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Symptoms of sinusitis
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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The clinical course and symptoms of acute sinusitis are very similar. Usually, during recovery from ARVI and flu, a temperature reaction appears again, weakness, health deteriorates, symptoms of intoxication increase, reactive edema of the eyes and cheeks, profuse purulent discharge from the nose, pain in the sinus area appears (especially in young children). If the outflow is difficult, one-sided toothache, a feeling of pressure in the eye area can be observed. Headache is often without a specific localization. At the same time, nasal congestion, mucous or purulent discharge and, in connection with this, respiratory hypoxia appear. Significant swelling of the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity leads to a violation of the patency of the nasolacrimal canal and the appearance of lacrimation. It should be noted that in early childhood, all symptoms of sinusitis can be weakly expressed. With different localization of sinusitis, some features are noted.
Thus, ethmoiditis, which accounts for 60-70% of sinusitis in children, is characterized by symptoms associated with the involvement of the medial wall of the sinuses and the orbit. Orbital symptoms quickly arise and progress, and prolapse of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity is noted during anterior rhinoscopy.
In acute sinusitis, most often combined with osteomyelitis, there is pain when pressing in the canine fossa area, neuralgic pain radiating to the cheek, supraorbital region. Acute frontal sinusitis is characterized by a sharp decrease in the sense of smell, intense pain in the supraorbital region, lacrimation. Acute sphenoiditis occurs mainly in old age, it is accompanied by a sharp headache in the back of the head, sometimes in the eye sockets, and a decrease in the sense of smell. Pus usually flows down the back of the throat, often causing a cough. Thus, the clinical course of acute sinusitis is variable and depends on many factors.
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