The mucosal inflammation which is located at the sinuses, caused by an infection or other cause, has been called sinusitis. These sinuses are the spaces through which the air passes inside the bones that are around the nose, which produce mucus, which drains into the nose and if the nose is unwell due to inflammation, the sinuses can become blocked and cause pain.
According to its location, we can speak of ethmoidal sinusitis, also known as ethmoiditis; maxillary, frontal or sphenoid sinusitis and pansinusitis, which is when all sinus groups are affected unilaterally or bilaterally.
On the other hand, depending on the time duration of the condition will discuss acute sinusitis, subacute, chronic and recurring, with a smaller presence to four weeks, four to twelve weeks longer than twelve weeks and several attacks in one year, respectively.
Sinusitis that occurs in childhood is distinguished from that that appears in adulthood, due to the postnatal development of the various sinus groups. Thus, in newborns and infants only ethmoiditis occurs, in early childhood ethmoiditis, which may be associated with maxillary sinusitis, and from adolescence onwards any breast may be affected. However, ethmoiditis and maxillary sinusitis are always the most common in any age group.
The most important factor that produces sinusitis is the partial or total obstruction of the sinus ostium, frequently caused by edema produced by a catarrhal process of the upper airways. It should be noted that in chronic sinusitis, anatomical or constitutional abnormalities are also often incriminated.
Ostial obstruction causes secretions to stasis, with a decrease in pH and a drop in intrasinusal oxygen partial pressure, changes that lead to the formation of an environment conducive to the colonization of bacteria, which in turn leads to inflammatory phenomena of the mucosa that feed back the process, which increases ostial obstruction.
This inflammation of the mucosa causes an alteration in mucociliary transport, since a much thicker mucus is produced, which is difficult to eliminate and expel, which contributes to an additional blockage.
In the rhinogenic processes that condition sinusitis, the main bacterial agents that occur are: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes.
Chronic sinusitis can be bacterial or fungal, or associated with a granulomatous disease.
The main symptoms of sinusitis are congestion, cough, weakness, fatigue, and fever. Its diagnosis is given by examinations of the face and nose and to treat it will be necessary: antibiotics, analgesics, decongestants, saline nasal sprays, vaporizers and the use of heating pads in the inflamed area.
