Sinus Inflammation

Introduction

Sinusitis frontalis is a painful disease, which manifests itself mainly by enormous and longer lasting headaches (cephalgias). The sinusitis is one of the paranasal sinus inflammations and occurs mainly in adult patients, as the sinuses of children have yet to be fully developed. A sinusitis can have several causes.

An acutely occurring sinusitis can develop due to a cold. When a cold comes, the mucous membranes in the nose become irritated and swell. On the one hand, this leads to an annoying rhinitis, on the other hand it causes a congestion of secretion.

This means that the liquid that normally comes out of the nose is hindered from flowing out. At the same time, hardly any air can enter the sinus cavity to ventilate and cleanse it. If a patient does not treat his or her cold and the accompanying rhinitis sufficiently or even at all, it can happen that the secretion of the nose cannot transport the contained pollutants, viruses or bacteria to the outside.

Instead, the secretion accumulates in the sinuses and is the ideal place for bacteria to multiply and release harmful substances. This means that a sinus infection can occur indirectly through the rhinitis. Nevertheless, not every cold necessarily leads to sinusitis.

Above all anatomical conditions favour the process. There are patients with very narrow sinuses, which makes it much easier for the secretion to accumulate than in patients with very pronounced frontal and paranasal sinuses. A curvature of the nasal septum, for example after a rupture of the nose or due to congenital conditions, also restricts the flow of secretion and thus promotes sinusitis.

Many patients suffering from chronic rhinitis due to allergies are familiar with the problem of sinusitis. Due to the permanent irritation of the nasal mucosa, a lot of “old” secretion remains in the nose and can thus accumulate in the sinus. This very often leads to sinusitis in allergy sufferers.

Patients with an allergy to grasses and/or pollen are particularly frequently affected. Nasal polyps (polyposis nasi) can also lead to sinusitis. Nasal polyps are mucous membrane proliferations that either develop in the nose and hinder the flow of secretions or directly in the frontal or paranasal sinuses.

In rare cases, an inflammation of the tooth root also leads to an inflammation of the sinus. The cause of this is a direct connection between the mouth area and the paranasal sinuses and thus also the frontal sinus. However, rapid treatment rarely leads to an inflammation of the tooth root as far as the frontal sinus.