Although advances in medical technology have already prevailed, ethmoid sinusitis, an irritating and painful condition caused by infection, allergy or autoimmune issues, still remained paradoxically overdiagnosed with nearly 20 million visits to the doctor per year in the USA alone. To have a good grasp of the cause of sinusitis and its treatments, we must first understand the basic anatomy of the Ethmoid Sinus.

A DiagNOSEtic Problem

The sinuses or most commonly termed as paranasal sinuses are air-filled, hollow cavitiesthat connect to the nasal airway and are lined with pinkish mucous membranes and hair-like structures called cilia.These functions to warm, humidify, and filter inhaled air. Little did we know that the Ethmoid sinuses are the most crucial of all the sinuses because other sinuses would drain through it; the problem is that it is susceptible to infection because of conditions like bacterial or viral infections that can clog the sinus, build up, and prevents drainage. These obstructions of the common drainage pathway of the sinuses are the usual precursor to sinus inflammation and thus, Ethmoid Sinusitis.

Ethmoid Sinusitis can be caused by several conditions. Any condition that prevents drainage can potentially cause Ethmoid Sinusitis. Such conditions include but are not limited to structural defects, chronic bacterial infections, exposure to allergens and environmental pollutants, foreign bodies, upper respiratory tract infections, viral infection of the nasal passages, and viral infection of the sinuses.

Gently irrigating your nose

Symptoms

Symptoms are very irritating and worsenwhile lying on the back, and may improve while head is in upright position. Signs and symptoms of Ethmoid Sinusitis include pain in the lower forehead, stuffy of running nose, post nasal discharge or postnasal drip, sinus pressure around the inner corners of the eyes, fever, sore throat, and breathing difficulties.

Ethmoid sinusitis usually resolves around 2 week without any treatment. Therefore, it is usually best to offer home remedies and over the counter drugs. These include gently irrigating your nose with a solution of 100ml water and one teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate powder to expel discharges, avoiding foods that would precipitate sinusitis, inhaling warm steam vapor which could actually give immediate relief making mucous easier to drain, drinking plenty of water as it can help in thinning out of the mucous, and last is avoiding allergens.

The success of ones recovery from Ethmoid sinusitis would ominously rely on how stringent you adhere to the treatment regimen.