Originally published January 31 2006
Columbia doctor offers advice about sinusitis and its symptoms
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Lanny Close from Columbia University Medical Center East shares the symptoms of sinusitis with readers and what steps to take to recover from the illness.
Sinusitis, which is an inflammation of the sinuses, is one the most frequently diagnosed conditions in this country.
Eye, ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Lanny Close from Columbia University Medical Center East stopped by The Early Show to explain how one gets sinusitis, and more importantly, how to get rid of it.
Dr. Close says sinuses are mucus-secreting glands that partially serve to humidify, filter and warm the air one breathes.
"There's an inflammation of the mucosa that lines the sinus.
The openings are called apertures and they're quite small to begin with but the swelling of the mucosa blocks them," Close explains.
"The mucus that stays in the sinus is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, so it forms a perfect culture medium for infection and that's how the infection occurs."
Many of the symptoms sound like a cold and Close says that, in fact, most sinus infections follow a cold.
How can one tell the difference between an infection and a cold?
"So the initial symptoms of the cold are congestion and fullness, a stopped-up nose.
You don't have the discolored mucus that you blow out of your nose or goes down the back of your throat associated with a cough, associated with a fever, fatigue," he explains.
Treatment options include drinking lots of fluids, having a bowl of hot soup, inhaling steam and nasal steroid sprays.
If you have sinusitis, doctors recommend not flying or scuba diving.
Surgery to enlarge the sinus openings is also an option.
"Again, if you just have a cold and you don't have some of these attendant symptoms that would suggest you have an outright infection then, yeah, there's a lot of over the counter medications that can help," says Close.
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