Symptoms:

The classic symptoms of acute sinusitis usually follow a cold that does not improve, or one that worsens after 5 - 7 days of symptoms.

Symptoms include:

• Bad breath or loss of smell
• Cough, often worse at night
• Fatigue and generally not feeling well
• Fever
• Headache -- pressure-like pain, pain behind the eyes, toothache, or facial tenderness
• Nasal congestion and discharge
• Sore throat and postnasal drip

Symptoms of chronic sinusitis are the same as those of acute sinusitis, but tend to be milder and last longer than 8 weeks.

Signs and tests:

Your doctor will test for sinusitis by:

• Shining a light against the sinus (transillumination) for signs of inflammation
• Tapping over a sinus area to find infection

Other tests that might be considered include:

• Culturing material from the nose
• Taking x-rays of the sinuses
• Viewing the sinuses through a fiberoptic scope

However, these tests are not very sensitive at detecting sinusitis, and are often considered unnecessary.

A CT scan of the sinuses is a much better test to help diagnose sinusitis. If sinusitis is thought to involve a tumor or fungal infection, an MRI of the sinuses may be necessary.

If you have chronic or recurrent sinusitis, you may need further lab tests. Tests may include:

• Allergy testing
• Blood tests for HIV or other tests for poor immune function
• Ciliary function tests
• Nasal cytology
• Sweat chloride tests for cystic fibrosis