Runny nose after sinusitis: how to treat it

Can sinusitis go away on its own? This is a question asked by many people who are faced with this disease and do not want to undergo long-term treatment. There is an opinion that sinusitis, as well as a common runny nose and cold, can go away on its own, without appropriate treatment, if you simply protect yourself from cold, drafts and other factors that provoke the disease. Is this really so or is it still impossible to do without therapy? It is worth studying this question carefully, because the state of health of each person will depend on the answer.

Some people hope that sinusitis will go away on its own, but is this possible?

What is the essence of the disease?

This is a pathological inflammatory reaction in the maxillary sinuses, resulting from sinusitis, although sometimes inflammation develops as an independent disease. In most cases, sinusitis appears due to a severe runny nose, which is not fully treated. Mucus accumulates in the maxillary sinuses, after which it gradually turns into purulent accumulations, unable to come out.

Thus, the disease is characterized by swelling of the mucous membrane, profuse nasal discharge and other unpleasant symptoms. The danger is that the infection can affect other organs: these are the organs of vision, hearing, the brain, and even the heart muscles.

The disease is difficult to diagnose at an early stage, because many of the signs are similar to those of a cold. Only a qualified specialist will be able to determine the exact cause of the disease and prescribe the necessary treatment.

At an early stage, it is quite difficult to diagnose sinusitis, since its symptoms are similar to those of ARVI

The short answer is that sinusitis must be treated; there is no other way to get rid of the disease. However, in order to fully understand whether sinusitis can go away on its own, you should understand in detail the nature of the disease, its causes and characteristics.

Symptoms characteristic of sinusitis

To make the correct diagnosis and develop subsequent treatment, the otolaryngologist carefully studies all the symptoms of the disease, using objective and subjective methods.
Therefore, if there is a suspicion that some kind of inflammatory process is occurring in the body (especially in the cavities of the skull), you should go to the hospital and undergo an examination. The duration and success of the recovery process largely depends on the timely detection of the disease and the beginning of its adequate therapy. Misinterpretation of symptoms, characteristic of self-medication, can lead to an advanced stage of the disease and its subsequent chronicity.

The most noticeable symptoms of maxillary sinusitis are:

• Increased body temperature ranging from 37-37.5 degrees in the initial stage or in the chronic form of the disease during remission to 39 degrees in acute purulent form. In this case, fever and chills are often observed.
• Constant runny nose. The color of the discharge can change from white at the initial stage, to green and yellow in the presence of a purulent component. Blowing your nose does not improve the situation, since mucus is constantly removed from the affected accessory chamber. With a sluggish form, there is always a “strip of pus” in the nasal cavity from under the middle concha. Traditional medicines do not provide the required effect.
• The nose is stuffy alternately on one side or the other. Nasal breathing becomes very difficult, the patient begins to breathe through the mouth, which makes the mouth feel constantly dry. Snoring appears, which interferes with proper sleep and can lead to insomnia.
• A feeling of fullness and pressing (sometimes throbbing) pain in the affected sinuses. It intensifies when palpating and tilting the head forward.
• Headache, which tends to radiate to the teeth, forehead, and ears. Sometimes it is of a non-localized diffuse nature.
• Cough in which expectorants do not work. It develops due to the constant flow of exudate with pus down the walls of the throat.
• Swelling of the tissues around the eyes and eyelids.
• Nasal voice.
• Signs of general intoxication: muscle aches, fatigue, weakness, decreased ability to work, a feeling of pressure in the ears.

If treatment is not started in a timely manner and the acute form of sinusitis becomes chronic, the duration of treatment may increase several times.

Possible reasons

Most often, the disease develops as a result of infection in the maxillary sinus area. Pathogenic bacteria begin to have a detrimental effect on the human body, causing an inflammatory reaction. In some cases, sinusitis may have an allergic or some other etiology.

There are additional factors that contribute to the occurrence and development of the disease:

• Prolonged and debilitating runny nose.
• Prolonged exposure to drafts.
• Weakening of the immune system, which creates favorable conditions for the proliferation of bacteria and viruses.
• Non-standard anatomical structure of the nasal sinuses.
• An injury that complicates the process of outflow of mucous secretions.
• Fungal infection of the mucous membrane.

The cause of sinusitis may be abnormal structure of the nasal sinuses or their injury.

Knowing the main cause of the disease, it will be possible to decide on further treatment. It should be remembered that sinusitis will not disappear on its own, and in the absence of treatment, the disease becomes chronic and leads to even worse consequences.

