Headaches due to sinusitis: causes and how to treat them

What causes sinusitis?

Sinusitis most often occurs due to viral infections, such as the flu virus. This virus will spread to the sinus cavity from the upper respiratory tract, eventually causing the sinus wall (the small space in the skull) to become inflamed.

The small opening from the sinuses to the nose can become blocked, and sometimes it eventually causes pressure to build up in the sinuses. Usually mild sinusitis symptoms such as headache, fever, sore throat and nasal congestion can go away on their own.

Headaches due to sinusitis are similar to migraine symptoms

Apart from the feeling of pressure on the face, the symptoms of headache due to sinusitis are sometimes similar to the symptoms of migraines. If you have assumed that your headaches are caused by sinusitis, but they only occur occasionally, heal without antibiotics, are accompanied by vomiting and are sensitive to light, then you are most likely experiencing a migraine. In addition, migraines are also characterized by intense pain and visual disturbances that make it difficult for you to carry out your daily activities.

If you are still in doubt, one of the most obvious differences between migraine headaches and sinusitis is that migraine sufferers will only feel pain on one side of the head. While sinusitis, usually as if there is an emphasis on the forehead and upper head.

Then, how do you deal with headaches due to sinusitis?

The first thing you have to do to relieve headaches due to sinusitis is to treat sinus infections first. If you go to a doctor, the doctor may recommend that you take some antibiotics and antihistamines or decongestants for a while. For the use of decongestants, you are not recommended to use them for a long time. Because continuous use of decongestants can make headaches due to your sinusitis worse.

Here are some things that can relieve your headaches due to sinusitis symptoms:

Take pain medication

Take corticosteroids and painkillers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, for sore pain. These drugs act as analgesic drugs that block pain signals to the brain.

Evaporation

Steaming the nose when sinusitis recurs, can be a powerful way to relieve pain in your head.Evaporation will help soothe the mucous membranes that are making your nose clogged.

You can create evaporation in simple ways, such as placing a bowl of hot water in front of you while placing your head over it to inhale the steam. You can also add mint leaf oil or eucalyptus oil to hot water, to add a cool and cool feeling when the steam is inhaled.

Using a nasal spray

You can also spray nasal steroids (with a doctor's prescription) to help moisturize and reduce air around the nose. The more humid the airways are, the more headache symptoms of sinusitis will subside.