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A sinus infection is inflammation of the sinuses — the spaces inside your nose and head. When the sinuses are swollen, they can't drain, causing mucus to build up.

"A typical sinus infection is caused by the common cold, or most common viruses out there, typically lasting anywhere from three days to seven days. And it typically goes away on its own," says Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a Mayo Clinic family physician.

He says there are some simple home treatments you can do to ease the symptoms, such as drinking plenty of fluids, taking over-the-counter pain relievers and decongestants, and using a saline nasal rinse or nasal spray. When it comes to sinus infections, in general, he says time is often the best medicine.

"But if somehow you start getting better and then start getting worse and feel more facial pressure — can be teeth pressure, fever, lot of facial pain, fatigue — after a period of a week, you should seek care and get evaluated by a clinician," says Dr. Bracamonte.

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Most people who have a cold feel better in about a week as the virus runs its course. Sometimes colds can lead to inflammation of your sinuses. "A small percentage of people who have a cold virus can go on to develop bacterial sinusitis," says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic.

Watch: Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse explains bacterial sinusitis.

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"Sinusitis is an infection of your sinuses," says Dr. Rajapakse. "Your sinuses are usually air-filled cavities in your skull. They sit just under your eyes, in your forehead, and between your eyes, as well. If you develop an infection, the sinus cavities can become filled with mucous and pus."

Inflamed sinuses most commonly are caused by viruses, bacteria or allergies. Antibiotics may be prescribed to treat a bacterial sinus infection but will not help a viral infection or provide any relieve allergy symptoms. Many people with bacterial sinusitis also will get better without taking antibiotic.

"Viruses themselves can cause some sinus inflammation, as well, so, sometimes, it can be a bit difficult to differentiate whether your sinus symptoms are just related to a virus or whether you may have a bacteria contributing," says Dr. Rajapakse. If your symptoms last for more than 10 days, it is more likely to be caused by a bacterial infection.

Common symptoms of a sinus infection include:

• Drainage of a thick, yellow or greenish discharge from the nose or down the back of the throat (Yellow or green discharge can be seen with viral and bacterial sinusitis.)
• Nasal obstruction or congestion, causing difficulty breathing through your nose
• Pain, tenderness, swelling and pressure around your eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead that worsens when bending over
• Headache
• Loss of sense of smell

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These self-help steps can help relieve sinusitis symptoms:

• Rest. This will help your body fight infection and speed recovery.
• Drink fluids, such as water or juice. This will help dilute mucous secretions and promote drainage. Avoid beverages that contain caffeine or alcohol, as they can be dehydrating. Drinking alcohol can also worsen the swelling of the lining of the sinuses and nose.
• Moisten your sinus cavities. Drape a towel over your head as you breathe in the vapor from a bowl of hot water. Keep the vapor directed toward your face. Or take a hot shower, breathing in the warm, moist air. This will help ease pain and help mucus drain.
• Apply warm compresses to your face. Place warm, damp towels around your nose, cheeks and eyes to ease facial pain.
• Rinse your nasal passages. Use a specially designed squeeze bottle (Sinus Rinse, others) or neti pot. This home remedy, called nasal lavage, can help clear your sinuses.
   

  If you make your own rinse, use water that's contaminant-free — distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered using a filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller — to make up the irrigation solution. Also be sure to rinse the irrigation device after each use with contaminant-free water and leave open to air-dry.

• Sleep with your head elevated. This will help your sinuses drain, reducing congestion.

Prevention

Take these steps to help reduce your risk of getting acute sinusitis:

• Avoid upper respiratory infections. Minimize contact with people who have colds. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially before your meals.
• Manage your allergies. Work with your doctor to keep symptoms under control.
• Avoid cigarette smoke and polluted air. Tobacco smoke and other pollutants can irritate and inflame your lungs and nasal passages.
• Use a humidifier. If the air in your home is dry, such as it is if you have forced-air heat, adding moisture to the air may help prevent sinusitis. Be sure the humidifier stays clean and free of mold with regular, thorough cleaning.

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ANSWER: Sinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses, which are the air-containing pockets in the skull and facial bones around your nose. Chronic sinusitis develops when inflammation lasts for more than 12 weeks. Testing involves a visit to an ear, nose and throat, or ENT, doctor who will examine your sinuses. Most chronic sinusitis can be managed with medical therapy. However, if your symptoms or the inflammation do not respond to medical therapy, surgery may be necessary. The goal of treatment is to restore sinus health and function.

Symptoms of chronic sinusitis often resemble a cold. A cold is usually caused by a viral infection and is often accompanied by a runny or stuffed-up nose, sneezing, sore throat, watery eyes and a fever. This kind of acute viral sinusitis usually lasts seven to 10 days.

In rare instances, you may get a bacterial infection as a result of a cold, resulting in acute bacterial sinusitis. If that happens, cold symptoms get worse after seven to 10 days. You also may have yellow or green nasal drainage, pain in your face or teeth, and a fever. Acute sinusitis lasts up to four weeks. When symptoms persist for more than 12 weeks, you may have chronic sinusitis. But some cases of chronic sinusitis can develop subtly, without a preceding viral infection.

