{"id":1522,"date":"2022-11-18T18:12:15","date_gmt":"2022-11-19T00:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/?p=1522"},"modified":"2022-11-18T18:12:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-19T00:12:57","slug":"what-causes-chronic-sinus-infections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/what-causes-chronic-sinus-infections\/","title":{"rendered":"What Causes Chronic Sinus Infections?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The sinuses are air-filled pockets located in the face behind the eyes, chees, nose and forehead. They are lined with mucus that circulates through your respiratory system to provide moisture and trap debris and bacteria. When inflammation blocks the sinuses, they can become infected, as mucus pools inside them and bacteria can grow. When an infection persists 12 weeks or longer, it is said to be chronic. We review the causes of chronic sinus infections below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Criteria for a Chronic Sinus Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/septum-nose-sinus-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Woman holding her hands to her face experiencing sinus pain or pressure.\" class=\"wp-image-1525\" width=\"281\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/septum-nose-sinus-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/septum-nose-sinus-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/septum-nose-sinus-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/septum-nose-sinus-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 281px) 100vw, 281px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>According to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK441934\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">article<\/a> published in the National Library of Medicine, \u201cChronic sinusitis is chronic inflammation of the sinus or nasal passages occurring for more than 12 weeks at a time\u2026 Chronic sinusitis is diagnosed when at least two of the following four symptoms are present and occur for more than 12 weeks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>purulent [pus] drainage,<\/li><li>facial and\/or dental pain,<\/li><li>nasal obstruction,<\/li><li>hyposmia [<a href=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/nose\/loss-of-smell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduced ability to smell<\/a>].\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Causes of Chronic Sinusitis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Potential causes of chronic sinusitis include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nasal Polyps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Nasal polyps are benign (noncancerous) growths that can form in the lining of the nasal and sinus passages. If they grow in the right spot or are large enough, they can block the sinuses so mucus cannot drain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deviated Nasal Septum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The nasal septum is the wall that divided the nostrils. When it is crooked or off-center, it is said to be deviated. A deviated nasal septum can also <a href=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/nose\/congestion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">block or restrict the nasal passages<\/a>, worsening symptoms of sinusitis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Respiratory Tract Infections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An infection in the respiratory tract, like a cold or the flu, can cause inflammation of the sinus membranes and cause a blockage. These infections may be causes by a virus or bacteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allergies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re having an allergic reaction, your immune system releases a chemical that triggers inflammation, including in the nasal and sinus passages. For this reason, it\u2019s common to experience chronic sinusitis during allergy season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Treating Chronic Sinusitis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment options for chronic sinusitis include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Antibiotics<\/li><li>Saline rinses<\/li><li>Corticosteroids<\/li><li>Allergy medications<\/li><li>Surgery<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about the causes of chronic sinus infections, or to schedule an appointment with a sinus expert to seek treatment, call <span class=\"company-name \">Lake Jackson ENT<\/span> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/when-should-you-seek-medical-treatment-for-nosebleeds\/\" class=\"related-post\">When Should You Seek Medical Treatment For Nosebleeds?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/why-are-colds-more-common-during-winter\/\" class=\"related-post\">Why Are Colds More Common During Winter?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/can-nasal-cautery-help-stop-my-childs-nosebleeds\/\" class=\"related-post\">Can Nasal Cautery Help Stop My Child&#8217;s Nosebleeds?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sinuses are air-filled pockets located in the face behind the eyes, chees, nose and forehead. They are lined with mucus that circulates through your respiratory system to provide moisture and trap debris and bacteria. When inflammation blocks the sinuses, they can become infected, as mucus pools inside them and bacteria can grow. When an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"The sinuses are air-filled pockets located in the face behind the eyes, chees, nose and forehead.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakejacksonent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}