Is sinusitis a serious illness?

Written by Xu Qing Tian
Otolaryngology
Updated on May 16, 2025
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Sinusitis is a common and frequently occurring disease in otolaryngology. Patients with sinusitis mainly suffer from blockages at the sinus openings due to polyps, tumors, and mucosal edema, which leads to pus and fluid accumulation within the sinuses. The primary symptoms in patients include nasal congestion, runny nose, headaches, and fever. For patients with sinusitis, the first step should be to use a paranasal sinus CT scan to make a definitive diagnosis of the disease and identify the affected sinus locations. Treatment can then involve the use of decongestants and corticosteroid medications to address symptoms. For sinusitis caused by foreign bodies or nasal polyps and tumors, surgical opening of the sinus openings can be performed to restore normal sinus drainage and cure the disease. (Specific medications should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Zhang Jun
Otolaryngology
1min 1sec home-news-image

Can sinusitis be cured completely?

Sinusitis can be completely cured. Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is a condition caused by bacterial infection due to weakened immunity and resistance. Typically, patients may experience sudden high fever with a body temperature above 38°C, dryness and pain in the nasal cavity, and yellow discharge might be present in the nose. Examination can reveal congestion and significant edema of the bilateral middle and inferior turbinates, and abnormal secretions may be found in the middle meatus or common nasal passage. In terms of treatment, since it is a bacterial infection, patients can orally take cephalosporin or penicillin antibiotics, which are effective. Additionally, nasal irrigation with saline solution is necessary. If conservative treatment fails, patients may need to undergo endoscopic sinus surgery and sinus mucosa cleaning to achieve complete recovery. (Medications should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
1min 4sec home-news-image

What is the best treatment for sinusitis?

The treatment of sinusitis is currently divided into two main categories: conservative treatment and surgical treatment. The specific choice of treatment mainly depends on the severity and type of sinusitis. For fungal sinusitis, conservative treatment generally does not yield good results. If the patient's condition permits and their physical health can tolerate surgery, it is generally recommended to perform sinus opening surgery under endoscopy. For bacterial sinusitis with mild inflammation, unclear symptoms, or relatively mild symptoms, conservative drug treatment can be considered. This usually involves oral medications and nasal sprays, and saline nasal irrigation can also be considered. If the inflammatory response is more severe and the symptoms are typical, and conservative treatment is ineffective, sinus opening surgery should be considered. Currently, minimally invasive surgery under endoscopy is employed, which generally yields precise results, causes less damage, and allows for a quicker recovery.

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Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
1min 9sec home-news-image

Can sinusitis cause a fever?

Sinusitis may cause fever, but this is mainly seen in acute sinusitis or during the acute flare-ups of chronic sinusitis, which relatively tends to provoke a fever. If it is just a mild case of sinusitis or plain chronic sinusitis, most patients do not experience significant fever changes, but they might have symptoms like nasal congestion, runny nose, headaches, dizziness, and a decrease in the sense of smell. When experiencing a fever, it is important to visit an otolaryngology department as soon as possible where you might consider undergoing a routine blood test to check the extent of the inflammatory response. Most patients will need to consider antibiotic treatment for the infection. If the body temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees Celsius, there may be a need to consider antipyretic medications. If the fever is below 38.5 degrees, physical cooling measures are generally recommended, but it is necessary to regularly reassess and monitor the temperature, selecting targeted treatments based on the fluctuations of the condition. (The use of medications should be under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
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Does sinusitis require surgery?

Sinusitis refers to inflammation of the sinus, clinically mainly bacterial inflammation, as well as fungal inflammation. Whether sinusitis requires surgery depends on the specific condition of the patient. Endoscopic examination of the nose and sinus CT scans can be carried out to assess the condition of the sinus lesions. If there is a lot of sinus secretion and the sinus cavity is congested, and there is polypoid changes in the overall nasal passage, surgical treatment may be considered. For the vast majority of sinusitis patients, the current viewpoint is that treatment is mainly through medication, and only a small part needs surgical treatment after assessment. Therefore, sinusitis does not necessarily require surgery. Start with medication treatment; if the effect is not good, or there are other concurrent issues, consider surgical treatment after assessment.

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Written by Zhang Jun
Otolaryngology
1min 19sec home-news-image

What medicine is good for sinusitis?

Sinusitis is mainly caused by acute inflammatory infections, such as Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes. When a patient's immunity and resistance are low, these bacteria can invade the sinuses through the sinus openings, leading to congestion, swelling, proliferation, and exudation of the sinus mucosa. Patients will experience persistent nasal congestion and discharge of yellow purulent secretions from the nasal cavity. Additionally, patients may also experience fever, facial swelling and pain, headaches, dry mouth, coughing, and other related symptoms. Upon examination, bilateral nasal turbinate mucosal congestion and swelling can be found, and yellow secretions may be seen adhering in the middle nasal meatus or common nasal passage. In terms of treatment, as it is a bacterial infection, patients firstly need symptomatic anti-inflammatory treatment. Oral cephalosporin antibiotics are effective. Moreover, using saline to rinse the nasal cavity also provides very good results. If necessary, patients may require endoscopic sinus surgery for recovery. (Please use medication under the guidance of a professional physician.)