West Florida News

Sinusitis can be acute -- lasting only about a week to 10 days -- or chronic, lasting for three months or more.

"Practice philosophy is really to tailor our approach to the individual patient to what kind of sino-nasal symptoms they're experiencing and want to fix," Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told West Florida News.

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses, or more specifically, the mucous membranes found within one or more of the sinuses.

"Chronic allergy, chronic sinusitis, any sino-nasal condition, even trouble breathing through the nose, can really affect one's quality of life. I know this firsthand. I'm a chronic allergy sufferer myself, have had allergy injections, allergy testing and take a gamut of medications -- or have in the past -- and so I really empathize with the patients because I deal with it on a daily basis," Blair said.

The sinuses are hollow air spaces located in the bone cavities in the head. The sinuses make a fluid that cleans bacteria and other particles out of the air people breathe; that fluid is called mucus. These are hollow spaces are located within the skull or bones of the head surrounding the nose.

In normal human anatomy, each sinus has an opening into the nose for the free exchange of air and mucus. There is also a continuous mucous membrane lining that coats all the sinuses. Therefore, it isn't hard to assume that anything that causes swelling or infection in the nose also can affect the sinuses.

"I find that we have come such a long way, even in the last five to eight years, of how we treat patients differently," Blair said. "When I first started residency, everything was lumped into the same category. Allergies and sinus, you get sinus surgery and allergy shots. With all the different technologies we have now, it's really something that we can fix and improve in the office setting. We want to transition from going to the outpatient surgery center to treating more patients inside the office, almost like going to the dentist and having a procedure done and reaping benefits, hopefully, lifelong benefits if possible."

Even though sinusitis theoretically affects only the sinus lining, the symptoms of sinusitis can, in fact, affect the functioning of the whole body and can make life miserable.

These are some of the most common symptoms that can indicate that a person has sinusitis: nasal congestion, a runny nose, a sore throat, headache, reduced sense of smell or taste, fever, a cough, tooth pain, bad breath and fatigue. Consulting a sinus inflammation specialist is recommended for anyone experiencing these symptoms.

Take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz to find out whether you are struggling with chronic sinusitis.