Health & Medical Allergies & Asthma

What is a Sinus Headache?

If you have constant pain and tenderness in the forehead region, in the areas around the cheeks and the bridge between the eyes, then you are most likely having a sinus headache.
Sinus headache is caused by pressure within the sinus cavities of the head.
This is almost always caused by sinusitis.
Because sinus infection is not easily recognized, many people tend to assume the pain associated with sinus headache is a tension headache or migraine.
A persistent headache may indicate a more serious condition such as high blood pressure or a brain tumor.
This calls for a thorough evaluation by medical professionals.
Diagnosis of chronic sinus infection usually requires nasal endoscopy, an x-ray of the sinuses and if necessary a CT scan or MRI.
A sinus headache may create pain behind the eyes when the sphenoid sinuses are infected.
When the frontal sinuses are affected, you will experience a dull ache in the forehead region.
Pressing the affected area will cause some degree of pain.
A sinus headache is a major sinus infection symptom since the common cold or viral influenza does not exhibit such a symptom.
Chronic sinus infection sufferers besides experiencing sinus headache will also suffer from an abnormal amount of post nasal drip.
The mucus will be thick and jelly-like and is very evident when you wake up in the morning.
Healthy mucus is thin and has a slight slippery feel.
One of the symptoms of chronic sinusitis is grogginess.
When you walk about, your balance seems affected and there is a tendency to bump into things around you.
This is caused by the balancers in your ears that are out of synchronization caused by the inflammation of the lining in the eustachian tube.
Many ENT doctors today suggest regular use of steroid nasal sprays so that the inflammation of the mucosal lining of the sinuses and eustachian tubes can be controlled.
A sinus headache is often primarily caused by a bacterial infection in the sinus cavities.
This normally occurs after you have had a bout of viral influenza or the common cold.
Both these ailments will cause your nose to be blocked and normal drainage of the mucus produced by the body stops.
There is no longer healthy ventilation of the sinuses and bacteria start to multiply quickly.
If the immune system in our body is weak, a bacterial infection results in the sinuses leading to a sinus infection.
As you can see, prevention of sinus infection is the key to avoid getting sinus headaches and all associated sinus infection symptoms.
In order to do so, you should adopt a regime to maintain optimal sinus health.


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