusitis from this perspective can only occur in the first stages of the disease, which leads to the need for treatment before the disease progresses to other forms.
What leads to inflammation
The facial part of the skull consists of porous bones and has several sinuses communicating with the nasal cavity. This allows you to prevent small mechanical particles inhaled along with the air from entering the body, as well as most pathogens of various diseases. But if immunity decreases, the protective function of the sinuses decreases, and microbes easily enter the body.
Since the nasal and frontal sinuses have a direct connection with the nasopharynx, in the event of inflammation, the microorganisms that caused it easily enter the sinuses. Their penetration leads to the development of sinusitis, sinusitis or sinusitis.
There are 2 main causes of frontal sinusitis - infection by viruses or bacteria.
In the first case, the most typical are:
- adenoviruses;
- coronaviruses;
- rhinoviruses.
In case of bacterial inflammation, streptococci, polyps or allergies can provoke it. It is also possible that inflammation may develop due to injuries to the nose or sinus area, a deviated septum, or the entry of a foreign body during inhalation.
Causes
Infectious diseases most often cause frontal sinusitis. It can alternate with sinusitis if the infection also affects the maxillary sinuses. In this case, both diseases have to be treated simultaneously.
Frontal sinusitis of viral etiology appears due to the ingress of rhino-, adeno-, coronaviruses and respiratory syncytial viruses. Bacterial frontitis occurs due to streptococcal pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae infection and entry into the frontal sinuses of Staphylococcus aureus, one of the most dangerous types of bacteria.
Allergies cause vasomotor rhinitis, which is characterized by swelling of the nasal mucosa. The person practically does not breathe through the nose, and the exit of fluid from the frontal sinus is also blocked. Thus, mucus accumulates in the sinus and turns into an environment suitable for the development of bacteria.
Facial injuries cause inflammation of the sinuses, since when a bruise occurs, a hematoma appears and blood circulation is disrupted. However, a deviated nasal septum, as a rule, is a congenital disease, and people with such a deformation are forced to struggle with rhinitis and sinusitis throughout their lives.
Nasal polyps also provoke swelling of the mucous membrane. Such benign formations make it difficult to breathe and remove fluid from the sinuses. Foreign bodies cause disease according to a similar principle.
Attention! Foreign bodies entering the nasal cavity are usually observed in young children. Parents should keep an eye on them so that beads or small parts that get into the nose do not cause sinusitis or suffocation.
Signs of frontal sinusitis
The most characteristic signs of frontal sinusitis are:
- headache that gets worse when bending over;
- general weakness;
- a sharp increase in body temperature.
During the process in which inflammation of the frontal sinus occurs, yellow-green pus or mucus begins to be released from the nose. A headache causing severe discomfort appears, accompanied by dizziness and spasms, which intensify with changes in body position.
A person who develops frontal sinusitis will complain of throbbing pain radiating to the temples in the forehead area. In the absence of proper treatment, frontal sinusitis can lead to complications in the form of sinusitis or otitis media. Its most dangerous consequence is meningitis. This is because the facial bones have a thin, porous structure, through which infection can easily penetrate the brain.
Externally, frontal sinusitis can manifest as swelling on the outside of the frontal sinuses. Moreover, it will be more pronounced from the side of the inflamed sinus. Such swelling may spread to the orbital part or corner of the eye.
What is chronic frontal sinusitis?
A disease such as chronic frontal sinusitis refers to inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nasal sinuses, which is localized in the deep tissues and lasts for more than 3 months.
This pathology occurs regardless of gender and age. But, as a rule, people of middle and old age are more often susceptible to it. The main distinguishing feature of this frontal sinusitis from other diseases is the manifestation of severe pain near the forehead and near the brow ridges.
Treatment of chronic frontal sinusitis is very difficult, which is explained by extensive infection of the body with pathogenic flora and weakened immunity. Because frontal sinusitis develops more often after an infectious or other cold.
