Stop Sniffling From Sinusitis With These Health Tips

Occasional pressure around the forehead, a stuffy nose and a low-grade fever is common to experience, but if your nose and forehead are feeling painful for weeks at a time, you may have sinusitis. Sinusitis is used to describe the swelling of the mucosa that lines your sinuses when they become inflamed. This can develop due to an upper respiratory infection, smoking, allergies or even a deviated septum. Sinusitis is not fun, and it can cause extreme coughing, yellow/green nasal discharge, headaches and burning sinuses. Find out how you can avoid sinusitis this holiday season and what treatment options are available to you with this guide!

What Is Sinusitis?

The holidays are in full swing this year, with parties, presents and food preparations becoming the focus of all we do. However, with the Thanksgiving festivities comes frequent contact with sick family members, kids and friends that can turn a happy holiday sour. One of the most common illnesses that people experience during this time of year is sinusitis, which most people confuse with a common cold. Sinusitis deals with the swelling of the mucosa in your nose, which causes pressure there and around your forehead. The sinuses are small cavities located around the nose that help direct air flow into the lungs. When these become irritated, throbbing and burning sensations can be felt for weeks on end. Some of the most common symptoms of sinusitis include nasal congestion, drainage down the throat, fever, discolored nasal discharge, difficulty tasting or smelling and pain and swelling around the eyes, cheeks and nose. All of these make enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday a difficult experience, especially when trying to enjoy all of the delicious food and treats that are prepared on this day. What’s even worse, sinusitis can give you bad breath, fatigue, ear pain, a sore throat and a cough that just doesn’t let up, making you feel entirely miserable. To prevent developing this sickness over the holidays this year, it’s important to know how sinusitis develops and what health tips you should be implementing in your daily routine so that you can stay healthy all year round.

How Sinusitis Develops

Like most illnesses, sinusitis can spread from person-to-person quite easily. Whether you’re shaking hands with someone, around a sneezing child or sharing the same food, you can get sick. But there are other conditions that can increase your chances of developing this that aren’t people-related. This includes an upper respiratory infection, allergies to pollen, gum abscesses, smoking, having a deviated septum, polyps on the mucosa and even mold exposure. All of these conditions are serious on their own but can be multiplied when sinusitis occurs with them. You’re also at an increased risk for sinusitis if you have an immune system disorder like HIV/AIDS, asthma, experience regular exposure to pollutants and dental infections. While some of these can be fixed quickly on their own or with home remedies, others will require medical attention to address before your sinusitis can clear up. Adhering to the following health tips will help you combat illness this Thanksgiving and ensure that you have a healthy rest of the decade.

Tips For An Illness-Free Holiday

While you can’t always avoid a holiday illness, there are certain precautionary guidelines that you can follow to stay as healthy as you can throughout the year. One of the most important tips that you should be doing each day, whether you’re surrounded by sick people or not, is washing your hands. Our hands have some of the most prolific amounts of germs on our body since we use them to cook, greet people, work, open doors and go to the bathroom. You should be washing your hands as often as you can, especially when you’re around sick people. Don’t forget to wash your hands before and after eating food, as well, since we often put germs directly in our mouths during this time. If you can’t wash your hands, carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer with you so that you can be protected from germs at all times. You should also be cleaning up your workspace and home as often as you can to keep germs from multiplying there. This includes wiping down your phone, keyboard, mouse and other areas of your desk that germs could be residing, especially if you share a workspace. Besides this, you need to be drinking at least 8 glasses of water each day, getting plenty of sleep, eating nutritiously and staying active. This will help safeguard your body from infection as it strengthens your immune system and physical body.

If you do develop sinusitis and it doesn’t go away on its own, your doctor can prescribe you a nasal spray that helps soothe irritation or he/she can have you tested for allergies to determine whether your pet is the reason behind all of your sneezing. Massage therapy can, surprisingly, help your sinuses drain, as well, or you can opt to start immune therapy to help your body lower its reactions to irritants in your environment that you can’t avoid (like pollution).

Celebrate A Healthy Thanksgiving With Our Help!

At Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center, we care about your physical health and want you to be able to enjoy the Thanksgiving season. If you’re sick of fighting off sinusitis symptoms and need relief, call our office at (512) 806-0015 to schedule a consultation. We offer specialized treatments to cure illness and obtain optimal health again. Call today to get your health back on track!