Sinusitis is the inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the sinus cavities called sinuses: maxillary, ethmoid, frontal and sphenoid.
This inflammatory reaction of the body acts in response to any attack or injury, jeopardizing local and systemic mechanisms to reject or isolate the injurious agent, and then repair the damage.
Several factors must be present to provide good defense mechanism, including:
- Permeability of the nostrils
- Permeability of the sinus ostium
- Action effective mucosal ciliary
- Mantle normal mucous secretion
- Presence of lysozyme in secretions
The suppurative sinusitis or purulent infection, occurs when the secretion produced by glands in the mucosa, or any other content intrasinusal (blood, exudate, transudate, immersion water entering either fresh or salt, foreign bodies, tooth roots, etc.) not discharged freely into the nostrils through their respective channels and are contaminated with microbial agents.
The level changes and their consequences mucosal signs and symptoms will differ for each structure is compromised. If these statements are questionable, low or protean, they should insist on making a correct diagnosis, as many mistakenly classified as sinus symptoms, especially chronic, with no evidence of it.
Most patients who attend specialist with a previous diagnosis of sinusitis, not have it.
These should look for the cause that led to the consultation, other structures or altered functions. Headache, septic foci, nasal obstruction, chronic pharyngitis and many other pictures are often labeled as sinus origin.
One of the most common mistakes is cataloged as sinusitis, vasomotor rhinitis to them either cholinergic or allergic reactions.
The nasal hypersecretion in these cases, is caused by overactive glands in the nasal mucosa, autonomic imbalance or reacting to a particular allergen.
The purpose of this paper is to clarify some key points of the symptoms, the mechanisms of production of sinusitis, based on physiological knowledge, methods of diagnosis more reliable and accessible, drawing attention to complications that may arise due to purulent sinusitis, insist on adequate medical treatment when appropriate and complementary treatments for the resolution of the pictures of subacute sinusitis and special chronicles which is essential for the collaboration of the specialist.
