Are Sinus Headache And Migraine Easily Confused
Yes, they are according to the research. The pattern of migraine pain is different for individual patients. While the most easily recognized migraine headaches are localized to one side of the head, many patients feel pain or pressure on both sides, or in the neck or sinuses. This is because all of these areas are innervated by branches of the nerve that are most involved in migraine. For patients with sinus symptoms the most frequent patterns of pain and pressure are across the forehead and behind the eyes, but any sinus area or combination is possible.
A study called SAMS recruited the first 100 people to respond to their local ad. The ad asked those to come forward who believed they had sinus headache. Each participant was carefully examined in a 90-minute evaluation and imaging tests were conducted.
The findings showed that most of them had been wrongly diagnosed and in fact had a diagnosis of migraine.
What Is A Sinus Infection
A sinus infection, medically known as sinusitis or rhinosinusitis, occurs when your nasal cavities become infected, swollen, and inflamed. Fluid buildup in the sinuses can cause germs to grow, leading to a sinus infection.
Sinusitis is usually caused by a virus and often lasts even after other upper respiratory symptoms are gone. In some cases, bacteria or, rarely, fungus may cause a sinus infection.
Other conditions such as allergies, nasal polyps, and tooth infections can also contribute to sinus pain and symptoms.
On Either Side Of The Nostrils
Use your fingers to apply gentle pressure to both sides of your nostrils. Your fingers should be at right angles to these points. Keep pressing for a minute to allow the sinuses to drain out this can help prevent inflammation and bring some sinus pressure relief. This pressure point is also good for pain behind the cheeks and helps prevent respiratory illnesses.
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When To See Your Doctor For Nasal Congestion
See your doctor for nasal congestion if your symptoms last more than ten days, dont respond to over the counter treatment and lifestyle changes, your nasal discharge is yellow or green, or if you experience a fever.
A fever is an indicator that your symptoms are a result of bacterial infection, which will require prescribed antibiotics.
Sinus Pressure Points On The Feet
There are also pressure points on the feet that may improve sinus pressure. Much like your fingernails, the toenails also have pressure points.
The areas, youll find, are almost identical to your fingernails with a few minor differences. Toenail pressure points are located at the base of the nail where it meets the skin.
- Big toe: inside and outside corner
- Every other toe : the outside bottom corner
Press each of these points lightly, and you may notice some sinus pressure relief.
Also, like your fingers, your toe tips have pressure points that may be useful in clearing sinus pressure. Use the same method as you would for fingertips.
Massaging the balls of your feet may also offer an answer to relieving sinus pressure. You can do it yourself, but its probably better to get someone else to do it. Who couldnt use a foot massage?
As youve seen, there are pressure points you can access from head to toe that may help relieve sinus pressure. Go through and test them all to see which might work for you.
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What Causes A Sinus Headache
A sinus headache is usually caused by infection and inflammation of the sinuses, which is known as rhinosinusitis. As your nasal passages become swollen, they become blocked with mucus and the area becomes congested, resulting in sinus pressure. This leads to a sinus headache.
Since its cause is rooted in sinus issues, a sinus headache is often treated with decongestants and nasal irrigation to help clear out the congested area and ease the pressure. Nasal steroids can also be used, and, if the underlying infection is caused by bacteria, antibiotics may also be prescribed.
If sinusitis are chronic defined as lasting more than 12 weeks despite attempts at treatment surgery may be recommended in some cases if theres an underlying cause that can be surgically corrected.
For example, if a deviated septum is causing congestion thats a breeding ground for infection, surgery can be used to correct this. And by correcting the issue thats causing the inflammation, sinus headaches will also be helped.
How Are Sinus Headaches Diagnosed
Most of the time when people diagnose themselves with a sinus headache, its really a migraine. So, its important to see your healthcare provider to get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Your healthcare provider will perform a physical exam and ask about your symptoms. If your symptoms are severe or ongoing, you may also need imaging tests. A magnetic resonance imaging test can rule out serious brain conditions. Multiple imaging tests can reveal sinus blockages and include:
- X-rays.
- Computed tomography scan.
- Nasal endoscopy .
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How Do You Diagnose Sinus Headaches Caused By Migraines
Sinus headaches are most likely due to migraines or tension headaches. Migraines are diagnosed by symptoms, including the frequency and severity of symptoms, family history, and by physical exam. Migraines can also include nausea and vomiting. These episodes may be triggered by hormonal changes, lack of sleep, certain foods or alcohol or caffeine, stress, or environmental changes like weather, altitude changes, or allergens. Many patients with migraines have family members who also experience migraine headaches.
