Looking for answers

For twenty years I have battled with chronic sinusitis

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Chronic sinusitis is a common condition in which the cavities around nasal passages (sinuses) become inflamed and swollen. Chronic sinusitis lasts 12 weeks or longer despite treatment attempts.

Also known as chronic rhinosinusitis, this condition interferes with drainage and causes mucus to build up. If you have chronic sinusitis, it may be difficult to breathe through your nose. The area around your eyes and face may feel swollen, and you may have throbbing facial pain or a headache.

Chronic sinusitis may be caused by an infection, but it can also be caused by growths in the sinuses (nasal polyps) or by a deviated nasal septum. Chronic sinusitis most commonly affects young and middle-aged adults, but it also can affect children.

Symptoms

Chronic sinusitis and acute sinusitis have similar signs and symptoms, but acute sinusitis is a temporary infection of the sinuses often associated with a cold. At least two of the following signs and symptoms must be present for a diagnosis of chronic sinusitis:

• Drainage of a thick, yellow or greenish discharge from the nose or down the back of the throat
• Nasal obstruction or congestion, causing difficulty breathing through your nose
• Pain, tenderness and swelling around your eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead
• Reduced sense of smell and taste

Other signs and symptoms can include:

• Ear pain
• Aching in your upper jaw and teeth
• Cough, which may be worse at night
• Sore throat
• Bad breath (halitosis)
• Fatigue or irritability
• Nausea

 Some years are better some years are worse.  Usually it has been something I can just live with.   Not anymore.  The past six months I have been so incredibly sick.  I have been on antibiotic after antibiotic and within a week or so of finishing a course I am sick again.  I finally have an appointment with an allergist in two weeks to have testing done.  I know, after a sinus CT in January that I am structurally okay but something is causing this to recur time after time.


I am ready to be healthy.  I know that being able to breathe correctly and not feeling continually ill will help my energy level as well.