Can you smoke with sinusitis?

Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
Updated on May 26, 2025
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Patients with sinusitis are advised not to smoke, as cigarettes have a relatively strong irritation and may affect the treatment of sinusitis, as well as increase the degree of inflammatory response. Some patients may also suffer from acute upper respiratory tract infections. Therefore, patients with sinusitis should visit an ENT specialist as soon as they experience symptoms, undergo a nasal endoscopy and sinus CT scan to assess the severity of the condition. Most patients can consider conservative treatment. Common treatments include nasal spray medications, oral medications, and rinsing the nasal cavity with saline. Regular follow-ups during the treatment process are needed to observe the treatment effects.

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Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
1min 3sec home-news-image

How to treat sinusitis?

The treatment of sinusitis is mainly divided into three categories. The first category is observation and follow-up; the second category is medication treatment; the third is surgical treatment. If the sinusitis is very mild and does not have obvious clinical symptoms, and the nasal cavity is relatively clean, most of these cases can be considered for observation without particular treatment. If the inflammation is more pronounced, accompanied by nasal congestion, a runny nose, headache, and dizziness, most of these cases should consider medication treatment, which usually involves oral medications and nasal sprays. Additionally, rinsing the nasal cavity with saline can be considered. If the inflammatory response is particularly severe and symptoms are pronounced, and if standard medication treatment is ineffective, surgery may need to be considered. Currently, the main surgical option is endoscopic sinus surgery. Generally, this approach is quite effective, causes less damage, and allows for a relatively quick recovery.

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
53sec home-news-image

How long after sinusitis surgery should a follow-up be conducted?

Sinusitis, which we now generally refer to as sinusitis, is diagnosed based on specific examinations and surgical interventions are considered when indicated. After surgery, regular follow-ups are necessary, along with nasal cavity cleaning to prevent the recurrence of sinusitis. Typically, after discharging the surgical patient, we advise them to return to the clinic for a follow-up after a week. Subsequently, based on specific conditions during the follow-up, patients are instructed to return for further check-ups after two weeks, four weeks, eight weeks, and even up to three months. This process should continue for about half a year, during which regular clinic visits for follow-ups are necessary. During these visits, the doctor will assess the healing of the sinus cavity and schedule the next follow-up appointment accordingly.

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Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
52sec home-news-image

How to treat sinusitis

The treatment of sinusitis is mainly divided into two categories. The first category is conservative treatment, and the second is surgical treatment. Conservative treatment is primarily used for acute sinusitis or for chronic sinusitis when the inflammatory response is not particularly severe. Overall, most patients can effectively control inflammation, improve their condition, and relieve symptoms with conservative treatments such as oral medications, nasal sprays, and saline nasal irrigation. However, some patients have a more severe inflammatory response and do not respond well to conservative treatment, or they might have fungal sinusitis. In these cases, surgery is generally considered necessary, mainly involving minimally invasive endoscopic sinus surgery, which has proven to be quite effective and causes minimal damage.

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
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What is the method for examining sinusitis?

Sinusitis refers to the inflammation that occurs in the mucous membrane or cavity of the sinuses. Clinically, the examination of sinusitis includes two aspects: one is the clinical examination, such as anterior rhinoscopy to inspect the nasal cavity, nasal endoscopy to inspect the nasal cavity, the opening of the sinuses, and the nasal passages; on the other hand, some imaging examinations can also be used, such as sinus CT examination, which is very important, and if necessary, sinus MRI can also be performed; there are also some other examination methods, such as nasal resistance examination, examination of sinus and nasal secretions, etc. Therefore, there are quite a few examination methods, among all the examination methods, the most important are the nasal endoscopy and sinus CT examination.

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Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
46sec home-news-image

Can you smoke with sinusitis?

Patients with sinusitis are advised not to smoke, as cigarettes have a relatively strong irritation and may affect the treatment of sinusitis, as well as increase the degree of inflammatory response. Some patients may also suffer from acute upper respiratory tract infections. Therefore, patients with sinusitis should visit an ENT specialist as soon as they experience symptoms, undergo a nasal endoscopy and sinus CT scan to assess the severity of the condition. Most patients can consider conservative treatment. Common treatments include nasal spray medications, oral medications, and rinsing the nasal cavity with saline. Regular follow-ups during the treatment process are needed to observe the treatment effects.