Acute Sinusitis

          Sinusitis is inflammation of the sinus cavities.  The sinus cavities become swollen and have mucus build up.  If a person has sinusitis, they may experience throbbing facial pain, a constant headache, and it can be hard for them to breathe through their nose.

         Acute sinusitis occurs most often after the common cold.  It can also happen because of allergies, bacteria, or fungal infections.  To treat sinusitis, the patient can take normal cold medicines until the pain and discomfort goes away.  If the pain doesn't go away after 12 weeks, something more serious like chronic sinusitis should be examined.

          Sinusitis can be detected by a nasal endoscopy, physical exam, or imaging studies.  CT is the best diagnostic test to image the details of the sinuses.  The image below shows a coronal CT scan with the maxillary sinuses opacified.