The basics of sinusitis

What are Sinuses?
Our sinuses are tiny little compartment like structures right behind the area which houses our eyes, cheek, jaws and the like. The sinuses produce mucous in order to cleanse out the bacteria which we take in every time we inhale through our mouth or nose. The mucous is moved around by miniscule strands of hair called Cilia.

Now, sinusitis causes the inner walls of the compartments of the sinuses to swell up causing the Cilia to stop functioning. At the same time the sinuses start producing either too much or too little mucous and thus your entire respiratory system appears congested.

What causes Sinusitis?

A number of factors may contribute to the inflammation of the sinuses. Here we list a few common causes of Sinusitis:

1) Change in temperature or increase in the humidity level.
2) Swimming, diving.
3) Smoking.


In each case the activities or conditions mentioned creates a comfortable atmosphere for bacteria and viruses to dwell in, and thereby encourages there breeding.

Take Smoking for instance. Smoking retards the functioning of the cilia causing the sinuses to assume that there has been a sudden invasion by bacteria or some such microorganism, immediately they start producing more mucous. Now, the cilia are immobile thus the mucous remains stagnant at one place and almost sends out an open invitation to microorganisms to invade. Result? A Disgustingly congested Sinus infection.

Similarly if you have been swimming or engaging in some such water activity the water which enters your nose will send out similar warning signals to your sinuses causing the same sort of reaction.

In case you have an infection already the above mentioned activities will only worsen the problem causing the mucous to thicken and cause more congestion.


Additional Problems

As most of us know the sinuses are connected to the ear through the Eustachian tube. So, due to the connection between these two organs even a short sneeze can effortlessly push infection from one to the other, such that a sinus infection almost immediately gives rise to an ear infection. Similarly, infection can also trickle down to the other areas the Sinus is connected to, like say the lungs. Thus a simple Sinus infection can give rise to a horrible respiratory infection.


Symptoms
1) Watch out for the post nasal drip, that nasty feeling of mucous gurgling into the back area of your throat.
2) Constant sniffing and painful swallowing.
3) Sinus infection usually occurs right at the beginning of any sort of cold or influenza.

Methods of Prevention
Use a Xylitol rich nasal spray to ward of Sinusitis. Xylitol is a preferable component of nasal sprays since unlike other elements usually used in such medication it is a natural element and comes from fruits and vegetables, thus it has the least amount of side effects besides being particularly relieving.