How is sinusitis different from sinusitis?

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Green Elena Stanislavovna

Otolaryngologist of the second category

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With the onset of cold weather, the appearance of cold viruses or when various plants bloom, many people begin to develop allergies and sinus diseases. Sinusitis or sinusitis may occur, but such diseases have distinctive features. Before carrying out treatment, it is important to answer the question: what is the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis?

What are sinusitis and sinusitis?

You can understand the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis only by understanding the diseases. Sinusitis is a disease of the paranasal sinuses resulting from exposure to viruses and bacteria. As a rule, it occurs in a chronic form, but can occur with complications of influenza, measles, and ARVI. Sinusitis is an acute viral infection of the body. Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses occurs, which is characterized by the accumulation of pus.

You can distinguish between sinusitis and sinusitis by symptoms, since the localization will be different. Both diseases are accompanied by an increase in temperature. In the first case, several options for the course of the disease are possible:

1. Frontitis - inflammation of the frontal lobe occurs.
2. Ethmoiditis - parts of the ethmoid bone become inflamed.
3. Sphenoiditis - inflammation appears in the sphenoid sinuses.
4. Sinusitis is inflammation of the maxillary parts.
5. Pansinusitis - the disease is localized in all sinuses near the nose.
6. Hemisinusitis is inflammation on one side, left or right.

Sinusitis can be distinguished from sinusitis by location. Thus, with sinusitis it will be clear and if you take an x-ray, dark spots in the upper part will be visible in the picture.

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What are they?

Before you begin to find out the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis, you should study the theoretical side of the issue. Medicine defines sinuses as paranasal sinuses.

These are one unpaired and three paired air cavities, which are located in the skull and are closely connected to the main nasal cavity. Sinuses appear in the womb, and their formation continues until puberty.

You can understand the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis if you have an idea about the maxillary sinus and how to treat it.

It is in the sinuses that inflammatory processes occur in the sinuses.

Causes of sinusitis and sinusitis

The main difference between sinusitis and sinusitis is not only the localization of inflammation, but also the causes. Sinusitis often appears as a result of colds or an infectious infection of the body. In this case, pathogenic organisms enter the sinuses, and inflammation begins, which leads to swelling of the mucous membrane. The disease may appear due to a weak immune system or the presence of fungus in the body.

Sinusitis has several other causes, including:

1. Penetration of infections into the nasal cavity during breathing or directly through the blood.
2. Uncured colds or runny nose.
3. Complications after influenza, ARVI. Sinusitis can occur as a result of tumors or radiation pathology.
4. If the maxillary nasal cavity is damaged, a disease may occur; it can also appear with prolonged inhalation of chemicals, for example, if the patient works in production.
5. Excessive dryness in the room causes sinusitis.
6. Dental diseases and caries may be the cause.
7. A poor immune system or hypothermia can cause illness.
8. Allergy.

You can determine sinus inflammation if you know all the symptoms and signs of sinusitis and sinusitis.

Differences between the symptoms of sinusitis and sinusitis

Since both diseases are caused by similar causes, their symptoms will also be very similar to each other. With sinusitis and sinusitis the following are observed:

1. Difficulty in nasal breathing;
2. The presence of mucous discharge from the nose (sometimes purulent);
3. Headache, worse when tilting the head;
4. Swelling of the nose and nasal cavity;
5. Deterioration of sense of smell;
6. Increased body temperature.

The intensity of the symptoms depends on the degree of development of the disease, as well as its type. There are also 3 forms in which these diseases can occur:

• Acute – lasts up to 3 weeks;
• Chronic can last up to 3 months;
• Recurrent – ​​periodically recurring acute form.

In any form, the disease does not bring pleasant sensations and is additionally characterized by a deterioration in appetite and a general loss of strength.

What is the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis?

Doctors are accustomed to calling any inflammation of the nasal sinuses sinusitis, but this is a general definition. Such a diagnosis can be established if an examination is carried out and clear symptoms are identified. Sinusitis is considered a specific type of sinusitis and is considered a simple clarification of the disease. With this disease, only the maxillary region is affected, and the therapy will not differ significantly.

Doctors can diagnose sinusitis if there is an inflammatory process in several sinuses at once. Knowing the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis, it is necessary to detail the possible symptoms of a particular condition.

What types of sinusitis are there?

To make the difference between sinusitis and sinusitis more clear, you need to know all the types of sinusitis. There are exactly as many of them as there are paranasal sinuses in humans. We list all diseases of the nasopharynx (sinusitis):

• Frontitis - the mucous membrane of the frontal sinuses is inflamed.
• Ethmoiditis - an infection settled in the cavity of the ethmoid labyrinth.
• Sphenoiditis - the sphenoid sinus is affected.
• Sinusitis - one or both maxillary sinuses are clogged with pus.

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It is clear that the main difference between sinusitis and sinusitis can be considered a large area affected. In the first case, the infection can affect one or several types of sinuses, in the second case only one type. The patient may be diagnosed with rhinosinusitis if the inflammatory process affects one or more sinuses and the nasal mucosa.

Rhinosinusitis

Rhinosinusitis is a consequence of influenza, parainfluenza, and adenovirus infection. The disease can progress if any of these diseases have not been fully treated or if the treatment was carried out improperly. The causative agents of rhinosinusitis can be bacteria: streptococcus, staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

People with certain pathologies are most susceptible to the disease:

• polyps;
• asthma;
• nasal injury;
• weak immunity;
• congenital septal defect.

Medicines are a common cause of the disease; long-term treatment with some drugs leads to irritation of the mucous membrane.

