{"id":3465,"date":"2023-08-25T16:40:52","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T20:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/?p=3465"},"modified":"2023-08-25T16:40:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T20:40:53","slug":"can-chronic-sinusitis-affect-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/can-chronic-sinusitis-affect-your-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Chronic Sinusitis Affect Your Mental Health?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dealing with chronic <a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/ent\/sinusitis\/\">sinusitis<\/a> symptoms isn\u2019t just unpleasant. Research has shown that it can actually negatively impact your mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Chronic Sinusitis Signs and Symptoms <\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"871\" src=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3960031-1280x871.jpg\" alt=\"Woman sick on her couch with a sinus infection.\" class=\"wp-image-3468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3960031-1280x871.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3960031-768x523.jpg 768w, https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3960031-1536x1046.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3960031-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Sinusitis is another term for a sinus infection. A sinus infection is considered chronic if your symptoms last longer than 12 weeks. Sinusitis is usually caused by a viral illness, though it can be caused by bacteria or fungi as well. Additionally, conditions like allergies, nasal polyps and having a <a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/ent\/deviated-septum\/\">deviated septum<\/a> can increase your risk of sinus infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have chronic sinusitis, your symptoms may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Nasal congestion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Facial pressure or pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thick yellow or green colored nasal discharge<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Headaches<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Postnasal drip<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weakened or lost sense of smell<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ear fullness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tiredness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>The Connection Between Mental Health and Chronic Sinusitis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Research has established an association between chronic sinusitis and worsening mental health. One study in particular examined health data from nearly 50,000 participants over an 11-year period. Researchers found that people with chronic rhinosinusitis had a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6481428\/#:~:text=An%20increased%20incidence%20of%20depression,than%20those%20with%20nasal%20polyps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">higher overall incidence of anxiety and depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main reason why chronic sinusitis can affect mental health is likely because of the impact it can have on your overall quality of life. Constantly dealing with symptoms like nasal congestion and fatigue can make it difficult to engage in activities you enjoy, like riding your bike around Fort Wayne or meeting up with friends at Fortezza Coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sinus symptoms like nasal congestion and a runny nose can also interfere with breathing, especially at night when you are trying to sleep. Poor or restless sleep is independently linked to higher levels of depression and anxiety as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Seek Treatment for a Chronic Sinus Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While acute sinus infections can often be managed at home, chronic symptoms should be evaluated by your medical provider. They can examine your sinuses and order additional testing like imaging or allergy tests to help determine the cause of your chronic sinusitis and figure out the appropriate treatment options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment options may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Nasal corticosteroid sprays to help prevent and treat inflammation. Your doctor may recommend this in combination with a saline rinse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nasal irrigation to help flush out your sinuses and remove irritants and allergens from your nasal passages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allergy treatments like medication or immunotherapy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medications to shrink nasal polyps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sinus surgery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Get the help you need to reduce your sinus symptoms and improve your quality of life by scheduling an appointment with the experts at <span class=\"company-name \">Ear, Nose &amp; Throat Associates<\/span> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/ent-health-and-aging-what-seniors-should-know-about-ent-care\/\" class=\"related-post\">ENT Health and Aging: What Seniors Should Know About ENT Care<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/how-to-beat-congestion-and-enjoy-a-delicious-thanksgiving\/\" class=\"related-post\">How to Beat Congestion and Enjoy a Delicious Thanksgiving<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/exploring-the-mouth-taping-trend-why-its-important-to-know-the-risks\/\" class=\"related-post\">Exploring the Mouth Taping Trend: Why It\u2019s Important to Know the Risks<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dealing with chronic sinusitis symptoms isn\u2019t just unpleasant. Research has shown that it can actually negatively impact your mental health. Chronic Sinusitis Signs and Symptoms Sinusitis is another term for a sinus infection. A sinus infection is considered chronic if your symptoms last longer than 12 weeks. Sinusitis is usually caused by a viral illness,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3465"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3470,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3465\/revisions\/3470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}