Sinus Infections - What are symptoms and treatment? Help please

[Earlybird]

I've had a sore throat and very stuffy nose for over 10 days. Late last week, the left side of my face began to ache - especially around the eye socket. The eye was noticeably swollen.

Swelling has gone down now, but ache is still there - now along cheekbone and below eye socket, and only on the left side. Feel listless, slightly headache-y and a bit spaced-out. No fever.

Does this sound like a sinus infection? If so, what is best treatment? (Have been taking it easy, trying to get extra sleep, and using over-the-counter nose spray to clear blocked nose). If not likely to be a sinus infection, any ideas what it could be and how to make it better?

Thanks for advice. Perhaps a bit wimpy, but I normally am quite healthy so this has thrown me a bit. And I am ready to be done with it!

Bumping as I have very similar plus excruiciating on off toothache .
Have been ignoring this intermittent problem for months .
Dentist says sinuses ,and now I'm paying more attention (I have a head in sand+ couple of ibroprufen approach ) I too have swelling above left eye ( gets better as day wears on ) and aching cheek .
But what's the cure ?
Pain killers and nasal drops don't seem to help much .
Scared to try steam and menthol drops ( recommended by dentist ) as I find warmth makes it worse .

I've had loads of sinus infections. They ate bacterial and require antibiotics. Get thee to the GP.

Conversely my GP said he couldn't offer anything more effective than looking after myself (good food and early nights) and regular steaming.

Works for me.

D

I've had acute sinusitis twice in the last 5 years. It is intensely painful. My symptoms were throbbing on the lower eye socket which got worse when pressed or, the worst, when I bent down. Also, and pretty disgustingly, when blowing my nose it was thick and green. After two weeks of blowing and it not getting better I had it diagnosed by GP. Both times required a course of antibiotics.

Hope you feel better soon. Don't suffer in silence because I left it 2 1/2 weeks and it was agonising by then.

From my dr googling it appears that they recommend a gp visit if lasts longer than 2 weeks

Am trying to work out if I should see gp due to repeated sinusitis

Hello have had the same / similar problems. Nose was terrible, so was head and ears. Doctor would put me on anti biiotics which made me feel weak and weary. Nose sprays would damage my nose and not stop polyps. The thing which helped me most was to start takaing 2000 mg of vitamin c each day, time released, and 10,000 of garlic each day. They are quite cheap and help with lots of different things and generally making your body more able to fight off infections and disease. I will continue to take them and am totally fine regarding this now. Before I told them my ears were all blocked as if full of water and it was driving me mad. The doctors way took four months and did not change anything. After taking these things for two weeks I was fine.

ps peanutbuttercupcake please take whatever you read online with a pinch of salt. most of those articles are written by fourteen year olds for article sites such as Helium and Triond where they are desperate to earn ten pence for every 20,000 reads of their article. They write just anything to fill up the word space, do not use much common sense or just half copy it from someone else's article. Would you normally listen to a fourteen year old? They do not get paid to do these articles and they are desperate to write as many articles as possible, so accuracy is not important to them.

My doc says sinusitis can be viral or bacterial so prefers not to treat (cheers!) Tho she did say if I am blowing blood or loads of gunk out of my nose then it probably is bacterial therefore will give ABs.

PS some of the sinus relief tablets you can get from the chemist/supermarket help me sometimes too

Sorry but anti-biotics dont work as the sinsus will block them which can make the inflammation worse. The sinuses produce more good bacteria to prevent any ingress from antibiotics this is a fact and no doc should give them.

Also continual use from chemical sprays can also make the condition worse but fine for short spells. They start to irritate the tissues.

I would recommend 'over the counter' sinutab, very effictive. Also Sterimar which is a water based isotonic spray from boots very very good and puts back the natural salts and moisturises the nose. I would highly recommend Breathe-ease XL by Grossan (internet or ebay) these come in pre measured packets or you can get spray. Using warm water and the solution to flush out works extremely well and stops that dry sore feeling. (also garggle with the left overs)I have to use this regualry as I suffer from blocked nose all the time.

Dry air in bedroom with heating on is no good get a damp towel to bring mositure into the room, avoid these plug in things as again these seem to irritate the lining. Definately get outside as the air is damp and even though you feel ill, you will feel the benefit perhaps not straight away but within a few days. Try to walk loads at weekend.

Take a mix of paracetamol and ibuferon also to help with the pain. watch what yr eating, perhaps try to keep to simple non spicy or irritating foods, def no alcohol either as this swells the capillaries and makes your tubes more swollen.

Very painful but there are plenty of people who suffer all the time but there is no pill apart from surgery. Some people do swear that since doing nasal irrigation they catch no colds as the nose is constantly mositurised.

Hi Charlotte the sites i read where NHS ones and I work in healthcare but thanks for the warning

Interesting to read the various remedies.

I've an appointment with the GP tomorrow. Feeling slightly better atm, but wary that I'll get worse again if I begin getting out and about before fully recovered.

I have got sinusitis. Spoke to my lovely gp and she prescribed antibiotics without seeing me.

I have never had it before - it's horrid. I have got the most horrendous taste in my mouth too. Paranoid that my breath smells!

That sounds very like sinusitis - it's a real drag. I've had it several times in the last decade or so (after an initial infection that was truly vile - left it untreated for ages because I thought it was a very heavy cold or something - ended up with dental abscesses and an infected tear duct - grim).

Anyway - I got antibiotics each time, and was better in a couple of days. Thank god. I wish I'd been quicker off the mark first time round and saved myself weeks of bad health. Otherwise all you can do is look after yourself and treat thr symptoms.

PS all Sinutab is is paracetamol (so watch our dosage if you are taking any other paracetamol product - easy to overdose) - and a 'decongestant' element which is simply a vaso-constrictor. Literally all
it does is shrink your capillaries a tiny bit (so you absolutely mustn't use it if you have high blood pressure....).

If you think of your sinuses as being full of snot and gunk (sorry) a vasoconstrictor can make you feel less 'stuffy' by reducing any inflammation a bit. Does nothing for the infection in itself.