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A stuffy nose, runny nose, an olfactory disorder and a headache, especially severe when tilting it, are typical symptoms of sinusitis. Often, it is not possible to overcome it for years. Now doctors have a new weapon that is great at dealing with this infection.

Sinusitisis one of the more common infections. Everything that can disturb the natural mechanisms of nasal cleansing and the ventilation of the paranasal sinuses - from colds, allergic rhinitis, bacterial infections, to the deviation of the septum or nasal polyps, adenoid hypertrophy, favors the disease. Doctors estimate that every third Pole has had acute sinusitis at least once, and every fifth person suffers from a chronic infection, i.e. the infection with symptoms lasting more than 3 months.

Ways to diagnose sinusitis

The diagnosis of acute sinusitis is not difficult on the basis of the complaints reported by the patient. Additionally, the physician should examine the nasal cavities to assess the condition of the mucosa in the acute stage of inflammation or to find changes suggesting a chronic process (e.g. polyps). This examination is performed, for example, with a fiberscope - a thin, flexible speculum, which can be used to reach places that are inaccessible during normal ENT examination, e.g. sinus openings, the posterior part of the nasal septum.

However, in the case of chronic or recurrent infection, more detailed diagnosis is needed, as it can be expected that the disease has already made permanent changes to the sinuses. They are most accurately shown by computed tomography (the X-rays of the sinuses are abandoned as they are not fully reliable). The test should be performed in the so-called he alth, i.e. at least 6 weeks after the end of an acute infection. Sinus tomography detects inflammatory changes in the mucosa and bone structure of the sinuses, and allows you to assess whether the inflammation does not extend to the areas adjacent to the sinuses (skull base, eye sockets, brain).

Important

Protection for the brain

The paranasal sinuses are air cavities symmetrically arranged in the skull (frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid and maxillary). They act as shock absorbers, protecting the delicate structures of the brain from injuries, and also as a resonator - they modulate the voice.

Treatments for sinusitis

If your sinusitis is bacterial, an antibiotic to control is recommendedinfection, reduce tissue swelling and facilitate drainage of secretions. Due to the difficulty of reaching the mucosa of sick sinuses, the antibiotic should be taken for at least 14 days. In addition, the doctor usually recommends a preparation (e.g. nasal drops) decongesting the nasal mucosa and sinus openings, a drug that thin the secretions, and also an analgesic (e.g. one of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

Sometimes, however, the pills are not enough and the inflammation becomes chronic or the infection keeps coming back. Then surgery should be considered. Currently, such procedures are performed endoscopically - by introducing surgical instruments through the nasal cavity under the control of endoscopes that show the operated area. In this way, the natural opening of the sinus can be unblocked and lesions removed from its inside. You can also correct anatomical changes, e.g. correct the septum of the nose.

Hydrodebrider - endoscopic sinus irrigation device

Sinusitis is difficult to treat, and the infection is prone to recurrence. One theory still under investigation is that this happens when the bacteria responsible for sinus infections form a biofilm, i.e. a compact colony of microorganisms that stick to each other. The cells of the microorganisms that make up the biofilm create a thin polymer layer that acts as a protective barrier - it inhibits the penetration of the antibiotic into the bacteria, ensures their survival and further development. Biofilm bacteria are extremely difficult to remove pharmacologically because they can adapt to changing environmental conditions.

The problem of treating inflammation associated with bacterial biofilms stimulates the imagination of scientists and is the basis of many scientific and research programs. The result of one of them is the Hydrodebrider - a device for endoscopic sinus irrigation.

Although this type of treatment has been used for a long time as an adjunct therapy, it is only this device that allows very thorough cleaning of the sinuses during surgeries. It has two types of tips - one for maxillary, ethmoid and wedge sinuses (enables 270-degree rotary rinsing), and the other for frontal sinuses (80-degree rotation). Rinsing is carried out with the use of a physiological saline solution, which is ejected as a spray at a pressure of 5 ml per second and at the same time sucked out. This construction makes

Hydrodebrider can remove inflammation from any sinus recesses, even those as difficult to access as the medial wall and floor of the maxillary sinuses. The American research to date shows that this method can reduce the occurrence of bacterial biofilms in the sinusesby 99%, and at the same time it is safe for the patient.

The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in Kajetany is the first in Poland and Europe to perform treatments with the use of Hydrodebrider. The cost of the procedure is approx. PLN 5,000. PLN, and a disposable tip for Hydrodebrider - 750 PLN. For now, specialists in Kajetany are using the device as part of tests. After analyzing the effectiveness and profitability of the treatments, they will turn to the National He alth Fund for the possibility of reimbursement of their costs.

Sick bay

The sinuses warm, moisturize and clean the air you breathe. As a result, it does not irritate the mucosa of the respiratory tract as it passes further into the throat and lungs. The nose and sinuses are also the first immune barrier to viruses, bacteria and allergens. What Happens When Your Sinuses Are Sick? What are the most common sinus problems? These and many other questions related to sinus diseases are answered by our otolaryngologist, Michał Michalik.

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ENT