Sinusitis is common, especially in South Texas! Acute sinusitis can be triggered by a cold or allergies and may resolve on its own. Chronic sinusitis can last from four to eight weeks or longer and may be caused by an infection from bacteria or fungus, It’s cause can be hard to pin down and hard to treat. Symptoms include: facial pain, runny nose, yellow or green nasal drainage, nasal congestion and sinus headache.
START A CONSULTATION SINUS PATIENT APPOINTMENT REQUESTAcute sinusitis usually doesn’t require any treatment beyond symptomatic relief with medications.
Chronic sinusitis requires antibiotics and sometimes surgery due to problems with the structure of the nasal passages, or growth such as nasal polyp that keeps the sinus from draining normally.
Acute and Chronic sinusitis have similar symptoms of facial pain and pressure, thick discolored mucus and congestion.
Treatment is Key! Finding the right ENT specialist is not always an easy task. Dr. Weiss is a specialist that has experience in treating both acute and chronic sinusitis.
When diagnosing the specialist needs to determine whether you have acute or chronic sinusitis, this determines the correct treatment.
Typically your primary care physician will try over the counter medications such as decongestants to open the sinuses, medications to thin the mucus like saline, nasal sprays and pills like mucinex. If the nasal and sinus symptoms linger for more than one week, or are worsening after a few days, you may need to be treated with antibiotics. If your symptoms continue even after medical treatment, this is a sign of developing or developed chronic sinusitis If you get better only to have problems return again this is called recurrent acute sinusitis.
Chronic and recurrent acute sinusitis may require a nasal endoscopic exam and a CT scan of the sinuses because there are several causes for chronic and recurrent acute sinusitis including abnormal anatomy or nasal polyps.
There are many breakthrough and cutting edge treatments for treating chronic sinusitis such as an in office procedure called Balloon Sinuplasty™. This technology is a FDA-approved, endoscopic, catheter-based system for the relief from sinusitis. Balloon Sinuplasty™ technology uses a small, flexible, sinus balloon catheter to open up blocked sinus passageways, restoring normal sinus drainage and function.
Sinus Surgery is done when the symptoms can’t be controlled with medications and other treatments. The most common type of surgery for the sinuses is called Endoscopic Sinus Surgery. The purpose of the surgery is to widen the natural drainage pathways between the sinuses and the nose, allowing mucus to get out of the sinuses and air to get in. Medications that are delivered to the surface of the nose and sinuses, like sprays and irrigations, can get into the sinuses better after surgery as well.
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