Acute bacterial sinusitis, Chronic bacterial sinusitis, Subacute
bacterial sinusitis Introduction to sinusitis: That runny nose
and cough just won’t go away… Perhaps your child has a sinus
infection. Sinusitis is a common problem in children.
Nevertheless, it is often over-diagnosed in children with green
runny noses, and missed in children who really have a sinus
infection! What is sinusitis? The sinuses are small empty
caverns in the bony skull. They are lined by mucus membranes and
connect with the nasal passages. Some sinuses are present at
birth; others continue to grow and develop for the first 20
years of life. Sinusitis is the name given when the lining of
one or more of these sinuses is red, swollen, and tender, the
opening is blocked, and the sinus is at least partially filled
with fluid (mucus and/or pus). Technically, every cold is also a
case of viral sinusitis. However, when doctors use the term
sinusitis they are usually referring to a bacterial infection in
the sinuses. Acute bacterial sinusit