Complications Of Sinusitis -various aspects- Complications Of Sinusitis- What Happens if You Don’t Treat a Sinus Infection?
Sinus infections typically go away on their own. But, if it lingers or keeps rearing its ugly head and you still keep dismissing it, a sinus infection can lead to potentially catastrophic problems.
The proximity of your sinuses to other sections of your body, particularly your brain and eyes, raises the chance of major health hazards.
Below is a summary of list of Complications Of Sinusitis that can emerge from untreated sinus infections.
1. A diminished or total loss of the ability to smell
Your sense of smell may be affected or completely lost if a sinus infection is not addressed (called anosmia). This may be brought on by olfactory nerve injury or nasal irritation and obstruction.
Although the loss of smell caused by a sinus infection is frequently temporary, it can become permanent in severe situations, ruining your quality of life and general health.
2. Problems in Breathing is one of the Complications Of Sinusitis
Congestion in the nose and sinuses brought on by sinusitis can make it challenging to breathe via the nose. Breathing will become easier as the inflammation subsides and the clogged sinuses begin to discharge.
Being unable to breathe easily due to a persistent sinus infection can also make you feel exhausted because it prevents your body from receiving adequate oxygen.
3. Vocal box inflammation, often known as laryngitis (Laryngitis) is one of the complications of sinusitis
If sinusitis is left untreated, the thickened mucus may keep dripping down the back of your throat, irritating your voice box over time and causing a dry cough and hoarseness.
4 .Dacryocystitis is one of the complications of sinusitis
It is an infection or inflammation of the tear duct that is typically brought on by occlusion of the tear duct. The tear sac, a tiny chamber in the inner corner of your eye that drains your tears, can become infected if you have a persistent sinus infection. As tears leave the surface of your eyes, they pass through this sac.
5. Abscess or cellulitis of the eye
An uncommon but severe side effect of untreated sinusitis is orbital cellulitis, an infection or inflammation of the eye socket (also known as the orbit). This sight- and life-threatening disorder may develop as a result of dacryocystitis or as a direct result of an infection spreading from your sinuses through their porous walls.
Due to their thin walls, the ethmoid sinuses, which are located between your nose and eyes, are more susceptible to infect your eye socket.
Despite the fact that this ailment mainly affects children and young adults, all age groups are at risk for visual loss and even death if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. An untreated orbital infection can extend past your head and into the sacs that surround your spinal cord and brain.
Fever is one of the symptoms of orbital cellulitis- one of the complications of sinusitis coupled with excruciating pain, swelling, redness, and bulging of the eyelid and, possibly, the brow and cheek. Moreover, it could cause pus to develop inside the eye socket.
Orbital cellulitis necessitates immediate hospitalisation and can even require surgery if the prescribed antibiotics have not had a good enough effect within 24-48 hours.
Caudal sinus thrombosis number six is one of the complications of sinusitis
Your body’s defences seek to stop the infection from spreading to your brain when the sinus infection does.
Even though it is extremely uncommon, cavernous sinus thrombosis is a life-threatening consequence of chronic sinusitis. The cavernous sinus, a hollow region at the base of the brain that serves to drain blood from your brain and face, develops a blood clot in this illness.
The symptoms of cavernous sinus thrombosis include:
a sharp, severe headache that gets worse over time and is frequently accompanied by tearing facial pain that is more concentrated around your eyes. high-grade fever double vision eye muscle paralysis that prevents you from moving your eyes or causes your eyelids to droop. loss of vision seizures and death (in severe cases)
Early and strong antibiotic therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for cavernous sinus thrombosis.
Meningitis 7- one of the complications of sinusitis
A sinus infection has the potential to spread to your meninges, which are the coverings that protect your brain and spinal cord, resulting in meningitis if left untreated.
the following indications and symptoms of meningitis:
abrupt, severe fever
Neck discomfort
severe headache that is frequently accompanied by nausea and vomiting
unusual sensitivity to bright light
fatigue and sleepiness
Seizures is one of the complications of sinusitis
The illness is identified by its clinical signs and symptoms and requires the assistance of a neurologist. In addition to imaging modalities like CT and MRI scans, meningitis is diagnosed by removing the clear fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord (a process called a lumbar puncture).
Sinusitis accompanied by meningitis may still constitute a major threat, even with the early implementation of antibiotic therapy.
Subdural abscess is one of the complications of sinusitis is caused by a chronic sinus infection that frequently results in the accumulation of pus (also known as an abscess) in what may be a space between the outer and middle layers of your meninges (the subdural space).
Changes in mental state, such as disorientation and irritability, as well as signs and symptoms that mirror meningitis are all caused by subdural abscess. Rapid progression of the illness necessitates timely detection, therapy, and frequently surgical drainage to prevent coma and death from the fast increasing pressure inside your brain.
9. Osteomyelitis of the frontal bone is one of the complications of sinusitis
Your skull contains a bone called the frontal bone, which is located near your forehead. Bone infection is known as osteomyelitis. One possible local complication of a sinus infection of the paired frontal sinuses, found in the frontal bones above your eyebrows, is frontal bone osteomyelitis, also known as Pott’s puffy tumour.
There are symptoms and signs that resemble meningitis when the infection from your frontal sinuses spreads to the bones where they are located. The difference between the two is crucial because lumbar puncture cannot be performed if you have a frontal bone infection because of the increasing pressure inside your brain.
We no longer frequently see cases of frontal bone osteomyelitis because of the era of antibiotics. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial.
10. Brain infection is one of the complications of sinusitis
A localised deposit of pus within your brain tissue is known as a brain abscess. It happens as a direct result of an infection spreading from your paranasal sinuses.
It should go without saying that brain abscess is a potentially fatal condition that, if left untreated, can result in coma and death.
Consider Consulting
Your health can suffer greatly if you have untreated sinus infection and result in complications of sinusitis .The good news is that practically all sinusitis complications can now be avoided thanks to improvements in medical and surgical therapies.
As a result, our specialists at the Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy Specialist advise obtaining medical attention if you have sinusitis symptoms that persist more than ten days or symptoms that keep returning. Fever, runny or blocked nose, congestion, facial pain, and tenderness are some of these symptoms.
There are numerous medication and dietary alternatives available to treat a sinus infection. If taken in time these can prevent complications of sinusitis . Also, our specialists at the ENT & Allergy Specialist are skilled in performing balloon sinuplasty, a cutting-edge technique to widen obstructed sinuses, if more traditional methods are ineffective.
balloon surgery
These are the steps in this process:
You’ll be offered a relaxing medication.
First, we put an endoscope—a small, flexible tube—into your nose. The end of this tube has a camera and light that are used to view the sinus cavity.
The next thing that is advanced over the guiding endoscope is a smaller tube known as a catheter with a balloon at one end.
The irritated sinuses are then made accessible by our doctors by inflating the balloon.
Finally, the balloon is inflated and removed.
A balloon sinuplasty has a success rate well above 90%. The majority of individuals state that their sinus symptoms have significantly improved over time.
As there is no cutting involved, balloon sinuplasty is minimally invasive and doesn’t require postoperative packing. As a result, the procedure’s recuperation is also rather simple and rapid.
Balloon sinuplasty has little to no risk, and it typically enables you to stop using all of your steroid, anti-allergy, and antibiotic medications that you may have been on for a very long time .Consultation and treatment with ENT specialist doctor at the right time prevents complications of sinusitis .
Make an appointment with for a one-on-one consultation or online consultation if you have symptoms of a chronic sinus infection or a flare-up of sinusitis at clinic of ENT specialist doctor-Dr Sagar Rajkuwar (MS-ENT),you may contact him at the address given below-
