Maxillary Sinusitis

By Dr.Ravindra Patil

It means an infectious disease of the maxillary sinus. As all the readers are not likely to be doctors or biologists, it is necessary to explain what is a sinus and then what is the maxillary sinus.

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Sinuses

Sinuses are air-filled spaces in the forehead, cheekbones, and behind the bridge of the nose. They allow mucus to drain and air to circulate through the nasal passages. There are seven sinuses in the bones of our skull. Of those, three are located on each side of our head. The sphenoid sinus is located in the centre, and is single. The seven sinuses are:

• Frontal sinuses: Located in the forehead, above the nose and behind the eyebrows.
• Ethmoid sinuses: Located in the ethmoid bone, on the bridge of the nose, above the nasal cavity and between the eyes.
• Sphenoid sinus: Located within the body of the sphenoid bone, just anterior and inferior to the sella turcica. It is a single, midline sinus.
• Maxillary sinuses: Located on either side of the nostrils (cheekbone areas). They are the largest of the air sinuses.

What do the sinuses do?

The functions of sinuses include:

• Produce mucus
• Support the immune system of the nasal cavity
• Lighten the weight of the skull

If the opening from a sinus cavity becomes plugged, the flow of mucus is blocked and pressure builds up, causing pain and inflammation.

The sinuses collectively are called the paranasal sinuses because they are on the sides of the nose. The sinuses are part of your nose and respiratory system. They connect to your nasal passages in a complex network of air flow and drainage passages. As you breathe in air through your nose and mouth, it moves through the sinus passages. The sinuses also produce mucus that coats and lubricates your nasal passages and the sinuses themselves.

Both air and mucus flow through your sinuses and drain into your nose, through tiny openings called ostia (or singular, ostium).

Little hairs called cilia help the mucus move through the sinus cavities. The mucus from the sinuses drains into your nasal passages and then down the back of your throat to be swallowed. The draining mucus helps keep your nose moist and it filters out dust and bacteria.

The sinuses also:

• Give your voice resonance as the air vibrates
• Help protect your face in case of trauma
• Insulate against rapid temperature changes in the nose
• Provide an immunological defence
• The sinuses lighten the weight of the skull because they are hollow bones

Maxillary Sinusitis

Inflammation of the sinuses is called Sinusitis. Inflammation of the Maxillary Sinus/s is called Maxillary Sinusitis. Infections of the maxillary sinuses are most common. This article is called ‘Maxillary Sinusitis’ because maxillary sinusitis is the most common sinus infection.

Sinusitis is a sinus infection that can be caused by:

• Respiratory infections, such as a cold or flu
• Allergies, like hay fever

Symptoms of sinusitis

Symptoms of a sinus infection are similar to those of a cold:

• Depending on which sinuses are infected, you may feel pain or pressure in your forehead, cheeks, ears, or teeth.
• You may have thick, sticky mucus coming from your nose.
• Your mucus may be cloudy, or have a greenish-yellow color.
• Mucus may drip down the back of your throat (postnasal drip), giving you a sore throat and cough.
• Your nose may be stuffed, restricting your breathing.
• Your face may feel tender, especially around the eyes.

Other symptoms

• hoarseness
• fever
• fatigue
• bad breath
• decreased sense of smell and taste

The most common sinus problem

Any infection of your upper respiratory tract can easily spread to the sinuses. The resulting inflammation and pain are called sinusitis. It’s also known as rhinosinusitis. Many people refer to sinusitis as simply ‘sinus’ pain.Your sinuses can become infected by bacteria, a virus, or both. At any given time, millions of people all over the world are suffering from sinusitis.

Acute & Chronic sinus infections

A sinus infection can last from 10 days to as long as 8 weeks. This is called an acute sinus infection.

Sometimes a sinus infection can become chronic, getting better and then worse again, off and on for months.

Chronic sinusitis is medically defined as sinusitis that occurs more than four times a year. If your sinus infection lasts longer than eight weeks, it’s also usually considered chronic.

Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common chronic conditions.

The symptoms of acute and chronic sinusitis are similar. Fever is less likely, except in severe cases.

