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With review and feedback from CEENTA ENT physician Adam Gigliotti, MD (Uptown)
Although many of us enjoy the warmer weather, you may have come to dread the approach of spring because of how much your sinuses will hurt. Or maybe you experience discomfort in the summer or fall. Regardless, the change of seasons brings on sinus pain. But why is your sinus pain seasonal?
The most likely cause of your seasonal sinus pain is allergies. Allergies are conditions where your immune system reacts abnormally to a foreign substance that many human bodies don’t react to. Seasonal allergies are often due to pollens, grasses, and weeds.
People with allergies can experience sinusitis. Symptoms include a headache, tenderness, pain, swelling, and pressure, occurring around the forehead, cheeks, nose, and between the eyes.
Some people might think they don’t have allergies, but have a recurrent sinus infection instead. How do you tell the difference?
"One clue is the type of symptoms you have. In addition to sinus pain, allergy patients may also have a wet, drippy nose, or they may feel like their nose is stuffed up," CEENTA ENT physician Adam Gigliotti, MD, said. Second, allergies will often improve with the use of allergy medicine. Finally, while chronic sinus infections can appear throughout the year, seasonal allergies flare more significantly with the changes in season. They often start at the same time each year and end around the same time, too.
As mentioned above, allergy medicines can help if the pain is indeed caused by allergies. Often, over-the-counter medicines are sufficient. However, if your allergies are severe, immunotherapy might be an option.
If you do have sinusitis, prescription medications could be the solution. However, recurrent sinus infections sometimes need additional treatment like endoscopic sinus surgery or balloon sinuplasty.
If you experience regular sinus pain, schedule an appointment at CEENTA. Our physicians will help determine if you have allergies, sinusitis, or some other issue, and will come up with a treatment plan that will help you enjoy every season equally.
This blog is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, please consult your doctor. New patients can make appointments online with our ENT doctors in North and South Carolina. Current patients can also make appointments through myCEENTAchart with physicians they have already seen.
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