Initially, the pathology is determined by an acute course, as a result of which, in the absence of proper therapy, it becomes chronic, which is accompanied by periodic exacerbations and remissions.
According to the causes and course of the disease, it is divided into catarrhal, mixed, exudative, complicated, necrotic and productive.
According to the international classification of diseases, chronic frontal sinusitis is assigned the code J01.1.
Diagnostic process
Swelling becomes noticeable to the naked eye. In addition, upon palpation the patient experiences pain. And tapping or pressing in the sinus area worsens the headache.
Accurate information about the condition of the sinuses can be obtained by doing tomography, frontal or lateral x-rays. Rhinoscopy can help detect large amounts of pus, as well as severe thickening and swelling of the mucous membranes.
An increased ESR, leukocytosis and a shift in the blood count to the left, revealed during the analysis, also indicate acute inflammation occurring in the body. When the data collected by such methods is insufficient, trephine puncture of the frontal sinuses is performed.
How to correctly diagnose frontal sinusitis yourself?
Symptoms of frontal sinusitis in adults can appear only at a late stage of the disease due to the fact that an adult rarely pays attention to conventions. Diagnosing frontal sinusitis is not a difficult task, but it is a responsible one. However, a sharp headache in the sinus area or eyebrow does not appear out of nowhere. The imminent approach of the disease can be indicated by a person’s fear of looking at bright light, since this causes pain in the area of the frontal sinuses. This happens because the frontal sinuses are the immediate neighbors of the eyeballs in the human body.
The first thing a person can use to independently diagnose frontal sinusitis when such symptoms appear is their own fingers. You just need to take a horizontal or vertical, but most importantly, stationary position and lightly tap your knuckles on the eyebrow area. If during these manipulations you feel an unpleasant aching pain, you can be sure that you have the initial stage of frontal sinusitis. In addition, left-sided sinusitis reflects pain in the left sinus and vice versa.
Initially, frontal sinusitis occurs hidden, so the likelihood of the disease should be determined. To do this, you need to press on the skin above the eyebrow. If frontal sinusitis is present, the pain will increase several times, but if the primary diagnosis is erroneous, then the pain should practically disappear.
Drug treatment
If frontal sinusitis occurs in a mild form, then conservative treatment would be more appropriate. To reduce swelling of the mucous membranes, it is necessary to adrenalize them. For this purpose, the following drugs are used in the form of nasal drops:
- Galazolin;
- Naphthyzin;
- Oxemethazaline.
These vasoconstrictors reduce swelling and looseness of the nasal and sinus mucosa, and also reduce mucus production. This can significantly alleviate the patient’s condition.
In addition, you must take the following medications in tablets:
- antibiotics with a broad spectrum of action (Sumamed, Augmentin, Claforan, Duracef, Rovamycin and others);
- painkillers that can reduce pain caused by inflammation;
- various antihistamines (Diazolin, Tavegil, Suprasin, and others).
Physiotherapy is also very helpful in the treatment of frontal sinusitis. But you should prescribe procedures with caution, after making sure that they will not aggravate the course of the disease.
If conservative methods of therapy are unsuccessful, and drug treatment does not justify the expected positive effect, you need to resort to surgery. To do this, it is necessary to perform trephine puncture, in which the frontal sinus is pierced, pus is pumped out of it, after which it is washed.
Treatment of frontal sinusitis is a long and complex process
There are several equally effective ways to treat this disease: medication and surgery. And they are used both jointly and independently of each other.
If a patient has only right-sided or left-sided frontal sinusitis in the initial stage, it does not require surgical treatment due to the fact that such a disease can easily be eliminated with the simplest modern medications. Having diagnosed frontal sinusitis, the treatment that the doctor will prescribe will be painless and quick.
Chronic frontal sinusitis is also easily treated with medication, the symptoms and treatment of which differ little from simple forms of the disease. In general, drug treatment is intended to make breathing easier for the patient, as well as to facilitate the release of purulent contents from the sinuses.
