Intense facial pain and pressure caused by chronic (ongoing) sinusitis affect around 37 million Americans. If you’re one of them, call Vitale Ear, Nose & Throat in Wesley Chapel or Zephyrhills, Florida. The practice’s highly skilled ENT doctors will diagnose your condition and offer an effective solution. They specialize in using nonsurgical sinusitis treatments, including balloon sinuplasty, to relieve the distressing symptoms of long-lasting sinus inflammation. Call Vitale Ear, Nose & Throat today or book an appointment online to benefit from expert sinusitis treatment.
Sinusitis results from inflammation and swelling of the tissues lining your sinuses. The sinuses are empty spaces behind your forehead, nose, and cheekbones that filter and warm air as you breathe in.
Sinusitis interferes with the normal mucus drainage from your nasal passages. It’s often caused by an infection caused by colds or allergies. Other causes include:
Your Vitale Ear, Nose & Throat doctor discusses your symptoms, completes a physical exam, and reviews your medical history to diagnose sinusitis. They inspect your nasal passages for polyps or other abnormalities, inflammation, and fluid buildup.
Additional procedures like nasal endoscopy, a CT scan or MRI, and allergy testing can help confirm the diagnosis.
Sinusitis causes various coldlike symptoms, including:
Chronic sinusitis continues for 12 weeks or more, causing ongoing pain and breathing difficulties. Rarer sinusitis complications include asthma attacks, vision problems, aneurysms, meningitis, and stroke.
The treatment you need for your sinus infection depends on how badly it’s affecting you and whether it’s acute or chronic. Some treatments include:
Saline rinses clear mucus from your nasal passages and relieve inflammation.
Decongestants help you breathe in the short term, but extended use can make sinusitis worse.
Your doctor might prescribe antibiotic medication for a bacterial sinus infection.
Antihistamine allergy sprays or pills can relieve sinusitis symptoms.
Anti-inflammatory steroid nasal sprays or oral steroid medications provide relief when other treatments aren’t effective.
Immunotherapy involves using allergy shots or drops for long-term relief of allergy-related chronic sinusitis.
Surgery might be necessary for chronic and repeated sinusitis. Traditional sinusitis surgery involves cutting away inflamed tissue inside the sinuses under a general anesthetic. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a minimally invasive technique where your Vitale Ear, Nose & Throat doctor accesses the sinuses through your nostrils.
An alternative to surgery is balloon sinuplasty. The Vitale Ear, Nose & Throat doctors pass a thin wire catheter (flexible tube) with a balloon attached to its end into your nostril. They inflate the balloon to enlarge the sinus opening and widen the cavity walls.
After deflating the balloon, your doctor flushes out any debris using a saline solution. Most patients find they breathe more easily following balloon sinuplasty.
Call Vitale Ear, Nose & Throat today or book an appointment online for expert relief of your sinusitis symptoms.