Acute sinusitis

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Definition

Your sinuses are the air-filled hollow cavities around your nose and nasal passages. When these passages become inflamed, fluid may accumulate and interfere with normal drainage of mucus in the sinuses. This condition is known as acute sinusitis.

The result? You may have trouble breathing through your nose. When you lean forward, throbbing pains may move across your face. You may have a headache, fever or nagging cough, and you feel your eyes and facial tissue swell up.

It's an uncomfortable condition. The common cold virus is the most frequent cause, although other triggers include bacteria or allergies. Most colds resolve with time, but nearly 2 percent develop into acute sinusitis. Almost 40 million Americans experience sinusitis each year, at an annual health care cost of nearly $6 billion.

Treatment of acute sinusitis depends on the cause, and therapies can range from antibiotics for bacterial cases to oral corticosteroids for acute inflammation.

Untreated acute sinusitis can lead to more-serious infections or become a chronic condition. However, most cases are short-lived. When symptoms last less than four weeks, the sinusitis is considered acute.

Symptoms