In this case of treatment, all that is required from the doctor is to determine the nature of the disease. If the cause of the disease is bacteria, then the use of antibiotics can be both internal and local, since antibiotics are able to destroy bacteria, but are not able to do this with viruses, especially if symptoms of frontal sinusitis have appeared in adults. The doctor will make a conclusion about the category of the antibiotic after receiving the results of the bacteriological examination.
Amoxicillin seems to be an excellent drug for the treatment of frontal sinusitis, which, in combination with various auxiliary supplements, can quickly recognize and destroy the bacteria that cause frontal sinusitis. Among excipients, a special place is occupied by those that do not limit the action of the antibiotic itself, but only protect the body from its excessive effect on healthy organs.
If the doctor has diagnosed chronic frontal sinusitis, symptoms, the treatment of which in adults is a little difficult, will continue to appear for some time even when using intramuscular antibiotics such as cefotaxime and ceftriaxone. But do not be upset, because even with proper treatment, all symptoms will go away forever.
Another question that needs to be considered: how to treat frontal sinusitis in adults surgically? This method of treatment is used for complex forms of frontal sinusitis with severe complications. It is based on trepanopuncture (puncture) of the frontal bone up to the nasal sinus, which allows for high-quality and rapid outflow of purulent contents to the outside. This procedure is performed exclusively by a highly qualified surgeon using an endoscope.
Every inquisitive person can figure out what frontal sinusitis is and why it is dangerous on his own, but it must be treated under the right conditions and with the right methods.
Antibiotics
A severe inflammatory process caused by infection is characterized by a large amount of pus. Only potent broad-spectrum antibiotics can cope with it. In this case, it is highly advisable to test the susceptibility of the infection to the action of the drugs before using them. It will allow you to determine the specific group of bacteria that led to inflammation and select the antibiotic necessary to combat these bacteria specifically.
The test requires a long period of time, from 3 days to a week. And with severe frontal sinusitis, it may not be there. Therefore, broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can act on several types of bacteria at once, are often prescribed without analysis.
Traditional methods of treatment
Most folk methods boil down to warming up the sinuses. For the first treatment method, you need to take a boiled egg. It is wrapped in natural fabric and applied to the inflamed area of the forehead. When the egg begins to cool, take it out and roll it for 2-3 minutes in the area of the frontal sinuses.
For the second method, bags made of natural fabric filled with highly heated salt or sand are used. Such a “compress” should be placed on the inflamed area and warm the sinus with it. Since salt and sand retain heat for a long time, the procedure will be quite lengthy.
Methods for preventing and cleaning sinuses
Every person should periodically take measures to prevent the disease. To do this, the sinuses are cleaned with easy-to-prepare and use solutions containing a low concentration of salt and iodine. The procedure is unpleasant, but effective, and the signs of frontal sinusitis will not show themselves for a long time. Moreover, everyone can carry out this process independently and at any convenient time, preferably before bed.
In addition, inhalation over fresh boiled potatoes or a freshly brewed solution of chamomile or bay leaves, which also have antibacterial and soothing functions, can be an excellent method of prevention. Like rinsing, this procedure is best done in the evening before going to bed.
Surgery
In the case when all of the above methods did not lead to positive dynamics, the need for surgical intervention arises. Trepanopuncture surgery can be performed using two methods: through the anterior surface of the frontal bone or from the side, through the orbital wall of the frontal sinus. The second method is used less frequently, when the first is technically impossible, as it is characterized by a high risk for the patient.
To perform trepanopuncture, it is necessary to make a special marking on the forehead. It is performed using an x-ray of the skull, and its goal is to identify the thinnest part of the frontal bone. It is in this place that a hole will be made, where the cannula will subsequently be immersed. Through it, pus is removed from the sinus, after which the cavity is washed and medications are administered. This therapy lasts from 3 days to a week, depending on the patient’s condition and the dynamics of the treatment.
