Sinusitis may be prompted by a cold or allergies as well as changes in atmospheric pressure due to swimming or high altitudes. If you have a headache caused by your irritated sinuses, you may find it occurs immediately upon awakening in the morning. The headache is often accompanied by pain and pressure around the nose and cheeks and you may notice that it becomes more intense following quick movements. Air, pus and mucus that become trapped in the sinuses result in pain and headaches. You may also experience some or all of the following:
* Painful throat and coughing * Fever * Abnormal nasal secretions * Exhaustion and fatigue * Swollen nasal passages * Non-specific bodily aches and pains * Tenderness * Pain aggravated by sharp movements
Are Some People More At Risk For Sinus Headaches?
There are numerous factors that may predispose you to sinusitis and sinus headaches. If you suffer from frequent colds and upper respiratory infections, you may find that your sinuses are easily and often inflamed. Some structural problems such as a deviated septum in the nose can put you at a higher risk of sinus headaches. Asthmatics may find that they experience frequent sinus headaches due to a greater sensitivity to allergens. If you find you are suffering from frequent sinus headaches and pain, your doctor may require you to have x-rays to check for any underlying causes.
Treating Sinus Headaches
The primary method for alleviating a sinus headache and addressing sinus inflammation due to an infection is through antibiotics. Your doctor will want to confirm that your headache and sinus pain is due to an infection before prescribing antibiotics, as there has been an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria in recent years. Decongestants are commonly recommended to treat inflammation and other sinusitis symptoms. These may be administered by nasal or oral methods.
Medications your doctor may suggest include oxymetazoline, pheylephrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine. Caution should be taken so that overuse does not occur, or you may experience withdrawal symptoms and rebound sinus headaches. Steroid sprays are often prescribed to help the inflammation and these may include beclomethasone or triamcinolone. Typical over-the-counter preparations will usually contain acetaminophen or ibuprofen as active pain relief ingredients; these will help to alleviate sinus pain directly as well as treating headache pain. Nasal irrigation is another method that is thought to help ease inflamed sinuses and thus help sinus headaches. The idea is that the nasal area is 'rinsed,' which causes mucus and any irritating particles and bacteria to be washed away. Once these irritants are removed, your inflammation should ideally be reduced or eliminated.
Immediate Relief
For immediate relief, you can try a combination of both hot and cold towels placed on the afflicted area. Some people find that hot humid air helps to 'clear' their sinuses so you may wish to try a hot shower or a humidifier for pain relief. Be sure to also drink plenty of water to prevent the nasal lining from becoming dry and irritated. In addition, try to avoid irritants such as smoke and excessive dust. If your symptoms continue and are chronic, your doctor may decide to refer you to a nose and throat specialist. He or she will likely thoroughly examine you and may order more specialized tests to determine the root cause of your pain.
Above all, listen to your body and obtain rest if you are fatigued. Sinus headaches can be very painful for some people, particularly in combination with other uncomfortable symptoms; it is best not to exhaust yourself further.
Fortunately, sinus headaches are usually treatable and once you have seen your doctor and begun treatment, you will hopefully be on your way to clearer sinuses and a pain-free head.
A gentle shake of your head can tell you if you do have a sinus infection. If you move your head even slightly, the pain will increase and this is a good method of deciding whether the headache is actually due to a sinus infection. If you have a sinus infection, do not shake your head, as the pain will increase.
Another method is to try bending over. The moment you lower your head you will feel as if there is something heavy inside your head. If doing so leads you to discover you have a sinus infection, refrain from bending over until the infection clears.
Crying is not good for a headache. If you are prone to sinus headaches, crying is not good for you. When such a person cries for even a minute or two there is very good chance that the tears will lead to a headache. If you feel you might start crying, try breathing deeply, or try to lie down and fall asleep. Some situations are unavoidable, but some, like sad movies, are easy to avoid.
Know your sinus points and use the acupressure method to treat your self and rid yourself of the pain.The best thing about the acupressure method is that it has no side effects. It is something that you can do completely on your own and if you are doing it properly, you can get almost instant relief. I have described the steps in detail in the points that follow, try doing it and I promise you, you will be glad that you did it.
1. First of all you have to get a clear idea of where your sinuses really are.
2. For this I recommend that you lie down on a flat surface preferably without the support of a pillow.
3. The next thing you should do is run your fingers gently over your face, taking note of the various rises and falls.
4. Now let your fingers linger in the portion above your eyes but just below the eyebrow.
5. Feel the bone over there and let you fingers sense out a notch in that bone.
6. This space extends from there towards the nasal bone.
7. This is your first sinus point
8. Now let your fingers trail down further till they reach the depressions if we can call them that on both sides of the nose halfway between the eyes and your mouth. This is your second sinus point.
9. Now what you have to do is apply pressure to these sinus points.
10. You have to be careful when you do this and please take care to use only the soft balls of your fingers and not the tips, which may have long nails.
11. First of all apply pressure gently.
12. You might experience a particular pricking sensation as you do.
13. If it hurts, you may stop immediately. 14. If not you may continue applying more and more pressure till you can tolerate it.
15. Then gently let go and lie there fore a minute experiencing the pain fading away.
16. Repeat this with the second sinus point.
A point that you may bear in mind is that if your sinuses are infected these regions will be slightly swollen.
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