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 Li Rui
Otolaryngology
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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.

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
59sec home-news-image

Can sinusitis turn into cancer?

Sinusitis, commonly referred to as sinus inflammation, mainly involves the mucosal membrane of the sinus cavity or the sinus itself. In the clinical course of the disease, we have not observed sinusitis or secondary sinusitis directly transforming into a malignant tumor, nor have we seen or observed the carcinogenic process. Clinically or pathologically, there is no evidence of this. However, we have observed malignant tumors of the sinuses, such as maxillary sinus cancer or ethmoid sinus cancer. It is found that 80% to 85% of these patients have sinus inflammation. Therefore, we speculate that sinusitis may be evolving into sinus cancer, or inflammation may play a role in the process of sinus cancer. In summary, there is no direct evidence that secondary sinusitis leads to cancer, but in diagnosing sinus cancer, the presence of sinus inflammation has been observed.

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Written by Xu Qing Tian
Otolaryngology
57sec home-news-image

Is sinusitis a serious illness?

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 Li Mao Cai
Otolaryngology
1min 21sec home-news-image

How should sinusitis be treated?

The treatment of sinusitis should be based on the specific conditions of each patient, and different treatment plans can generally be divided into two categories. The first is conservative treatment. Conservative treatment mainly includes medication and some local nasal irrigation or puncture methods. This type of conservative treatment generally has good effects, and can relieve the pain and alleviate the symptoms of most patients with sinusitis. Apart from conservative treatment, The second method is surgical treatment. Surgical treatment now involves the reconstruction of nasal and sinus function under endoscopy. This type of surgical treatment can also be considered a minimally invasive and precise treatment plan. However, despite being minimally invasive and precise, it is still a surgery and does involve some trauma. Therefore, surgical treatment is only considered when conservative treatment is ineffective. Surgical treatment is just the beginning of a systematic approach to treating sinusitis. It can be understood this way: after the surgery, the follow-up medication treatment, which is a set of conservative treatment plans, and regular check-ups need to be promptly followed up. Reliance solely on surgical treatment may not achieve particularly ideal long-term effects.

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Written by Zhang Jun
Otolaryngology
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Treatment of Chronic Rhinitis and Sinusitis

Chronic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis are due to persistent inflammation following acute inflammatory stimuli or recurrent attacks, leading to nasal and systemic symptoms. Patients may experience facial swelling and pain, headaches, and nasal congestion, generally bilateral and progressively worsening. Additionally, there may be yellow purulent discharge from the nasal cavity, sometimes accompanied by an odor. The examination can reveal congested and edematous bilateral nasal turbinates and abnormal secretions in the nasal cavity. For treatment, patients initially need a sinus CT scan; if sinusitis is confirmed, symptomatic anti-inflammatory treatment is necessary, including oral antibiotics, such as cephalosporins, which are relatively effective. Saline nasal irrigation is also required. If conservative treatment fails, the patient may need endoscopic sinus surgery and partial resection of the bilateral inferior turbinates to recover.