Medical procedure for recurring sinus infection sufferers

Mike Snider has been suffering from chronic sinus infection for a while and, in his article, he shares his experience about the balloon sinuplasty procedure he went through.

Excerpts from his article as follows:

Time for sinus surgery

I, along with about 14% of the U.S. population, or 37 million Americans, had chronic sinusitis, inflammation of the linings of the sinuses bad enough to block the drainage of mucus into the nose.

My path to surgery involved more than a decade of on-again, off-again congestion, pressure, trouble breathing and fatigue. Over the years, any time I flew in an airplane I was likely to develop a sinus infection.

Colds and flu could also cause them. Despite preventive measures — nasal steroid sprays, allergy shots and twice-daily sinus rinses — I regularly got infections that required antibiotics to subdue.
At their worst, my symptoms affected my work and my outside activities. Sometimes I couldn't sleep and often didn't have the energy to exercise.

I sought out numerous doctors and had several CT scans. One doctor attributed my face pain to migraines, and another surgeon suggested that I wait until my case became unbearable, as corrective surgery had no guarantees.

New way to open nasal passages

Last summer, I got a sinus infection that lasted for four months despite aggressive treatment of steroids and antibiotics. During the treatment, my allergy doctor referred me to a different sinus surgeon who had been doing a new procedure called balloon sinuplasty, which uses a small, flexible balloon catheter to open nasal passages.
"It is the evolution of the minimally invasive sinus surgery. So instead of actually cutting or removing tissue or bone, you are expanding a small balloon in the opening (of the sinuses)," says ear, nose and throat surgeon Jack Williams, "much like they do to open up a partially clogged artery."

In my initial examination, Williams said that my sinuses were swollen shut with trapped fluid in the frontal sinuses. Having performed more than 100 balloon procedures, he considered me a good candidate, but he also planned to correct a crooked septum as part of the surgery.

Each year, about 500,000 patients undergo the more traditional functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), in which a surgeon removes bone and tissue. I had been scared off those by horror stories of painful recoveries and repeat surgeries.
Williams described how balloon sinuplasty induces very little or no scar tissue and heals much better. "It's much less uncomfortable and takes a day or two recovery time."

Mike Snider is someone who is predisposed to getting recurring sinus infection. This is because he suffers from chronic nasal congestion as a result of the physical structure of his nose, a deviated septum and also very narrow nasal passages.

If you do not wish to go through sinus surgery, then one of the best home remedy for sinus infection is to perform nasal irrigation daily using a neti pot. For more information, please visit Sinus Infection Help.

A cautionary note to allergy sufferers with regards to self-diagnosis and medication

Dr. Sami Bahna, Chief of Allergy & Immunology at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, in recent article, mentioned that many people are resorting to self-diagnosis and medication for their allergies.

Excerpts from her article is as follows:

[ Dr. Bahna says it certainly brings more people into his clinic, there are still many more who self-diagnose the symptoms they're suffering, and that can lead to trouble.

"Allergies are the most commonly mis-diagnosed and the most commonly self-diagnosed." It's when patients try to self-treat that they might be missing out on a simpler approach - or making things worse all around. "Medications are well known, not just to any physicians, but even the patients know the names of the nasal sprays and the antihistamines and the eye drops," says Dr. Hanoi, who suggests a visit to the doctor is still the smartest approach - even when advice and experience from friends and family abounds, "Their knowledge alone is not the issue It's how to tune it up for that particular person, and sometimes, a little adjustment like that makes a BIG difference!"

Besides that, Dr. Bhana says some over-the-counter medications can actually make your allergy symptoms worse. "The over the counter nasal sprays are not good. it will relieve the obstruction, the blockage of the nose quickly - pleases the patient - and rebounds again like a rubber band!" While those saline nasal decongestants are fine in small doses at bedtime so you can sleep, they're not good for constant daytime use. Dr. Bhana says that can lead to allergy sufferers using them more often, which only end up increasing the symptoms.