Factors involved with chronic sinusitis are…

• Viral or bacterial infections
• Fungal infections
• Hay fever or allergies to dust mites, moulds, and so on
• Frequent exposure to cigarette smoke or other airborne pollutants
• Nasal polyps, a deviated septum, or a damaged nasal structure
• Medical conditions such as asthma, hiv, or cystic fibrosis
• Aspirin sensitivity
• Respiratory tract infections

You’re at higher risk for sinusitis if you…

• Have allergies
• Smoke
• Have a weakened immune system
• Have a mechanical problem in the nose, such as a deviated septum
• Have a dental infection
• Spend time in a day care or kindergarten where germs are likely to be present

People often develop sinusitis after they have a common cold.  If the lining of your sinuses becomes https://blogpoet.com.ua blocked in a cold, the mucus gets thick and sticky. Your sinuses may not drain properly and bacteria can then build up in the mucus.

Treatment of Sinusitis

• Getting plenty of rest
• Drinking plenty of fluids
• Taking painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen

Serious sinus infections can spread to the membranes and fluid around the brain and spinal cord. This infection is called meningitis. Other serious infections can spread to the bones, called osteomyelitis, or to skin, called cellulitis.

What should you do if you have Acute Sinusitis

• Try moist heat or steam. You can make a steam inhaler by putting hot water in a bowl and inhaling the steam. To do this:
• Keep at least 8 inches away from the water so that you don’t burn yourself.
• Inhale for about 2 minutes.
• Create an enclosed space for the moist, warm air to collect by draping a towel over your head as you lean over the bowl.
• You can also buy a vaporizer, which creates steam from heat.

Other tips to manage symptoms

• Take over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication to ease headaches.
• Try OTC drugs such as guaifenesin (Mucinex) that thins your mucus, which can help to pass the mucus and lessen congestion.
• Try acupuncture; there’s some evidence that it’s useful for sinus-related symptoms.

Chronic sinusitis care tips

Find and treat the condition that’s causing it. If another condition is associated with your chronic sinusitis, get treated for it and stick to your medications or treatment plan. Try treatments or management plans if it’s from allergies. See an allergy specialist to identify and have ongoing treatment for allergies.

Keeping sinuses healthy

You can take some steps to help keep your sinuses healthy and avoid sinusitis:

• Keep your hands clean.
• Maintain moisture in your nose and sinuses.
• Drink plenty of fluids to keep your mucus thin.
• Use a humidifier in the winter season, when the air tends to be drier.
• Use an OTC nasal saline spray to irrigate your nose.
• Keep the dust level down by dusting and vacuuming often, especially in the bedroom.

The good news is that if you’re otherwise healthy and your sinusitis is caused by a virus, it’s likely to resolve on its own within 7 to 10 days.

How to Prevent Brain Tumours

By Dr.Ravindra Patil

The title of this essay seems so attractive. It seems this article will present a nice, magical way of preventing brain tumours. Brain tumours are something for which cure is difficult and in some cases not possible. Brain tumours are diseases which are very difficult to treat because brain tumours are located inside the skull and in many cases very difficult to approach. Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy have opened doors to the treatment of some brain tumours which are not operable by surgery. Surgery of brain tumours remains the ideal way to get rid of a brain tumour forever, but surgery has its own risks. And, in some cases, surgery is not possible.

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There is No Way to Prevent Brain Tumours

There is no known way to prevent brain tumours. But those people who are likely to get brain tumours, need to be more aggressive in getting themselves screened for brain tumours. The reason is, children of people who suffered brain tumours are more likely to suffer brain tumours. A family history of brain tumours in near blood relatives indicates an increased risk of brain tumours. Such people must consider screening tests to detect brain tumours.

Risk Factors

• Risk factors for brain tumours include: Family history, Genetic conditions.
• People with a close relative who has had a brain tumour have a higher risk than other people in the general population. A close relative is a parent, sibling, or child.
• Cigarette smoking is a major source of chemical carcinogens.

Introduction

A brain tumour occurs when neurons are mutated and thus abnormal cells are formed. Glioma and meningioma are the two most common types or brain tumours, comprising approximately 75% of all brain tumours.

Who are Likely to Suffer a Brain Tumour?

The subject of diseases and their cure is not easy. It is never possible to say: “Don’t do this and you will never suffer that disease”. Currently only ‘risk factors’ can be presented. Risk factors are something which need to be avoided, if possible.

