'Help I Have A Sinus!'

What really causes the constant sniffles and blocked nose that plague so many of us?

- Davelle Lee

Waking up regularly with a leaky nose, a throbbing headache and nasal congestion is no fun. If you suffer from sinus problems, you’ve probably turned up at the office with tissues shoved up your nostrils, feeling both miserable and uncomfortable. What’s causing your nasal woes and is there a way to get rid of them for good? We ask the experts.

Understanding Your “Sinus”

It’s common for people to refer to a persistent runny or blocked nose as “having sinus”. “Actually, the term ‘sinus’ refers to an air cavity around the nose,” explains Dr Dharambir S Sethi, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital. 

We have four pairs of these air cavities – in the forehead bone, cheek bones, between the eyes and at the back of the nose almost in the centre of the head. Your sinuses are lined with a membrane that produces mucus, which moistens the tissues in the nasal passages, and helps to trap and flush out dirt and harmful microbes.

Sinusitis occurs when this mucous lining becomes inflamed. “The inflammation may be due to viral infection, bacterial infection, fungal infection, smoking or allergies,” says Dr Sethi.

Dr Ker Liang, head and neck surgeon at the department of otolaryngology, National University Hospital, adds: “Inflammation then leads to nasal obstruction.” The swelling membranes can block your sinuses, cause facial pain and produce coloured nasal discharge. Other symptoms include fever, persistent headache, chronic cough, ear pain and not being to smell properly.

Not Just One Kind Of Sinusitis