The Ordeal of Mornings...

Lately, this happens quite often...

I wake up from the sleep, brush teeth, perform wudhu'....(shower maybe later in the day ;p)

then...

sudden chill, feeling uncomfortable and tinkling in my nose...

and soon, everything starts...

the relentless sneezing, postnasal dripping, pressure in the mid of my face, the throbbing headache, sudden heaviness of my head...

and that's it, need to lie down, not much work can be done in that condition....hu3

You see, this is what we call acute sinusitis, the symptoms get worse in the morning.

I believe most of you may have it. In lay man term, sinusitis is resdung la. (Sy br tau term ni same wktu nk masuk tmhd, hahaha)

A lot of things can cause sinusitis; it can be bacteria/viral infection, immune system, allergies or as simply as cold. In my case, both allergies and cold are my perpetual foes. House dust, sudden change of temp, 'budu', anything with belacan in it, seafood, a strong scent (wangi ke busuk same je) or chemical odour (ala, mcm formalin dlm cadaver tuh) can trigger the nightmare. 

Anyway, what is sinusitis? It can be acute or chronic but all are still the same. Dictionary-ly speaking, sinusitis is the inflammation of mucus membrane lining our paranasal sinuses. The word 'para' does explains that the sinuses aka cavities are located at sides of our noses. 

We have exactly four sinuses; Frontal, Ethmoid, Sphenoid and Maxillary.

Credit: wiki. Supposedly, cavities are filled with air, in that way, the x-ray film will be black. However, fluid accumulation in the cavities are seen as white in the x-ray film. (Arrow: fluid-filled maxillary cavity)

Well, when, the lining of you mucus gets swollen or inflamed, the proper drainage of mucus is disturbed. Consequently, the mucus accumulates insides there and the pressure builds up, gets on the nerve ending. And voila, enjoy the pain people!

Still remember the nerves supplying each of the paranasal sinuses? Let's jolt the memory back~

Maxillary --> Infraorbital nerve + superior alveolar nerves (ant, middle and post)
Frontal  --> Supraorbital nerve
Ethmoidal --> Ant and post ethmoidal nerves
Sphenoid --> Post ethmoidal nerve

 p.s Sy x igt pn, nie pn bukak blik lecture notes.

How to treat? It depends on the causes. But mainly, the treatment focuses on to reduce the inflammation and the pain. Therefore use nasal spray, painkiller (panadol would be fine). And for allergies, loratadine/claritin will do their work. Also, drink a lot of water to thin the mucus and say your prayer to ALLAH for the TRUE healer, insyaAllah.