• People residing or working in areas concurrently exposed to chemical factories or radiations being released are more prone to develop brain tumour.
• People with sedentary lifestyle and with more stress in life are generally more seen to develop brain tumours.
• Lifestyle and dietary factors play a major role in the development of brain tumours
• People consuming food products such as cured meat, fruits, and vegetables, which contain large amounts of dietary N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) and their precursors, have an association with the development of brain tumours. Hence, they are more prone to develop tumours
• Males are more prone to develop brain tumours compared to females.
• The incidence of central nervous system tumours in India ranges from 5 to 10 per 100,000 population with an increasing trend and accounts for 2% of malignancies.
• A recent study showed an increase in gliomas, but not meningiomas, in workers concurrently exposed to chemical solvents, pesticides or lead, and low-frequency electromagnetic fields.
• Nitrite exposure has been hypothesized as an explanation for the association of both cured meat and fruits/vegetables. Cured meats are the primary source of dietary N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) and their precursors.
• NOCs, contained in processed meat, have been long noticed to be associated with higher risk of brain tumour. A recent meta-analysis also indicated that processed meat consumption was associated with higher risk of brain tumour, while intake of vegetables, fruits, and Vitamin A might reduce its risk.
• Intake of fish is associated with lower risk of brain tumours in children.

Research Findings

Since brain tumours cannot be prevented at this time, it is but natural that much research will continue to be done on the subject. Rather than prevention, currently the focus is on which are the likely people who might get a brain tumour. One major research showed that:

• People with stressful, sedentary lifestyle and wrong diet and those addicted to alcohol consumption and the habit of cigarette smoking have higher risk of brain tumours.
• Males are more prone to brain tumours.
• Among subtypes, majority had glioblastoma and the least had meningioma.
• According to location, majority had cerebellopontine angle tumour and the least had left thalamic glioma and multicentric glioma.

The other deductions from the above research was that once a brain tumour was detected, to slow down its rate of growth, immediate care should be:

• Preventing exposure to radiations
• Avoiding cigarette smoking
• Providing healthy diet
• Avoiding chronic stress
• Avoiding environmental pollution

Even after a successful brain tumour surgery, and postoperative patients should be encouraged in avoiding infections by maintaining proper hygiene and eating a healthy diet for their speedy recovery.

Early detection, better cure

Again, screening isn’t prevention, but it might help find a brain tumour early and when the tumour is small. And detection of the tumour when it is small greatly improves chances of a successful treatment.

Tobacco

Human beings have been using tobacco in various forms since over nine hundred years. Christopher Columbus was given dried tobacco leaves as a gift by the American Indians in 1492. The tobacco plant and smoking was introduced to Europeans. In 1531 Europeans start cultivation of the tobacco plant in Central America. Tobacco may be providing relief and pleasure to its users, but it’s use also lead to many diseases, cancer being one of them. Brain tumours are also attributed to the use of tobacco. Tobacco in every form is bad for health, whether it is chewed, snuffed or smoked.

Cigarette smoking is a major source of multiple systemically absorbed chemical carcinogens including, among others, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and NOCs. Among smokers, tobacco smoke is by far the greatest source of exposure to NOCs.

Although nicotine may increase the permeability of the blood–brain barrier, it is unknown if NOCs penetrate the human brain tissue.

Lifestyle changes

Lifestyle changes, especially dietary habits, are at the basis of chronic systemic low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance, and majority of diseases. An inflammatory reaction jeopardizes the high glucose needs of our brain, causing various adaptations, including insulin resistance, functional reallocation of energy-rich nutrients, and changing serum lipoprotein composition.

With the advent of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, we have introduced numerous false inflammatory triggers in our lifestyle, driving us to a state of chronic systemic low-grade inflammation that eventually leads to typical Western diseases via an evolutionary conserved interaction between our immune system and metabolism. The underlying triggers are an abnormal dietary composition and microbial flora, insufficient physical activity and sleep, chronic stress, and environmental pollution. The disturbance of our inflammatory/anti-inflammatory balance is illustrated by dietary fatty acids and antioxidants. Association between long term exposure to pm2.5 absorbance and malignant brain tumours is seen.

Treatment for Brain Tumours

Treatment options for brain tumours include: Radiation therapy, Surgery, Chemotherapy. Many a times, a combination of two or all three methods is used.

Radiation therapy uses strong beams of energy to kill brain cancer cells. Special equipment ensures that the strong beams of radiation are focussed only on the tumour cells. Radiation is often used along with surgery or chemotherapy to treat brain tumours.

Conclusion

To conclude, brain tumours are rare, treatment options are available. Living a healthy lifestyle is the key point. People with stressful life condition, wrong diet, and sedentary lifestyle and those addicted to alcohol, with the habit of cigarette smoking, have higher risk of brain tumours. Males are more prone to brain tumours.