Stuffy head? It's not always sinusitis By Sean McKinney, Pure
Matters Say it out loud: Sinusitis. It even sounds painful. This
inflammation of the sinuses, usually caused by an infection, is
one of the most common problems doctors treat. Yet a lot of us
don't know much about it. "Sinusitis affects about 16 percent of
adults and costs close to $5.8 billion a year in health care,"
says Raymond G. Slavin, M.D. "But often people believe they have
sinusitis when they might have a cold or nasal allergy." In
2005, Dr. Slavin and colleagues wrote guidelines on diagnosing
and treating sinusitis in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical
Immunology. They found most cases don't need X-rays or CT scans.
"The diagnosis can be made by taking a good history and
examining the patient," he says. Sinusitis differs from colds
and nasal allergies, but either one can set up sinusitis by
swelling the sinuses. "If the sinuses are too swollen to drain
through tiny openings, mucus pools and provides a breeding
ground for viruses and bacter