Paediatric Sinusitis Treatment
What Is Sinusitis?
Sinusitis is a common condition that affects people of all ages from all walks of life. It is the inflammation of your sinuses. These are cavities behind your child’s forehead and cheekbones that are connected to the nose, which are filled with air and create mucus. When you have sinusitis, the mucosal lining of your sinuses becomes swollen, and the mucus is unable to drain away properly, resulting in blocked sinuses.
Sinusitis can be very painful, and it affects children as well as adults. It is not contagious, however, but it can often be caused by contagious illnesses.
Types Of Sinusitis
There are four different types of sinusitis that your child may be suffering from. They are:
- Acute bacterial sinusitis
- Chronic sinusitis
- Subacute sinusitis
- Recurrent sinusitis
Acute bacterial sinusitis
This comes with cold-like symptoms. You may notice your child has a blocked or runny nose. This will tend to last more than 10 days and may return with worse symptoms, which will need antibiotic treatment.
Chronic sinusitis
When it has been ongoing for at least twelve weeks. You may notice that your child’s nose is blocked or runny, there may be pain or pressure in their face, and may have no sense of smell.
Subacute sinusitis
This type of sinusitis will display the same symptoms but will usually last between four and twelve weeks. After 12 weeks, it will then turn into chronic sinusitis.
Recurrent sinusitis
Recurrent sinusitis happens when sinusitis symptoms recur more than four times in a single year but will last for less than two weeks.
What Causes Sinusitis?
The most common cause of sinusitis in adults and children is a cold or flu virus. These viruses can move from your upper airways into your sinuses, causing inflammation. However, there are other causes. Sinusitis caused by a bacterial infection is extremely rare, and it can be linked to an infected tooth or a fungal infection. Chronic sinusitis can also be linked to nasal polyps, allergies, and a weakened immune system.
Sinusitis is more common in children, partly because they are more prone to infections from viruses, bacteria, and allergies in general, as their immune system has not yet fully developed. Acute viral sinusitis in children tends to last for less than ten days, but chronic sinusitis will last at least 12 weeks.
Sinusitis Symptoms
There are a lot of different symptoms to watch out for with sinusitis, and the symptoms can be different in children to the ones that you would typically see in adults. These include:
- Swelling around the child’s eyes
- A headache
- A cold that has lasted between 10 and 14 days
- A fever, either low or high grade
- If your child has chronic nasal discharge that is yellow or green
- A post-nasal drip that may be paired with a cough, bad breath, vomiting, nausea, and sore throat
Diagnosing Sinusitis
If you have noticed symptoms of sinusitis in your child, then it is important that you should get them checked out as soon as possible.
There are a number of different ways that the team at Children’s Allergy Doctors can check for sinusitis. We offer a comprehensive service for evaluating sinusitis, with allergy testing, sinus scanning and treatment followed by repeat assessment to ensure this has cleared. We will also provide advice on how to prevent the sinusitis from returning.
Getting a diagnosis is important because it will allow you to take the next step in treating and managing this condition. At Children’s Allergy Doctors, we specialise in getting to the root cause of allergic reactions and helping parents and children to manage their conditions effectively.
Sinusitis Treatment
The right sinusitis treatment for your child will depend on the type and severity of the condition. The most common treatments are:
- Saline nasal douching: This will give your child’s nasal passages a rinse and keep fluid moving in the event of mild sinusitis.
- Nasal corticosteroids: These will help to bring the inflammation down in the case of acute sinusitis.
- Allergy medications: If the doctor finds that the sinusitis is caused by an allergic reaction, they will talk to you about allergy medications.
- Over-the-counter pain relief and decongestants: These will be fine for mild cases of sinusitis but try to make sure that your child only uses them for a few days.
If the sinusitis is due to an allergic condition, then your doctor may talk to you about immunotherapy. Surgery is also available, but this is very much a last resort.
Living With Chronic Sinusitis
It can be very difficult to see your child dealing with chronic sinusitis, and it can cause a lot of discomfort. However, there are home remedies and lifestyle changes that you can make which will help your child feel more comfortable, and which will hopefully keep some of those symptoms in check. Getting plenty of rest will make a big difference. You can also moisturise their sinuses, make sure that they are rinsing out their nasal passages, and apply warm compresses. The most important thing is to get a diagnosis as soon as possible and talk to an allergy doctor about putting a plan together to help manage this condition.
At Children’s Allergy Doctors, we know how hard this process can be, and we are there with you at every step. Our expert team can get to the bottom of what is causing this issue, answer any questions you may have, and help you to make sure that your child can live a normal and comfortable life. Book an appointment today to talk to a member of our team. Once the plan is in place, you can enjoy better peace of mind.
What parents say:
“Really insightful the Dr took her time answering all questions. Very reassuring experience on a topic that is often quite overwhelming and anxiety provoking.”