Sinusitis or sinus infections are common conditions. Usually sinus infections will be increasingly heavier or felt when a person has a flu and it an sometimes cause headaches due to blockage in the nasal tract.
Sinus infection symptoms such as colds and nasal itching and stuffy, fatigue, sleeplessness, fever and phlegm, often overlap with other disease symptoms such as allergies and flu.
But, there are some unique symptoms that can be a special marker of a sinus bacterial infection that usually needs to be treated with antibiotics.
Usually, early sinus infections are caused by viruses, as well as colds or flu. This Virus then makes your slime fluid so thick that it makes breathing difficult.
Since the virus cannot be eliminated with antibiotics, the doctor will ensure whether you are actually experiencing a bacterial infection before they give medication.
Usually, the doctor will confirm the symptoms and may also take your mucus samples for inspection. The good news is, bacterial infections can be easily treated with antibiotics.
So how can you tell that what you are suffering from is a sinus infection, not an allergy or a common flu? Here are typical sinus infection symptoms.
Sinus Infection Symptoms
Flu-like symptoms that last more than a week
Typically, sinus infections begin with classic flu symptoms such as nasal congestion, fever, itching in the throat, feeling tired and muscle pain.
Generally, flu symptoms will improve after three to five days, or at most seven days. If not, or symptoms are getting worse, chances are it is a bacterial infection.
The color of snot or mucus changed
The sinus symptoms will be more noticeable when the infection develops. The nose will be increasingly clogged and the mucus coming out of the nose will be more productive and discolored.
Post-Nasal drip
The increasingly productive snot may mean you are experiencing post-nasal drip. This occurs when mucus accumulates behind the sinus and drips into the throat and chest.
Read also: How To Prevent Post Nasal Drip
Phlegmy cough
A phlegmy cough is a cough that occurs because you are trying to remove the slime that is clogging. By a physician, it is called a productive cough and it is a classic symptom of sinus infections.
Read also: Coughing Up Bloody Mucus: The Causes and When To See The Doctor
Sinus Pressure and pains
Flu-like symptoms can make the nose and head feel heavy. Sinus infections also make your face and sinus area feel congested and painful, causing headaches.
Some others find their sinus areas feel swollen and painful to touch. Headaches due to sinus often get worse when you bend forward.
Toothache
One of the symptoms of a sinus infection that may be rarely known is toothache. Dental pain may be the most overlooked symptoms of sinus infections.
Painful face
Pain is an indication that you are working hard, burning calories, and fighting your muscles. But it could mean something very different if your face hurts.
According to Edwin F. Williams, III, MD, FACS, president of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, facial pain can show that not only your sinuses are blocked, but they are also infected, which makes your face hurt.
Your smell is interrupted
When your smell is interrupted it can be one of the signs of a sinus infection you are experiencing.
Loss of the ability of the sense of smell can occur due to sinusitis that occurs, inflammation around the olfactory or sense of smell. This means that you may experience a sinus infection.
Persistent headaches
A variety of things can cause headaches, such as dehydration, too much movement or fatigue. However, if you experience chronic headaches for a few days, then the pain that is in your brain can be a sign that you develop the symptoms of sinus infections.
Read also: Headache and Nosebleed: The Causes, and Home Remedies + Video
Thank you very much for reading Sinus Infection Symptoms You Need To Know, hopefully useful.
