NEW YORK—If your runny, stuffy nose and aching face have lasted more than 10 days, you may have something more than just the common cold.
Sinusitis, which is inflammation of the air-filled chambers behind your forehead, nose, and cheeks, often begins as a cold but can stealthily become a chronic disease without the sufferer realizing it because the symptoms can appear to improve.
Sinusitis can start when an allergic reaction or common viral cold sets the immune system on high alert and causes the body to produce extra mucus. As this mucus collects, it becomes the perfect habitat for bacteria to breed. The body responds to the bacteria colonies by sending immune cells to attack them, increasing inflammation and setting the stage for chronic sinusitis—if left untreated.
Luckily, unlike many other chronic conditions, sinusitis is very treatable after it is diagnosed.
However, many sufferers (and nonspecialist doctors) often misconstrue the symptoms of sinusitis and pursue treatments that have unnecessary side effects, according to Dr. Allan Levin, an ear, nose, and throat doctor (otolaryngologist), who specializes in nose and sinus conditions.
“A lot of times [patients] themselves delay their own diagnosis because they assume—they wrongly assume—they have a cold,” said Dr. Levin, who has been treating sinusitis for New Yorkers for more than two decades.
