{"id":1520,"date":"2020-11-25T17:38:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T23:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/?p=1520"},"modified":"2020-11-25T17:39:31","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T23:39:31","slug":"are-sinus-infections-serious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/are-sinus-infections-serious\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Sinus Infections Serious?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A sinus infection occurs when the lining of your sinus cavity swells or becomes inflamed. This can cause your normally air-filled sinuses to become blocked, fill with fluid and develop into a breeding ground for bacteria. While normally not cause for alarm, when left unmonitored some sinus infections <a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/sinus-infections-that-dont-quit-when-you-should-worry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">can worsen and become medical emergencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Acute vs. Chronic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/photo-1516126491303-6f54240c8491.jpg\" alt=\"A mug, glasses and tissues.\" class=\"wp-image-1522\" width=\"341\" height=\"258\" title=\"Are Sinus Infections Serious?\" srcset=\"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/photo-1516126491303-6f54240c8491.jpg 960w, https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/photo-1516126491303-6f54240c8491-768x582.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two types of sinus infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/allergy-sinus\/sinus\/sinusitis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Acute sinusitis<\/a> lasts two to four weeks and produces cold-like symptoms, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Facial pain\/pressure<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/ent\/nose\/nasal-congestion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stuffy nose<\/a><\/li><li>Runny nose<\/li><li>Loss of smell<\/li><li>Congestion<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A fever, bad breath, fatigue and dental pain may also occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sinusitis is characterized as chronic if the infection lasts longer than 12 weeks. In addition to the symptoms commonly associated with an acute sinus infection, those with chronic sinusitis often experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Feelings of fullness in the face<\/li><li>Nasal obstruction<\/li><li>Discolored postnasal drip<\/li><li>Pus in the nasal cavity<\/li><li>Headache<\/li><li>Bad breath<\/li><li>Tooth pain<\/li><li>Fatigue<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Viral vs. Bacterial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sinusitis can be caused by either a viral or bacterial infection. The only way to know for sure which is responsible for your symptoms is to swab the inside of your nose and grow a culture.&nbsp; According to Dr. Raj Sindwani, an ear, nose and throat specialist, \u201cThis is rarely necessary because sinusitis often goes away by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He explains that because the symptoms for each cause are similar, doctors typically recommend patients wait seven to ten days before they seek treatment. This is how long it would take a viral infection, such as a cold, to work itself out of your system. \u201cIf you don\u2019t get better, we start thinking there\u2019s a bacterial component,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s when we pull the trigger on an antibiotic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Antibiotics are only used to treat bacterial infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Sinus Infections Become Serious<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although rare, there are occasions when, left untreated, sinus infections can spread to other parts of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the infection spreads to the eyes, it can cause redness, swelling and reduced vision. Cavernous sinus thrombosis, a rare condition, can even lead to blindness. IV antibiotics are needed to treat this kind of infection, and you will probably require hospital admittance and a CT scan to see if fluid needs to be drained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the sinus infection spreads to the head, it can lead to meningitis or a brain abscess, life-threatening medical conditions.\u00a0 To learn more about sinus infections or to schedule an appointment with an experienced ear, nose and throat doctor, contact Foothills ENT and Allergy and Hearing Center today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Sinus Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/symptoms-of-a-sinus-infection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Symptoms of a Sinus Infection<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A sinus infection occurs when the lining of your sinus cavity swells or becomes inflamed. This can cause your normally air-filled sinuses to become blocked, fill with fluid and develop into a breeding ground for bacteria. While normally not cause for alarm, when left unmonitored some sinus infections can worsen and become medical emergencies. Acute&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"A sinus infection occurs when the lining of your sinus cavity swells or becomes inflamed.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foothillsentahc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}