Gone improperly treated for too long, all that drainage can turn into a sinus infection. You'll know it when the mucus becomes discolored. That means you have a secondary infection and you need to see your doctor and get an antibiotic to go along with your decongestant.

Here are some tips for surviving Spring allergy season:

1.Try to keep doors and windows closed.
2.Use the air conditioning in your house and car.
3.Stay inside when you can, especially on dry windy days.
4.Use a dehumidifier
5.Use high efficiency particulate air or HEPA filter in your bedroom
6.Avoid mowing the lawn or raking leaves.]

Effective allergy and sinus relief can take the form of over-the-counter medications and some proven sinus infection home remedies can work just a well too!

Usually, if you suffer from allergies often, it is highly possible that you get clogged ears regularly which may lead to Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.

For more information on sinus infection treatment and medical procedures for sinus infection such as balloon sinuplasty, please visit Sinus Infection Help.

Should antibiotics be the first choice in treating sinus infection?

Dr. Helen Minciotti wrote an interesting article about the use of antibiotics in treating sinus infection.

Below are excerpts from her article:

" Is there a time when upper respiratory infections do deserve treatment with antibiotics? Yes, under certain circumstances. Sinuses are cavities in the skull - basically, holes in your head - that become inflamed during colds. When this inflammation persists, sinuses can become infected with bacteria. If a cold lasts several weeks and a child shows no signs of improving on his own, he can have a true sinus infection.

Specialists at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report that the three factors that most often predispose a child to bacterial sinusitis include these viral URIs, allergic inflammation and exposure to smoke. The Cincinnati researchers note that X-rays are generally not used to diagnose sinusitis, as it's really a clinical diagnosis, based on a child's presenting signs and symptoms. Major diagnostic criteria are: URI symptoms lasting more than 10 days without improvement, nasal congestion and discharge of any type - color, though parents often worry about the dreaded green "snot," is not considered diagnostic - and a cough which is usually worse at night. Other possible features of sinusitis are a low-grade fever, ear or throat pain, fatigue, bad breath, intermittent facial puffiness and face or tooth pain.

The bugs that cause sinusitis in children tend to be the same organisms that cause ear infections. Treatment, therefore, is generally the same, with the usual first line antibiotic of choice being high-dose amoxicillin for a 10- to 14-day course. Though a child will not be cured after 72 hours of antibiotics, parents should notify the doctor if they see no signs of improvement during this initial treatment period.

Saline rinses help some pediatric patients, while acetaminophen or ibuprofen can take the edge off sinus headaches and facial pain. The use of a cool mist vaporizer or humidifier in the bedroom can also make nighttime a little more comfortable for young sinus sufferers."

Being a chronic sinus infection sufferer for quite some years myself, sinus pain can be unbearable. When it comes to this stage, sinus infection treatment using antibiotics is really necessary in my opinion.

For more information on preventing sinus infection and whether sinus infections are contagious, please visit Sinus Infection Help.

Are you coughing and sneezing? It may be allergies

For many of you who are suffering from sinus infection or chronic nasal congestion, Dr. Rima Sanka of Advanced Allergy and Asthma Care in Pinellas Park says this season seems to be more severe.

In a recent news article, the Pinellas Park allergist says the climate and environment help dictate the allergy season. She says a colder than usual winter is partly to blame for more cases of allergy sufferers.

With symptoms like scratchy throat, sneezing and congestion, patients often confuse allergies with the common cold.

Dr. Sanka says, "People who suffer from allergies often have chronic recurring infections, like sinus infection, bronchitis infections, which can be more frequent and more severe."

And left untreated, experts say allergies can turn into asthma. "The most common type of asthma is allergic asthma. Allergies gone untreated, there's shortness of breath, chronic cough, night time cough, difficulty in breathing or wheezing," describes Dr. Sanka.

She says at the very least, allergies impact the quality of your daily life, from making you feel tired, to impacting your sleep, work performance and attention.

For more information on sinusitis or home remedy for sinus infection, go to the Sinus Infection Help.