Chronic Rhino Sinusitis & FESS - What Should You Know?

Sinusitis or sinus is a very common condition affecting more than 10 million people in India every year. Sinusitis causes the passageways around the nasal cavity to become inflamed. However, a more serious form of the disease is the chronic sinusitis, where the inflammation and symptoms of the sinus last for more than 12 weeks at a time.

Here are some of the symptoms of chronic sinusitis that you should know about if you suffer from sinus:

Chronic sinusitis symptoms:

• Yellowish and thick discharge from the nose
• Drainage of this thick discharge down the throat, also known as postnasal drainage
• Limited sense of taste and smell in adults
• Facial pain, swelling near the eyes, nose and forehead, and cheeks

Other secondary symptoms of the condition include:

• Aching in the teeth and upper jaw region
• Nausea
• Pain in the ear
• Cough that grows worse during night time
• Bad breath
• Sore throat
• Irritability

Even though the symptoms of acute and chronic sinusitis are similar, the effects of chronic sinusitis last longer and are generally more intense.

Treatment options for chronic sinus:

Doctors need to determine the cause of the sinus infection in order to begin treatment. In the case of bacterial infection, treatment with antibiotics is the commonly used method. Immunotherapy is required if allergies are causing chronic sinusitis. However, in extreme cases, where sinus proves to be resistant to drugs other forms of treatment like surgery become necessary.

Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS):

FESS is a minimally invasive surgical procedure where the surgeon uses an endoscope to remove affected tissues and bones to clear sinus. During the surgery, the endoscope, which is thin tube-like equipment with a camera attached to one end, is inserted into the nasal cavity. The camera of the endoscope guides the doctor to locate and remedy the problem.

The goal of the sinus surgery is to flush out the infected fluids from your nasal cavity. Furthermore, the surgeon will use this opportunity to clear blockages from your nasal passage to reduce the likelihood of sinusitis in the future.

FESS is the most popular surgical treatment for chronic sinusitis since the recovery period is short. Therefore, you can return to normal life in just a few days after the surgery. Furthermore, pain from the surgery is limited and you can manage this pain using simple pain medicine.