Sinusitis

Sinusitis is the scourge of adults and children; they suffer from the disease, regardless of age and gender, with greater frequency than other forms of sinusitis. The incidence of sinusitis in Russia is higher than in Europe. In Russia, for every 100 people there are 12 patients diagnosed with sinusitis, and in Europe there are only 6. The main reason for this difference is the love of Russians for self-medication and the uncontrolled use of vasoconstrictor drops.

The consequence of not taking a runny nose seriously is sinusitis and sinusitis.

Symptoms of sinusitis and sinusitis

To determine pathology, it is important to know the possible symptoms of diseases. To do this, you can use a table of differences, by which you can understand whether sinusitis or sinusitis is beginning to develop:

The table shows the main symptoms; during exacerbations, additional sensations may occur. For example, sinusitis can lead to swelling of some parts of the face, memory is impaired, sweating increases, and an unpleasant odor may emanate from the nose and mouth.

How does sinusitis manifest?

There are practically no differences in the causes of sinusitis and sinusitis; they are common and were listed above. There are practically no differences between sinusitis and sinusitis in terms of external manifestations of the disease. The symptoms do not differ, whether it is sinusitis or sinusitis, here is a list of them:

• persistent headache, worsening in the evening and at night;
• an unpleasant feeling of heaviness in the area of ​​the inflamed sinuses;
• non-localized pain, radiating either to the teeth, then to the back of the head, or to the frontal part of the head;
• foggy consciousness during an exacerbation;
• temperature, with sinusitis is high.

In addition to pain, sinusitis and sinusitis are accompanied by other manifestations in the form of a severe runny nose, stuffy nose, coughing attacks and a nasal voice. Sinusitis and sinusitis in general may differ in the location of pain. In a patient with frontal sinusitis, it most often occurs in the frontal part of the head, in case of ethmoiditis - in the area of ​​the eyeballs.

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Types of rhinosinusitis, symptoms and treatment in adults

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What examination will the doctor prescribe?

It is almost impossible to distinguish sinusitis from sinusitis at home, so if characteristic symptoms appear, it is better to consult a doctor for a quality diagnosis. To examine patients, doctors conduct a visual examination, after which they use laboratory examination methods:

1. X-ray of the nasal sinuses.
2. Ultrasound of the nasal cavity.
3. CT or MRI.
4. Diaphanoscopy.
5. A swab of the nasal mucosa is taken for analysis.
6. Blood is donated for analysis.

When examining, doctors do not use all methods, but select them based on a specific case.

Treatment methods

To treat a particular disease, an integrated approach is used. Antibiotics are often used for sinusitis or sinusitis, and this rule is mandatory. Medicines can get rid of bacteria and viruses. For this, doctors prescribe:

1. Penicillins, which include “Flemoklav”, “Panklav”.
2. Cephalosporins, including Pancef and Suprax.
3. Macrolides, using the drugs Azitral and Clarithromycin.
4. Florquinolones are prescribed in rare cases and among them are Quintor and Lomacin.

Additionally, local antibiotics may be prescribed, which are presented in the form of a spray. Among them are Framycetin and Bioparox.

Viral sinusitis is also treated with antiseptics, and if drops are used, they should constrict the blood vessels. Drops are recommended for use if the nose is very stuffy. The course of treatment with drops should not exceed 5 days and it is better to use combined products or solutions based on essential oils. When a fever appears, doctors may prescribe Paracetamol or Nurofen.

Diseases can be treated not only in a hospital setting; home treatment can be used for this. To begin with, a home diagnosis is carried out; if, when pressing on the inner corner of the eye, pain appears, radiating to the cheek, then this is sinusitis.

Folk remedies have no less positive effects during treatment. And for this, rinsing the nasal cavity is recommended, but it must be done correctly:

1. Tilt your head at a right angle over the bathtub.
2. Take a deep breath and hold your breath.
3. Apply the container with the solution to the nostril.
4. Pour the solution into one nostril so that it flows out through the other.

You need to rinse your nostrils one by one, and at the end blow your nose to get rid of any remaining mucus and rinse. This method should not be used for children, as complications may arise.

You can use different recipes to prepare the solution.

1. Add 3 drops of diluted potassium permanganate and iodine to a glass of heated water; it will be useful to add and dissolve 1 tsp. sea ​​salt.
2. For 1 tsp. St. John's wort add 200 ml of boiling water and rinse with warm infusion.

After treatment and for recovery, thermal procedures can be used. At home, it will be easiest to breathe over the steam of potatoes. It is useful to do fir inhalations; for this, add 5 drops of oil to 2 liters of boiling water, and you need to breathe until the smell disappears.

Therapy is also carried out with local means, for this you need to make an ointment:

1. Aloe, cyclamen, and onions are crushed. Juice is squeezed out from the resulting masses and 1 tsp is mixed.
2. Add 1 tsp to the liquid. Vishnevsky ointment.

The ointment is applied to the nasal cavity 3 times a day for 21 days.

Complications of sinusitis and sinusitis

As a rule, sinusitis and sinusitis cause a lot of discomfort, inconvenience and pain, but do not cause harm. In rare cases, people may experience complications, including:

1. Osteomyelitis. It is often observed in boys during adolescence, when the infection enters the frontal and other facial bones.
2. Infection of the eye socket. Leads to swelling and drooping of the eyelids. This condition is rare and appears with ethmoid sinusitis during complications. It becomes difficult for a person to move his eyes, and vision loss is possible. Almost always accompanied by a feverish state.
3. Blood clots. If blood clots form in the front of the face, the symptoms will be similar to infections in the eye socket. Symptoms appear on one side of the face, after which they spread to the other side.
4. Brain infection. A very serious complication of sinusitis and sinusitis. It often causes meningitis and abscess. There is pain in the head, loss of consciousness, and vision deterioration. In advanced form, convulsions and death occur.

As you can see, the complications are very serious, so it is important to carry out treatment in a timely manner and not delay it.