Overview

The sinuses are the spaces in the forehead, cheeks, and nose that are usually filled with air. Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinus tissues, causing facial pain, a runny nose, and fever. Commonly caused by the common cold, infectious conditions, and allergies. It is a common health complaint in the US and a leading cause of antibiotic prescriptions.

Causes

Sinusitis is caused by,

• Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi, and Allergens

• Common cold or  flu

• Seasonal allergies 

• Air pollution 

• Structural problems in the nose.

 Risk factors include 

• Nasal polyps 

• Deviated nasal septum 

• Weakened immune system

• Cystic fibrosis.

Symptoms

Common symptoms include

• Postnasal drip 

• Stuffy and runny nose 

• Facial pressure 

• Tooth pressure 

• Ear pressure 

• Bad breath (halitosis) 

• Headache 

• Tiredness 

• Nasal discharge

• Sneezing 

• Nasal obstruction 

• Tenderness and swelling in the affected sinuses

• Cough

• Fever with  chills

• Hyposmia.

Ayurvedic View

Suryavarta- it is a disease under the shiras (head). The name surya means sun, and varta tells about the nature of the symptom related to the sun's movement. Here all three doshas are aggaravated, which causes shira shoola, which increases and decreases with the course of the sun. Kapha dosha, which is aggravated in the head due to causes like getting exposed to cold, taking abhishyandi (channel blocking food like curd), diva swapana (day sleep), etc, all lead to agni mandhya (low digestive power, which results in aggravation of mala-kapha), causing marga avarodha (blocking pathway) of vata dosha along with pitta dosha, causing headache. The headache in the affected person increases as the sun rises, and by midday, this peaks, then in the evening, due to cold, there is a reduction of pain in the head; this is sinusitis. The Ayurveda way of approach is to bring the dosha back to balance, reduce the symptoms by ayurvedic panchakarma treatment and treatment done to the head, which will help in preventing the recurrence of it.