In chronic sinusitis, the lining of sinus cavities, called mucosa, becomes inflamed and swollen. Chronic sinusitis symptoms usually do not include fever. You may have thick, discolored nasal discharge, often green or yellow, along with nasal congestion. You may feel dull pain or pressure in your cheeks, eyes, forehead or the back of your head. Your sense of smell and taste may be reduced. Sometimes, when the inflammation is very bad, polyps may form in the nose. Polyps occupy the nasal passageways and can cause problems with nasal breathing, drainage and sense of smell.

During an ENT evaluation for chronic sinusitis, your doctor will perform a camera examination called nasal endoscopy. For this exam, a thin tube called an endoscope that has a tiny light and camera at the end is inserted through your nose and into your sinuses. In some cases, a CT scan also may be used to evaluate the sinuses.

If you have chronic sinusitis, medical treatment is usually tried first to reduce the inflammation. Your doctor may recommend medications such as antibiotics, nasal or oral steroids, or a nasal saline rinse.

If medication is not enough to relieve symptoms or control inflammation, you may need sinus surgery. The surgery, known as endoscopic sinus surgery, involves widening the openings of the sinuses to allow for improved drainage and ventilation. It usually is performed entirely through the nose using an endoscope. It should not result in any external bruising or swelling. Typically it is not a very painful procedure, although you may feel tired and congested afterward.

Many surgeons no longer use nasal packing after this surgery, making recovery much more comfortable than it used to be. A procedure called debridement typically is performed a few days after surgery to clean the nasal and sinus passageways. People often notice a large improvement in symptoms after that, and most are able to resume their normal activities at that time.

In most cases, sinus surgery improves symptoms significantly. But even after surgery, many people with chronic sinusitis still require ongoing treatment, such as occasional use of nasal steroids and a nasal rinse to maintain good sinus health.

If you have nasal polyps or if your chronic sinusitis is complicated by other respiratory problems, such as asthma or bronchitis, it is best to have your condition evaluated by a rhinologist — an ENT surgeon that specializes in sinus and nasal disorders. — Devyani Lal, M.D., Otorhinolaryngology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Ariz.

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Mucus. It isn’t pretty, but it’s a frontline weapon in the fight against the common cold and sinusitis. On this week’s Mayo Clinic Radio, ENT specialist Dr. Erin O’Brien explains why.

Also on the program, Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Rekha Mankad answers listener questions about heart health. And Mayo Clinic urologist Dr. Jeffrey Karnes discusses the pros and cons of the PSA test for prostate cancer.

Myth or Matter-of-Fact: Humming can improve sinus health.

Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio.

Click here to listen to the program on Saturday, February 7, at 9:05 a.m. and follow #MayoClinicRadio.

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Mayo Clinic Radio is a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic. The show is taped for rebroadcast by some affiliates.

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Mucus. It isn’t pretty, but it’s a frontline weapon in the fight against the common cold and sinusitis. On this week’s Mayo Clinic Radio, ENT specialist Dr. Erin O’Brien explains why. Also on the program, Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Rekha Mankad answers listener questions about heart health. And Mayo Clinic urologist Dr. Jeffrey Karnes discusses the pros and cons of the PSA test for prostate cancer.

Myth or Matter-of-Fact: Humming can improve sinus health.

To listen to the program at 9 a.m. Saturday, February 28, click here.

Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeartRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio is a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

To find and listen to archived shows, click here.

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ANSWER: Allergies and sinus infections are often mistaken for one another. But they are two separate conditions. By paying close attention to the specific symptoms you have, you can usually identify which one is more likely to be causing the problem.

A sinus infection, also called sinusitis, affects the cavities around your nasal passages. The infection causes your sinuses to become inflamed and swollen. The swelling makes it hard for your sinuses to drain, and mucus builds up. You become congested and have trouble breathing through your nose. Sinusitis often causes thick yellow or green nasal discharge. A sore throat, cough or headache, as well as pressure or tenderness around your eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead, may also accompany sinusitis.

In most cases, viruses cause sinusitis. These viral infections usually go away on their own within a week to 10 days. Self-care measures such as extra rest and fluids along with over-the-counter pain relievers and decongestants can help. When sinusitis is caused by bacteria, the infection may not require treatment, either. But if it is persistent or severe, then antibiotics — such as amoxicillin, doxycycline and others — may be used to treat the infection.

Allergies can produce many of the same cold-like symptoms as a sinus infection, including sinus pressure, a runny nose and congestion. But the condition itself, called allergic rhinitis, is different. It is caused by an allergic response to allergens, such as pollen, dust mites or pet dander. This reaction happens when your immune system releases chemicals, such as histamine, into your bloodstream. These immune system chemicals lead to your allergy symptoms.

One of the key ways to tell if you are experiencing allergic rhinitis is if you have itchy, watery eyes along with your other symptoms. Itchiness is rarely a symptom of a sinus infection. Another way to tell the difference is if you have very thick yellow or green nasal discharge. That is more likely a symptom of a sinus infection.

