How to treat Sinus headache?
Sinus Headaches
What are sinus headaches?
Sinus headaches occur when the sinus passages behind your eyes,
nose, cheeks, and forehead are congested. A sinus headache can be felt on
either or both sides of your head.
Pain or pressure is felt not
just in your head, but anywhere in the sinus area. Sometimes sinus headaches
are a symptom of the ongoing sinus condition sinusitis.
Sinus headaches can happen
seasonally if you have allergies, or only occasionally when your sinuses become
triggered for some other reason. There are herbal remedies, over-the-counter
treatments, and prescription medication you can take to treat sinus headaches.
Symptoms of a sinus headache
Symptoms of inflamed sinuses accompany sinus headaches. These
symptoms include:
·
pain getting worse when you lean forward
·
green or yellow nasal discharge
·
an uncomfortable pressure behind your forehead
Sometimes a sinus headache
can also give you a feeling of fatigue or an aching in your top jaw. Redness
and swelling of the cheeks, nose, or forehead can occur.
Sinus headache vs. migraine
According to the American Migraine Foundation, 50
percent of migraine misdiagnoses start with a person thinking they
have a sinus headache. The Mayo Clinic points out that 90
percentof people who go to the doctor for a sinus headache find out
they have a migraine instead.
If you don’t have any of the
symptoms that come specifically with a sinus headache, you may be experiencing
a migraine. Migraines are treated differently from sinus headaches. If you
experience symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, or sensitivity to light, you’re
likely having a migraine and not a sinus headache.
What are the causes and triggers of sinus
headaches?
Sinus headaches are most often a symptom of sinusitis, in
which the sinus becomes inflamed from allergies or other triggers like an
infection. Sinus headaches may also result from seasonal allergies that last an
extended period of time. This is called rhinitis, or
hay fever. Sinus infections and sinus blockages can also trigger sinus
headaches.
Treatments and relief
Doctors often recommend letting sinus infects resolve on their
own. It’s actually best practice for adults to not receive medical treatment
for acute sinusitis unless they experience certain symptoms, like fever, severe
pain, or infection that lasts more than seven days.
Home remedies
If you have a sinus headache, thinning out the congestion
trapped in your sinuses may help. Try running a humidifier or irrigating your
sinuses with a saline solution to cleanse the area.
Breathing in steam may also
help. Applying a warm, wet washcloth to the area of your sinuses may promote
drainage and relieve pressure.
You can also try to promote
sinus drainage by gently pressing on your sinus pressure points. Start with the
area at the bridge of your nose between your eyes, and either tap or apply
continuous pressure for about one minute. This might loosen blockage caused by
trapped mucus in your sinuses.
To promote drainage from
your nose, press lightly on both sides of your nose at once before tipping your
head forward and blowing your nose. If you push the area underneath your eyes
at the top of your cheekbones in and up, you may also experience some pressure
relief.
Over-the-counter options
Analgesics, such as ibuprofen (Advil)
and acetaminophen (Tylenol), can dull the pain you feel
from a sinus headache. They also may treat other symptoms, like an achy jaw or
fever.
But these drugs don’t address
the underlying inflammation that causes the pain you feel. If your sinus
headache gets worse or continues over the course of several days, discontinue
using analgesics and speak with your doctor about what’s going on.
If home remedies aren’t
helping, you may want to try decongestants, such as oxymetazoline (Afrin) or pseudoephedrine (Sudafed).
But don’t take a
decongestant for more than three days without talking to your doctor about your
sinus blockage. Oxymetazoline can cause rebound congestion after three days.
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