If you have unusual or severe symptoms, additional tests such as an MRI of the brain may be ordered to rule out more serious conditions that can cause headache pain, such as tumors or bleeding around the brain. If you have repeated episodes of sinus pain and pressure, a nasal endoscopy or imaging such as an MRI or CT scan can determine if sinus pain or pressure is due to a sinus infection or other sinus pathology. A normal sinus CT scan while you have symptoms could help rule out sinusitis, and determine if migraines, headaches, or other causes of facial pain and pressure are causing the sinus symptoms.
Other causes of facial pain and pressure can include temporomandibular joint syndrome, clenching or grinding your teeth, trigeminal nerve pain, temporal arteritis , dental infection, or other neurologic causes of facial pain.
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What Can I Do About Recurring Sinus Headaches
Many sinus headaches, especially those that recur, are actually migraines. But its smart to see your healthcare provider to figure out the cause of your headaches.
You may find that the best long-term solution is figuring out what triggers your migraine headaches so you can avoid them. Its helpful to keep a headache diary to track potential triggers. Triggers you can control include:
- Alcohol.
- Specific foods, such as chocolate, red wine or strong cheese.
- Lack of sleep.
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How Long Do Sinus Headaches Last
Viruses cause most sinus infections. A viral sinus infection typically resolves on its own. Similar to how the common cold clears up by itself, your sinus headache should feel better within about a week. If it doesnt go away, see your healthcare provider. You may have a bacterial or fungal sinus infection that requires medication.
Rhinosinusitis And Facial Pain
Acute rhinosinusitis usually follows an acute upper respiratory tract infection. Pain related to ARS is often unilateral, severe and associated with fever in 50% of cases and with nasal obstruction. Unilateral facial and dental pain are predictors of maxillary infection as validated in studies using maxillary sinus aspiration . Acute frontal ARS is often characterised by pyrexia and tenderness on the medial side of the orbital floor under the supraorbital ridge, where the frontal sinus is thinnest. Endoscopic examination is mandatory and usually shows hyperemia of the sinonasal mucosa, and purulent secretions. Acute sphenoiditis is uncommon, causing pain at the vertex of the head, although pain can be referred to the temporal region or the whole head.
CRS patients with facial pain and/or pressure have a higher risk of migraine compared to the patients without these symptoms. CRS may increase migraine-associated morbidity and migraine frequency through irritation of trigeminal nerve receptors. Additionally, the age- and sex-specific prevalence of CRS with pain and pressure mirror those of migraine .
Diagnostic criteria for headache attributed to rhinosinusitis are listed in .
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Consider The Following Factors Before Select Otc Sinus Medicine
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Allergies And Sinus Headaches
Ever heard that allergies cause sinus headaches? Itâs not quite that simple.
Allergies can cause sinus congestion, which can make your head hurt. Treatment for your allergies can ease that congestion, but it wonât relieve your headache pain. You usually have to treat the two conditions separately. See your doctor to make sure you get the right help.
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Ways To Clear Up Sinus Congestion
You dont have to keep living with the symptoms of a sinus infection. Here are eight smart tips from both experts and readers thatll help get you breathing easier in no time.
Sinus congestion may make you feel miserable, but managing it can be easy if you find the right treatment, that is. First, it helps to figure out whats triggering the congestion. You can treat the symptoms, but you are going to be chasing your tail if you dont know whats causing them, says Ian Alexander, MD, an otolaryngologist and founder of the National Sinus Institute, which has clinics in New Mexico and Texas. Common causes include allergies and infections, but your congestion could also be caused by structural problems with your nose and sinuses. Here are some short- and long-term solutions that can help ease congestion and relieve sinusitis symptoms.
Why Sinus Pressure Without Congestion Is Unique
It seems like everyone can remember at least one morning where they wake up and just dont feel good. The pressure in their nose paired with the struggle to breathe properly is something we have all experienced at some point.
This issue is known as congestion, and it is that feeling you have when your nose feels blocked. In most cases, you will also experience sinus pressure when you deal with congestion.
Sinus pressure and congestion go hand in hand as congestion is caused by the nasal cavities in your head getting backed up. When these cavities fill up, your sinuses feel the pressure of the added fluid and tend to feel uncomfortable. This is why so often you will see people dealing with both sinus pressure and headaches at the same time.
Just because these two symptoms go hand in hand does not mean that they cant exist in isolation. As we will see, there are many causes of sinus pressure and dizziness that often dont come with added congestion.
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How Do You Know If You Have Sinus Headache Or Migraine
Listing all the symptoms separately can be confusing and is perhaps why so many sinus headache sufferers have not been correctly diagnosed.