If you have seasonal allergies triggered by pollen or spores, then the timing of your symptoms may help you decide if they are likely caused by allergies. For example, tree pollen is most common in the spring. Grass pollen is common in late spring and early summer, while ragweed pollen is prevalent in the fall. Mold and fungi spores are usually more plentiful in warm-weather months. The seasons for these allergens may be different, though, depending on the region of the country where you live.

Over-the-counter medications, such as antihistamines, can be quite effective in relieving allergy symptoms. If you are regularly bothered by allergies, ask your doctor if a prescription nasal corticosteroid may be right for you. These nasal sprays help prevent and treat nasal inflammation and congestion, while antihistamines treat the itching and runny nose that allergies can cause.

Nasal corticosteroids can be particularly helpful if you have seasonal allergies and use them just as the allergy symptoms begin. That’s because when the season first starts, you need a lot of the allergen to cause symptoms. But as symptoms progress, lower amounts of allergen produce more symptoms. By starting the medication early, you might be able to diminish this effect and reduce your symptoms throughout the entire allergy season.

If you suspect your nasal congestion and other symptoms are the result of sinus problems rather than allergies, you may just need to be patient, take care of yourself and use over-the-counter medications as needed until the infection clears. However, if symptoms last for more than two weeks, or if they are severe, make an appointment to see your doctor. — Juan Guarderas, M.D., Otorhinolaryngology and Allergy, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.

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Headaches are a common problem, including chronic headaches and migraines. This Saturday we’ll talk with Mayo Clinic neurologist and headache specialist, Jerry Swanson, M.D.  We’ll discuss diagnoses, types of headache and treatment options. Please join us!

Listen Saturday 9 - 10 am CDT http://radio.mayoclinic.org/ or on I Heart Radio 
Follow #mayoradio and tweet your questions during the show.

Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines.  News Segment April 13, 2013  (right click for MP3)

Medical Edge Weekend is a weekly one-hour radio program that highlights health and medical information from Mayo Clinic specialists. Audio Demo

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Mayo Clinic has combined the expertise of immunologists and ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialists into a Sinus Clinic which aims to treat a person's entire respiratory system, including problems in the nose (rhinitis) and problems in the sinuses (sinusitis) to provide accurate answers to lingering problems.

"The concept is to look at problems as part of one-airway disease, meaning we look at the individual in full, not just in sections," says Juan Guarderas, M.D., an allergy specialist at Mayo Clinic and part of the new Sinus Clinic. He adds that some patients who have problems in the sinuses can also have problems in the lungs, so an accurate diagnosis is the first step in avoiding complications.

"Getting an accurate diagnosis is very important before proceeding with treatment," says William Bolger, M.D., an ENT specialist at Mayo Clinic who focuses on nasal and sinus conditions.

"The symptoms might feel the same if you have allergies, infection or even polyps in the nose. The person might just have trouble breathing through their nose, so figuring out what is causing the symptom is very important," Dr. Bolger says.

"People think that everybody has allergies — especially allergy to pollen and to dust mites — and that there's nothing you can do," Dr. Guarderas says. "Actually, one of the beautiful things about treating the nose and sinuses is that we can do a lot about the symptoms and the limitations that these diseases produce."

He adds that different triggers, including allergies and the common cold, can cause sinusitis. "About 25 percent of the population has some degree of allergic disease, whether it is mild, moderate to severe," Dr. Guarderas says. "So, either treating or ruling out allergies is an important first step."

Dr. Guarderas cautions against self-diagnosis, because many people attribute face pressure or face pain to either a sinus infection or an allergic response, and begin to take over-the-counter medication without knowing the true cause of their symptoms.

"There's evidence that the quality of life of patients who have nasal or sinus disease is poor," Dr. Guarderas adds, noting that there are different types of sinusitis. "So, a good diagnosis helps to provide adequate therapy and avoid excessive and unnecessary treatments, and that is an important benefit we can provide at Mayo Clinic by using the team approach."

In addition to medication, endoscopy — or visualizing sinus cavities with a small camera called an endoscope — can be used to diagnose and treat nasal and sinus problems. New, minimally invasive ways of reaching the sinuses offer answers to many patients.

"People who come to us after trying medication might find that endoscopy helps us determine the nature of their problem and better tailor medicines — for example, in the case of a bacterial infection that is resistant to certain antibiotics, we can collect a sample of the infection using the endoscope, culture it in the microbiology lab, test it against several antibiotics and determine the antibiotic that will likely address the infection, — in this way we might help the patient avoid surgery by trying a different medicine," Dr. Bolger explains.

Over the past two decades innovations in instrumentation and imaging have helped improve sinonasal surgery for patients. For example, Dr. Bolger explains that surgeons are challenged during sinus surgery due to the variation in sinus anatomy between patients. Now, a map of a patient's sinuses can be obtained via a CT scan and used to guide surgery, potentially increasing safety.

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