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Sinusitis - chronic

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Chronic sinus infection; Chronic sinusitis

Symptoms:

Symptoms may last for 3 months or more.

• Headache (in the front of the head or around the eyes)
• Facial pain around the eyes or in the forehead or cheeks
• Pain in the roof of the mouth or teeth
• Nasal drainage (yellow, yellow-green, thick)
• Cough

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will examine you and tap lightly on your face over your sinuses. This method is called percussion . It may reveal tenderness in the area.

Normal sinuses glow when light shines directly onto them. (See: Transillumination ). If sinusitis is present, the sinuses will not glow when your doctor shines a light onto them.

Other tests that may be done include:

• Sinus x-rays
• CT scan of the skull
• MRI of the skull

These imaging tests may show the sinuses to be filled with fluid or reveal thickening of sinus tissues.

A method called aspiration may be done to determine what type of bacteria, if any, is causing the infection.

• Review Date: 8/8/2006
• Reviewed By: D. Scott Smith, M.D., MSc, DTM&H, Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine, Kaiser Redwood City, CA & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Stanford University. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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