Boosting immunity

Naphthyzin for sinusitis

In order for the prevention of sinusitis to be as effective as possible, it is important to pay attention to the body’s immune forces, which can overcome a cold and prevent complications from occurring. They are easy to maintain if you follow simple rules:

1. Proper nutrition. An excess of carbohydrates and fat-containing foods in the menu leads to a deterioration in general health, and especially during colds. The diet for the prevention of nasopharyngeal diseases includes greens, fruits, all kinds of vegetables, and whole grains. It is better to cook meat by baking, boiling, rather than frying, and low-fat varieties of this product are healthier, for example, turkey, rabbit, chicken, veal. In addition to basic nutrition, during exacerbation of viruses, vitamin and mineral complexes are recommended.
2. Physical activity. Regular sports, swimming, physical activity in the fresh air and even in winter are simple ways to improve the body’s health and strengthen the immune system, which will independently fight colds and help prevent all kinds of sinusitis. And regular gymnastics at home will help avoid chronic diseases if done daily.
3. Complete rest. Insomnia and stressful situations weaken the immune system. Eliminating them will help avoid inflammation in the respiratory tract and nasopharynx and not provoke the appearance of sinusitis. For normal functioning, the body needs good sleep, proper rest, avoidance of exhausting work, especially during hot periods, and a correct daily routine.
4. Hardening procedures. Rubbing with cool water, gargling and gargling, contrast showers are hardening procedures that strengthen the body as a whole. The main thing is to do them regularly and correctly, without leading to absurdity. It is important and safe to gradually reduce the degree of water during hardening activities, as well as the time of exposure itself, so that the body does not experience stress.

Rinsing with saline solutions for sinusitis

Some measures also lead to increased local immunity in the nasopharynx. For example, preventive massage of the sinuses. It helps to avoid further spread of swelling and improves microcirculation in tissues, eliminates congestion, and helps free the nose from mucus accumulated in the sinuses.

Local immune protection can be restored by instilling aloe or Kalanchoe juice, as well as the most common saline solution, which is used to rinse the nose of both children and adults. This prevention of sinusitis in children is also practiced if the first obvious symptoms of the disease appear. If you are prone to sinusitis and rhinitis, otolaryngologists recommend breathing exercises, which is especially useful and safe for young patients. It is designed to ensure natural and unhindered air exchange so that congestion does not appear in the nasopharynx, leading to inflammation of the mucous membranes in the sinuses.

Read Symptoms and treatment of chronic sinusitis

The resistance of immune cells at the local level is helped to increase by interferons, which are instilled into the nose, as well as special drugs prescribed in courses, for example, Immudon, Derinat, IRS-19, Sinupret. They increase the resistance of the nasal mucosa to the influence of pathological bacteria and viral microflora.

How does the disease manifest itself?

Next, it is important to establish that this is definitely sinusitis, and not a common cold and the minor runny nose that accompanies it. How to determine if it is sinusitis or a runny nose? This can be done based on the following symptoms:

1. The occurrence of pain in the nasal area, which constantly increases and becomes more pronounced upon palpation.
2. A runny nose continues for a long time, and there is no improvement; breathing through the nose is difficult.
3. Nasal tone of voice.
4. Nasal discharge may contain particles of pus.
5. Decreased performance, general malaise, insomnia, headaches, etc.

Nasal discharge may contain pus particles

In no case should such symptoms be ignored, because they clearly indicate the presence of a more serious disease than just an acute respiratory infection.

Treatment after sinusitis, prevention of relapses

Sinusitis is a severe inflammatory process of the nasal sinuses. As a rule, such inflammation is accompanied by the formation of a large amount of purulent discharge and frequent headaches that occur both during illness and after sinusitis.

Often, sinusitis develops as a consequence of complications after infectious diseases. Sinusitis is manifested by symptoms such as a constant runny nose, difficulty breathing, nasal congestion and pain in the head, temples, and sinuses. A long course of the disease leads to the development of a chronic form of sinusitis, which is considered incurable.

How to understand that it is sinusitis and not a regular runny nose?

It is worth understanding that a runny nose can go away on its own; the human body has sufficient protection to resist this type of infection. At the same time, sinusitis cannot disappear on its own, and mandatory treatment is required. How, in this case, to distinguish sinusitis from a runny nose in order to take the necessary measures in a timely manner?

