Quality sleep is vital for our general health and our cognitive health. This is true regardless of your age from baby to senior. Anything that interferes with your sleep, especially if it is consistent, is detrimental to your quality of life. You may not know about the connection between sinus health and sleep quality, but keep reading to find out.
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Respiratory illnesses, whether in adults or children, are among the most common reasons patients visit the doctor. From allergies to sinus infections, understanding the symptoms, triggers, and treatment options is very important for managing allergies and sinus infections effectively. We’ll explore the differences between allergies and sinusitis, what triggers them, and how you can treat and manage these conditions both at home and with medical care.
The symptoms of allergy are generally sneezing, watery eyes, hay fever, sometimes eye issues, and sometimes things like asthma. Sinus infections are usually more illness, like being sick, not going to work, that sort of thing. Fevers, thick discolored mucus, headaches, even dental pain. The way you figure out which one you have besides allergy and sinusitis has all to do with allergy. Whether this is a nuisance like sneezing, water ice, hay fever, thin secretions as opposed to thick secretions and more really illness.
Allergies are the body’s immune response to triggers like pollen, dust mites, mold, or pet dander. The most common symptoms of allergies include sneezing, watery or itchy eyes, a runny or
congested nose, and sometimes mild coughing or wheezing. The symptoms for allergies are often seasonal, such as during spring or fall, or they can occur year-round if the trigger is present at your home, place of work or outdoor activities you do. Allergies typically cause clear, thin mucus and are present as long as you are exposed to the allergen.
Sinus infections (or sinusitis) typically occur after a cold or sometimes nasal polyps or a deviated septum. Unlike allergies, sinus infections are caused by a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection that enters your sinuses leading to inflammation of the sinus cavities. The symptoms of a sinus infection include thick, discolored mucus, facial pain or pressure (especially around the forehead, eyes, and cheeks), headaches, and sometimes even dental pain. Sinus infections can also cause fever, bad breath, and a reduced sense of smell. The symptoms of a sinus infection are more severe and often make you feel unwell enough to miss work or daily activities.
What can trigger allergies is what we inhale out of the environment. There’s a lot of things that are airborne that we don’t even really see. When we inhale that, it gets stuck to the lining of our nose and it causes a reaction.
Now sometimes the allergies can then go into sinus infection, but the sinus infection causes are generally One, long term allergy symptoms, and others are actually anatomic problems, like septal deviations, or polyps, or other things that would require surgery.
It’s a fact that we can have allergies throughout the year, but the seasons generally are in the spring, we have tree allergies, pine and oak, that’s abundant here, in the summer it’s all the different grasses, and then in the fall, it’s weeds.
And then throughout the winter, you know, we’re homes more. So then we get more of the mold, dust, pet exposures. The busiest time of the year for sinus infections can be year round. When you really have serious sinus problems, it’s not seasonal. Then what you’re doing is you’re seeing your doctor frequently for antibiotics and getting this and that.
The treatment of allergy and sinusitis. Both start with one simple thing, and that’s saline irrigation. So some of the things that you do, basically, when your nose is exposed to bad things in the environment, it gets stuck to your nose.
So if you wash your nose, you don’t have a reaction. That is the first thing to do, regardless. Then there’s nose sprays. It’s better to treat, if you’ve got just a nasal problem, it’s really just best to treat the medicine just directly into your nose. So rather than taking a pill that has to go all over your body to help your nose.
Things that you do at home, such as looking for obvious signs of mold, checking if you have a particularly dusty environment, or managing your cats and dogs, can make a significant difference. If you have a sinus infection, taking a hot shower or using steam can help open up your sinuses and improve drainage. Breathing well and staying clear are essential for good sleep and rest.
Breathing well and regular exercise are key to maintaining good health. It’s also important for children to learn good hygiene at home, such as washing their hands, using hand sanitizer, and being mindful of sneezing to protect themselves. We offer allergy testing and treatment with immunotherapy.
We also perform CT scans here to help us understand what’s going on in their sinuses. Even children can have a CT scan at Coastal Ear, Nose and Throat. Additionally, we provide hearing tests and audiology services to ensure their hearing health is in good shape.
Still have questions? Ask one of our ENT doctors!
What causes summer sinus infections? Well, many of the same causes of winter sinus infections. Sinus problems do not discriminate between the seasons. It is an inflammation for all seasons, and many factors can contribute to it. Let’s learn more.
If you have ever had a sinus infection, you vividly remember the pressure and pain in your eyes and forehead. It becomes so bad you can’t focus on anything, and all you want to do is close your eyes and sleep. Forget about trying to work or do anything normal. What could be worse than that? Worse is when you finally get relief and several weeks later, it’s back! It’s a common problem to suffer from these infections multiple times a year. Let’s look at how to get rid of recurring sinus infections.
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Do you have allergies? Still have your tonsils? If you said yes to both, you will likely experience some problems with your tonsils at some point. Let’s investigate the connection. How do allergies affect my tonsils?
Do you frequently suffer from chronic sinus infections with fatigue, nasal congestion, pain and pressure in the face and eyes, thick discolored drainage, bad breath, and coughing? These are just a few of the symptoms of chronic sinusitis. If this is you, Coastal Ear, Nose & Throat may have already recommended an in-office balloon sinuplasty. Continue reading “In-Office Balloon Sinuplasty: What To Expect Before And After”
Anytime we see blood, it can be a little scary. With children who participate in sports, nosebleeds may occur if they have an injury to the face. Younger children are also susceptible at play should they take a tumble. When an adult suffers from a nosebleed, we get a bit more worried, but it is usually not a cause for concern.
Most common nosebleeds can be managed at home, so let’s look at why we get them, how to treat them, and when to consult a doctor.
Nosebleeds can be caused by many things such as physical trauma, allergies, or underlying diseases that affect the blood. While nosebleeds are usually minor, it is still important to properly treat them otherwise they can cause major issues.
The sense of smell isn’t something we typically take for granted, but it can affect everyday life when it’s gone. If you can’t smell, it may be more difficult to taste food, and may even lead to dangerous situations if you can’t detect smoke or a gas leak.
While it is possible for someone to permanently lose their ability to smell, it is much more common for it to only happen for a period of a few days to a couple of weeks. Anosmia (the complete loss of smell) and hyposmia (partial loss of smell), affect thousands of Americans each year.
Your nose is almost constantly producing mucus. In fact, it makes approximately a quart of it each day. Mucus performs necessary functions including trapping bacteria and moistening the airways, but overproduction can lead to some annoying side effects. Do you notice yourself coughing certain times of the day, or getting a scratchy throat? It could be post-nasal drip.
