What is sinus?

Our brain is a structurally sensitive organ especially to hot and cold. Therefore, it is located in the most safeguarded part of our bodies. The hairy skin in the area except the face protects outwardly. The places where the hair cannot protect the brain in the face, the sinuses are responsible for the protection. In these places, there are cavities in the bones like airbags. These cavities are connected to nasal cavity by means of channels. This is what called as sinus.

What is sinusitis?

The inside of the sinuses are full of air normally; as they are full of inflammation it is called sinusitis. The cells of mucosa (special type of skin) covering the air bags called sinus moisturize and clean the sinuses by means of secrete slippery, slimy liquid. Normally sinuses are full of air and, their walls are slippery, wet and sterile.

In the nasal diseases such as cold the channels of the sinuses connecting to the nasal cavity are chocked. The air in the sinuses is consumed by the mucosa cells, therefore negative pressure occurs inside of the sinus and besides it brings pain. Later, the increasing negative pressure swallows the unsterilized nasal cavity fluid like an injector. The sinuses get full with nasal discharge. In this stage sinusitis starts. The pain becomes a strong headache.

In the next stage, the microbes create the inflammation, therefore the level of the fluid increases, the pressure increases and the strong headaches occur. This is exactly ‘acute sinusitis'.

The treatment of sinusitis

While microbial growth is halted by means of antibiotics, the increasing fluid is reduced by means of chemicals, and it is tried to clear out inside of the sinus by opening the channel by means of medicines such as the nasal sprays. The patients having sinusitis recover by means of correct and regular treatment for a week.

How does sinusitis become chronic?

There are a few reasons for chronic sinusitis. Unless acute sinusitis is treated successfully, the disease continues. Longer processes destroy the structure of mucosa and the disease become chronic. Or else the channel of sinus connecting to nasal cavity gets chocked because of the diseases such as allergic cold and the acute sinusitis occurs many times. Therefore the smooth, slippery and wet structure of mucosa is destroyed, which causes sinusitis.

How is chronic sinusitis treated?

There is no treatment for chronic sinusitis in orthodox medicine. Although the channel is opened by means of surgical interventions, the mucosa cannot be renewed. However it is possible to treat chronic sinusitis and renew the tissues by means of acupuncture.

In the acupuncture treatment for sinusitis, the illnesses destroying the structure of nasal cavity such as cold is treated and the sinus mucosa membrane is renewed by means of acupuncture. Therefore, the patients relive from chronic sinusitis which causes strong headaches.
 

Med. Dr. Özaytürk, M. Salih

Translated by Nedim Yavuz