Sinus Infection Symptoms Let You Know If You're Really Sick

A sinus infection is no picnic. The headache, pressure in the eyes, nose and cheek area, the cough, fever and nasal congestion all join together to make it one miserable experience. A sinus infection, also known as sinusitis, is caused when the sinuses in the nasal passage become inflamed. The sinuses are four cavities in the skull that are connected to the nostrils and nasal passage. These four cavities help insulate the skull, allow the voice to resonate within, and lessen its weight.

The four sinuses are frontal, maxillary, ethmoid and sphenoid. When you suffer from a sinus infection, there are different sinus infection symptoms you can feel depending on which sinus is affected.

Acute sinus infection symptoms for the ethmoid sinuses are postnasal drip, pain around the inner corner of the eye, headaches in the temple or eye, fever and pressure when coughing or straining. Maxillary sinuses have different sinus infection symptoms like pain across the cheekbone, tender or swollen cheekbones and pain around the teeth. The frontal sinus has the following sinus infection symptoms: severe forehead headaches, fevers and nasal discharge, while the sinus infection symptoms for the sphenoid sinus are deep headaches that surround the head, double vision and postnasal drip.

Chronic sinus infection symptoms are different for each of the sinuses as well. The sinus infection symptoms for the ethmoid sinus is constant nasal discharge that brings discomfort to the sufferer right across the nose, the sufferer also has bad breath and a sore throat. Maxillary sinus infection symptoms are constant toothaches, pressure below the eyes, and a pain that is worse if the sufferer has a cold or allergies. The frontal sinus infection symptoms and the sphenoid sinus infection symptoms both involve a consistent headache in the forehead.

You can try treating the sinus infections at home by drinking a lot of water and hot tea. Also inhaling steam a few times a day by leaning over a bowl of hot water and inhaling it for 10 minutes can help. Steamy showers are also good. The passageways can also be opened by adding petroleum jelly to the steaming water. Over-the-counter cough medications can lessen the sinus infection symptoms, and ibuprofen can reduce the pain and swelling.