Sinus headaches can be incredibly painful, but Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center offers options to help alleviate the pain. | stock photo
Sinus headaches can be incredibly painful, but Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center offers options to help alleviate the pain. | stock photo
Frequent headache sufferers may actually be suffering from unresolved sinus issues, which can create a series of symptoms, including painful sinus headaches.
Sinus headaches are typically caused when sinuses -- which are air-filled spaces inside the forehead, cheekbones and behind the bridge of the nose -- become inflamed. This can happen as a result of an allergic reaction or an infection, where the sinuses swell, create excessive mucus and the draining channels become blocked. The increasing pressure buildup is what creates pain that feels like a headache, according to WebMD.
"If you have pain in your foot or your knee, it's not like it is around our head area. When it's around our head area, it affects your thought process, it affects your ability to concentrate, it affects your mood," otolaryngologist Dr. Daniel Mongiardo at the Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center told NE Kentucky News.
Dr. Daniel Mongiardo
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How a person's body reacts to a sinus headache varies drastically. Some may experience deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or the bridge of the nose that can spike when the head suddenly moves, according to WebMD. Others may experience more sinus-related symptoms, such as a runny nose, blocked ears, fever or swelling in the face.
"Any inflammation in the sinuses can cause teeth pain because the nerve roots of the teeth are right at the floor of the sinuses. Any inflammation there, you can have dental pain, you can have eye pain," Mongiardo said. "The sphenoid sinus sits in the middle of the skull, sort of between the ears and behind the eyes. That's one of the posterior sinuses, but that's where it is, in the middle of the skull, that can cause pain anywhere around the head."
Sinus headache symptoms can typically be managed in a variety of ways, depending on how they manifest. Oftentimes antibiotics, antihistamines or decongestants can be prescribed, alongside short-term nasal decongestants. Sufferers can also take pain relievers or prescribed corticosteroids to ease the inflammation in the sinuses. At-home tricks such as drinking fluids, using a humidifier or a saltwater nasal spray can also be used, according to WebMD.
Frequent sinus headache sufferers who wish to learn more regarding their symptoms can take this Self-Assessment Sinus Quiz.
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