Sinusitis in pregnancy | Sinusitis

Sinusitis in pregnancy

In about one fifth of all women, swelling of the mucous membranes (gestational rhinitis) occurs during pregnancy. Paranasal sinusitis is often the result. There is often fear of harmful side effects of typical medications for sinusitis such as antibiotics and decongestant nasal drops.

However, an insufficiently treated sinusitis also carries risks during pregnancy (e.g. miscarriage). Home remedies such as herbal teas, steam inhalations or infrared light can be used during pregnancy without hesitation and have a soothing effect on the symptoms of sinusitis. Decongestant nasal drops are generally not recommended during pregnancy; only in the case of severe symptoms is very short-term use justifiable.

On the other hand, natural nasal sprays, for example with the active ingredient dexpanthenol, may also be used during pregnancy to moisten the mucous membranes without side effects. A bacterial infection (persistent symptoms, often fever) should also be treated with antibiotics during pregnancy despite the possible side effects. The active substance group of penicillins is suitable here, as these drugs can be taken relatively safely (even in the first trimester of pregnancy).

If the sinusitis persists for a long time or is chronic, nasal sprays containing cortisone are a good option, as they have a decongestant and anti-inflammatory effect. As these active ingredients are only used locally as nasal sprays, they hardly affect the entire organism and can also be used in low dosages by pregnant women. However, the use of medicines containing cortisone should be avoided as far as possible during the first three months of pregnancy.

Also during pregnancy, under no circumstances should a drug treatment of sinusitis be avoided. However, low dosages of the medication and the combination with suitable non-drug measures to alleviate the symptoms are recommended. Which drugs (e.g.B antibiotics) and which dosage is appropriate in the case of sinusitis during pregnancy should always be discussed individually with the treating physician.

Sinusitis and sports

If an inflammation of the paranasal sinuses occurs, especially in the autumn and winter months, you should take care of yourself. The reason is not to burden the already weakened immune system any further. One has to imagine that the immune system has been taken by surprise by the infection and is overloaded at this moment (otherwise the disease would not have broken out).

At the moment of slow regeneration of the body, the immune system is working at full speed to kill invading pathogens. An additional strain on the immune system would slow down the recovery process and make the body even more vulnerable to new infections. Heavy work should be avoided.

Even during sports, which should actually be regarded as beneficial to health, there is a slight throttling of the immune system, which is not desirable in the case of an acute infection (here in the case of sinusitis) and would reduce the recovery process. A further danger of sport in acute infection is the carry-over of pathogens that have entered the body. Also in the case of a sinusitis, viruses or bacteria have entered the body.

Especially locally, these pathogens cause the described symptoms of a sinusitis. If you do sports during this time, there is always the danger that the pathogens are carried over into the body. One organ that can often be affected is the heart, the heart muscle and the heart valves.

If the pathogens are carried away, this can lead to dangerous myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) caused by the pathogens. Furthermore, it can also happen that the pathogens in question attach themselves to a heart valve, where vegetation can impair normal valve closure. Two very dreaded complications of actually simple diseases.

Mostly young people who are infected and do not take part in sports are conspicuous a short time later by very high fever, tiredness and absolute weakness. With existing heart muscle inflammation or valvular insufficiency, there is also a dangerous drop in heart performance. In such cases, the patient must be admitted to hospital immediately and immediate antibiotic treatment must be initiated to avert the sometimes life-threatening course of the disease.

Non-treatment can lead to a chronic and irreversible cardiomyopathy, which is a chronic cardiac insufficiency due to the spread of the infection. In the most severe cases, the mostly younger patients must be placed on a transplant list in order to receive a donor heart.