Sinusitis cannot go away on its own, it requires treatment

• You need to monitor your health. If, when treating a runny nose, the situation only worsens, the temperature rises, and a headache appears, then it is worth thinking about whether it is really rhinitis or a more serious inflammatory disease.
• A feeling of heaviness in the maxillary sinuses is another hallmark sign of sinusitis. With rhinitis, such a symptom is almost never observed.
• The specificity of nasal discharge is that with sinusitis it is abundant purulent particles, and with a runny nose the mucus is often liquid and transparent.

In addition, you can consult a doctor and conduct additional diagnostics. Modern methods make it possible to quickly establish not only an accurate diagnosis of the disease, but also the causes of its occurrence, which will greatly facilitate further treatment.

Today there are many methods for treating sinusitis.

We irrigate the nose and reduce swelling

You can avoid sinusitis if, when you have a runny nose, you try to relieve swelling in the nose as quickly as possible, and prevent the closure of the vessels connecting the maxillary sinuses with the nasal passages, through which the fluid comes out. Vasoconstrictor drugs, or rather drops and sprays, with which pharmacy chains are filled, help with this. Accustoming to such medications will not occur if they are used for less than 7 days. Further, swelling, drying of the mucous membranes and swelling of the capillaries will develop even more. Of these drugs are recommended:

• Sanorin;
• Tizin;
• Naphthyzin;
• Glazolin;
• Rhinorus;
• Xylene;
• Nazol.

Glazolin for sinusitis

For children, for the prevention and treatment of sinusitis, sea buckthorn and peach oils, which have additional antiviral properties, are useful, but they are used in the absence of allergies and only with the permission of the pediatrician.

Read Getting rid of catarrhal sinusitis

To improve nasal breathing, the following are also recommended:

• warm compresses on the nose area;
• washing with saline solutions;
• hot foot baths;
• instillation of folk remedies, for example, carrot or beet juice;
• steam inhalations with a nebulizer or thermal inhalations.

What to do with sinusitis?

If the disease does not go away on its own, it can be concluded that it should be treated. There are many different ways to do this, which will be discussed below. But first, it’s worth considering the question of what first aid should be provided for sinusitis, because it is not always possible to get an appointment with a doctor on the same day due to weekends, the inability to make an appointment with a family doctor, and for other reasons.

First aid can be provided at home, here are some high-quality and useful recommendations:

1. Drink more hot liquids. Tea with lemon or honey and raspberries will help warm the maxillary sinuses and help thin the mucus.
2. Breathe over the warm steam of boiled potatoes or the steam of chamomile infusion, linden blossom.
3. Rinse your nose several times a day using a saline solution - add 1 tbsp to a glass of water. l. salt, 1 drop of iodine and 1 tsp. vegetable oil.
4. Maintain bed rest, especially at elevated body temperatures, and devote more time to rest and proper sleep.
5. Additionally, humidify the room so that the air is not too dry.

First aid for sinusitis can be provided at home, for example, with inhalations

In any case, such measures will alleviate the patient’s condition, but will not completely get rid of the disease, so seek qualified medical help as soon as possible.

When does purulent sinusitis go away?

If a bacterial infection is added to acute inflammation, a purulent type of pathology develops. It is characterized by:

• headaches, especially when palpating the forehead and sinuses;
• swelling and redness of the face, especially in the area of ​​the bridge of the nose;
• increased pain when tilting the head;
• the fluid from the nose is thick, with an unpleasant odor, green in color;
• breathing becomes difficult, the sense of smell disappears;
• temperature from 39 degrees and above.

Along with the pain and a pus-filled nose, the patient experiences a feeling of general weakness, fatigue, and it is difficult for him to concentrate. Discharge flowing down the throat provokes a strong cough, even to the point of vomiting.

Pus that stagnates in the sinuses spreads to other organs and causes serious problems. Therefore, it is recommended to begin treatment under the supervision of doctors in a hospital. You need to stay in the hospital for several days, then the patient takes therapy at home, which involves rest and bed rest. The expected relief should occur approximately 10 days after its start. If positive changes do not appear, treatment will take about a month and a half or longer. The purulent type of sinusitis is eliminated using the same algorithm as catarrhal sinusitis, but the main fight is assigned to antibiotics. They are prescribed on the basis of research, so you cannot decide on your own whether to take this or that drug. The acute form of the disease requires taking antibiotics for 5-7 days, the chronic form – up to two weeks. Penicillins or cephalosporins are usually prescribed; in severe cases, macrolides and fluoroquinolones are used.

In addition to medications, the doctor may recommend dry inhalations and compresses. But wet inhalations and heating, with such a development of pathology, are strictly prohibited.

If the conservative method is ineffective, the patient is prescribed surgery - piercing the maxillary sinuses. This is a radical way to remove stagnant pus.