Instead, below are the key symptoms side by side, Sinus Headache vs Migraine, in an easy to follow checklist so you can quickly find out the truth.
If youre not experiencing fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a persistent green or yellow nasal discharge and you have a headache in the sinus area, then you likely have migraine. It is difficult for doctors of patients with migraine and sinus symptoms to acknowledge that a CT scan of their sinuses looks normal and does not show the inflammation, fluid or swelling they would expect after years of rhinosinusitis. Patients and their doctors often fall into the trap of believing that they are nipping sinus infections in the bud with frequent antibiotics and that is why they never get infected drainage.
Take a moment to digest. Most people from the study who were told this rejected the finding at first. They had been told by on average by 4 doctors that it was their sinus. They had also been wrongly diagnosed for an average of 25 years
Things To Take Into Consideration
As you compare and contrast your options, it is clear that sinus pressure medicines can be vastly different from each other: this is because different people react differently to certain formulations, so pharmaceutical companies have developed various options to address each persons experience effectively.
Depending on your own bodys needs, as well as your personal preferences, it may be ideal to choose one option over another. Choose the best medicine for sinus pressure by remembering these main considerations when you step into the store.
- Treatment Form. Sinus pressure is the result of an accumulation of mucus, which commonly occurs as a cause of a viral or bacterial infection. Most of the treatments you will find for sinus pressure are geared towards resolving the symptom only and dont actually address the infection that initially caused the problem. Regardless, these products are highly effective at providing temporary relief of sinus congestion discomfort.
Most commonly, sinus pressure remedies come in three forms:
- Pills. Ideal for people on the go, capsules, and tablets are the slowest acting remedy. Despite this, however, they offer the longest-lasting results. Some pills target more than just sinus congestion, making them an effective remedy for holistic relief. Whats more, pills are also a convenient option for people on the go as theyre fairly easy to take.
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Sinus Pain With Cold: Treatment
Sinusitis usually clears up on its own in two to three weeks, but theres no harm in looking for some comfort during the infection. The key to relieving the symptoms of sinusitis without a cold are treatments that break down the congestion in the sinuses. This can be done in a couple of ways that use warmth to soothe the sinuses:
- Hold a warm, clean flannel over your face for a few minutes each time, several times a day.
- Lean over a bowl of hot water and breathe in the steam for a few minutes at a time, a few times a day .
Its likely youll be wiping mucus from your nose and mouth during the infection, so keep a box of soft Cushelle tissues nearby whilst your sinusitis relief starts working.
Place a box of Cushelle tissues on your bedside, as youre more likely to experience postnasal drip when youre lying down. Strong enough to deal with your heavy mucus, theyll also be gentle on your skin.
With these answers, you can now identify what youre suffering from and get some relief. If your symptoms get worse, are severe, or dont get better after a week, its advisable to contact a medical professional.
Do You Have Sinus Pressure But No Congestion Contact Kaplan Sinus Relief Today
To reiterate: Can you have sinus pressure but no congestion? Its highly unlikely to experience sinus pressure without mucus buildup and congestion.
But that isnt the end of the story. Treatments for sinus pressure and migraines differ. If you self-diagnose incorrectly and take sinus pressure treatments for a migraine, you could actually make your situation worse. And if youve ever had a migraine before, this you know just how unappealing this sounds.
If you do have sinus pressure, we can help you figure out the root cause of this pressure and provide you with various treatment options. These treatments could include decongestants, antibiotics, or in some situations, balloon sinuplasty.
Balloon sinuplasty in Houston has the ability to restore your sinuses natural drainage pathways and can help you find relief from sinus headaches and other underlying issues .
For more information on balloon sinuplasty or to schedule a checkup today, give us a call at 713-766-1818 or request an appointment online today!
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Treat Sinus Pain With Humidity
“Dry, thick mucus in your nose and sinus passages can form crusts that block sinus drainage and trap viruses and other particles. Increasing humidity and getting more fluid into your body can help your mucus thin out and get moving again,” says Dr. Das. Some natural ways to get your sinuses draining and relieve sinus pressure include drinking plenty of fluids using a humidifier avoiding cold, dry air taking plenty of steamy showers and drinking a cup of hot tea or soup.
Color Of Nasal Discharge With Colds
- The nasal discharge changes color during different stages of a cold. This is normal.
- It starts as a clear discharge and later becomes cloudy.
- Sometimes it becomes yellow or green colored for a few days. This is still normal.
- Colored discharge is common after sleep, with allergy medicines or with low humidity. Reason: all of these events decrease the amount of normal nasal secretions.
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