When a Cold Is No Longer Just a Cold

You caught a cold but it hasn't gone away yet and breathing through your nose is still difficult. You feel a throbbing or pounding in your face or behind your eyes. What started out as a cold may have progressed into something called sinusitis. Sinusitis is simply another name for a sinus infection, which is literally an infection of your sinus cavities. The sinuses are air-filled spaces found in the bones of the head and face.

Sinus infections affect millions of Americans every year. Not all colds turn into sinus infections, but colds are a common cause of acute sinusitis. Acute sinusitis is a sinus infection having a rapid onset and following a short but sever course.

When the linings of your sinuses become infected, usually due to viruses, fungus or bacteria, they may swell, causing an obstruction and interfering with the normal drainage of mucus. Sinusitis can cause considerable discomfort and can lead to more serious infections if left untreated.

Some common symptoms of sinusitis are:

- Facial pains
- Tenderness of the sinus areas
- Headaches
- Nasal drainage that is thick and colored
- Cough (may be itchy)
- Postnasal drip
- Bad breath
- Upper jaw pain
- Sore throat
- Eyes are sensitive to light
- General fatigue
- Eye lids swell

If you have experienced symptoms for longer than a week, you may have sinusitis.

When an infection such as a common cold causes your nasal membranes to become irritated and swollen, it can stop the normal process of nasal discharge and can encourage fungus, bacteria or viruses to grow.

Your doctor can determine if you have sinusitis by giving you an examination. During the exam, your doctor may feel for tenderness in the area of the sinuses and examine your nasal passages looking for inflammation, secretions or deformities. Your physician may use an Endoscope to look in your nasal passages. Your doctor may also take cultures from inside your nose to see if you have a bacterial or fungal infection. Additionally, Computerized Tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are sometimes used to diagnose sinusitis.

Some common ways to relieve the symptoms of sinusitis include steaming your sinuses, which helps to stimulate drainage from the sinuses. Applying warm compresses around your eyes, nose and cheeks may ease some of the pain. Drinking fluids helps promote drainage. Avoiding alcohol, which can worsen swelling of the sinuses and dehydrate you.

Many people have reported positive results using colloidal silver mineral supplements as a part of their sinus infection treatment to kill the fungus, bacteria or virus growing in the sinuses.

You should consult a licensed physician if you believe you have a serious health issue. You should also do comprehensive research about colloidal silver, antibiotics and any other type of treatment before accepting anyone's opinion about how to care for your health.

Michael Harader is an expert author who writes on various subjects including Sinus Headache , Fungal Sinusitis and Colloidal Silver for Sinus Infection Treatment as well as other related and non-related topics.

Hot Topics In Health

    How To Treat Sleep Deprivation Using CPAP

    Treating sleep deprivation using CPAP is considered as an effective treatment strategy. Sleep derivation is the condition in which the patient cannot experience a continuous sleep. It is considered to...

    Plantar Warts Explained

    Warts (including plantar warts) are a viral (verruca vulgaris) infection of the skin. They are contracted by coming in direct contact with the virus.

    If you've ever stepped barefoot into a locker ro...

    Is Lasik Surgery Covered By Insurance?

    Lasik surgery is an eye vision correction method that has been growing in popularity. Lasik surgery can greatly improve eyesight, eliminating the use of eye glasses or contact lenses. It's a relativel...

    How Much Does Laser Eye Surgery Typically Cost?

    The cost of laser eye surgery can vary greatly depending on the type of surgery to be performed, the patient's prescription, the equipment used, and the doctor or surgical provider in question. There ...

    Diet And Sperm Quality

    There comes a time in most committed relationships where couples decide that they want to bring a child into the world. Visions of chubby newborns dance in the heads of baby's mom and dad while hopes ...

    Anatomical Charts

    Anatomical Charts

    Human anatomical charts have been used since the 18th century for many purposes in the healthcare profession. Whether you're a surgeon, chiropractor, physical therapist, or masseus...

    Diet Soda; Is It Good Or Bad If You Are On A Diet?

    The debate over whether diet soda is a dieter's friend or a dieter's enemy seems to become more heated every day.

    One side is saying diet soda is a great beverage for people trying to lose weight an...

    Functional Food: Preventing Diseases and Promoting Pet Health

    Food and diet play an important role in health. Every day, research in fields such as epidemiology and nutritional biochemistry teach us more about this relationship. Through scientific investigation ...

    Mosquito Bites - Remedy And Repellents

    It's a nice summer day and you're relaxing in your yard. Suddenly, you feel something bite you. You may begin to itch, when another bite takes place, and then another. It's those pesky mosquitoes agai...

    A Brief History Of Hip Replacement Surgery

    Hip replacement is a medical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a synthetic implant. It is the most successful, cheapest and safest form of joint replacement surgery. The earliest recorde...

    A Practical 12-Month Organic Living Plan

    We can talk and think about something until cows fly!

    But it's what we actually DO, that matters; that creates results.

    If you've been thinking and talking about eating and using more organic prod...

    The True Cost Of Smoking, Literally.

    What would you and your partner do with 07,887.50? Spend it on cigarettes perhaps? Well, if you and your partner both smoke 60 cigarettes a day between you, and you both smoke for another 50 years, th...

Most Recent Health Supplements

Interesting Today:

Most Recent Health Blogs:

Releated to Health:

Health Links:

Health Health Rss feeds.