If your sinus infection spreads to your eye socket, it can cause reduced vision or possibly blindness that can be permanent.
Antibiotics are not needed for many sinus infections. Most sinus infections usually get better on their own without antibiotics. When antibiotics aren't needed, they won't help you, and their side effects could still cause harm. Side effects can range from mild reactions, like a rash, to more serious health problems.
Typically, antibiotics are needed when: Sinus infection symptoms last over a week. Symptoms worsen after starting to get better. Sinusitis symptoms are severe (high fever, skin infection or rash, extreme pain or tenderness around the eyes or nose)
An untreated sinus infection may cause ansomnia, a decrease, or a complete loss of smell. Inflammation and blockage of your sinus passageways or damage to your olfactory nerves cause ansomnia. In many cases, ansomnia is only temporary but can become permanent.
A sinus infection is diagnosed in a physical exam by a primary care doctor, who will look inside your nasal cavity and check for sinus pressure or tenderness by gently touching or feeling your face.
An “acute” sinus infection lasts anywhere from ten days up to eight weeks. A “chronic” infection lasts even longer. It is ongoing — it may seem like it's improving, and then it comes right back as bad as it was at first. Chronic sinus infections may drag on for months at a time.
As your body works hard to fight off the sinus infection, you'll feel more tired than usual. Fatigue can be also be caused by head pain, a lack of adequate sleep, and difficulty breathing due to sinusitis.
Your body uses up a lot of energy to fight off a sinus infection, and this can cause you to feel fatigued for the time you have it. Some of the other symptoms of the condition, such as dizziness and a cough, can also make you feel more and more tired with time.
Viruses, like the ones that cause the common cold, cause most cases of sinusitis. Bacteria can cause sinusitis, or they can infect you after a case of viral sinusitis. If you have a runny nose, stuffy nose and facial pain that don't go away after ten days, you might have bacterial sinusitis.
Are sinus infections contagious? “Because many times sinus infections are caused by viruses, they can be contagious like other infections, such as colds,” Melinda said. “If you have a sinus infection, it's important to use good hygiene skills.
With acute sinusitis, it might be difficult to breathe through your nose. The area around your eyes and face might feel swollen, and you might have throbbing facial pain or a headache.
When you have a sinus infection, your snot typically becomes a thick, green color. This is because mucus acts as a trap for allergens, bacteria, and viruses that carries these foreign invaders outside of your body. These waste products, along with dead white blood cells, account for the greenish color of your snot.
Persistent sinusitis symptoms for longer than 10 days, especially with “double worsening.” This means symptoms start to improve and then get worse a few days later. A fever, especially a high one over 102 ℉. Asymmetric pain (one side much worse than the other) in one or more sinus areas.
In a technical sense, stress itself does not cause sinus problems. However, it can leave your body susceptible to infections, including sinus infections. If you have an existing infection or other sinus issues, stress can also worsen these symptoms or infections.
Fatigue: Sinusitis patients typically feel tired and achy. Getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of fluids can help to combat this symptom and get you on the road to recovery more quickly.
Yes. A sinus infection can cause fluid to be trapped in the ear behind the eardrum. Bacteria and viruses can grow and can cause an ear infection. It's especially important to get to the doctor if you're feeling pain or pressure in the ear.
The recommended choices are amoxicillin or amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate (Augmentin) for 5 to 10 days. Doxycycline is a good alternative for people with penicillin allergy, followed by levofloxacin or moxifloxacin.