Spring is not always a happy time for sinus inflammation patients who suffer from allergies.
The first day of spring, the year's first equinox, was Sunday, March 20 with spring-like weather often preceding the official start of the post-winter season. The folks at Indianapolis Sinus Center know what's coming and have advice for those who suffer from sinus inflammation.
"The first thing would be to see if there are allergies involved," Dr. Nicholas C. Hollenkamp of Indianapolis Sinus Center told Indiana Business Daily. "You want to treat the allergies with different steroid preparations via topical or oral. That can help get the inflammation down and let stuff drain."
Treatment steps up for patients with conditions more serious than seasonal allergies.
"Then you start to get more into the procedural things, the balloon procedure, the more traditional sinus surgeries and also straightening septums and reducing turbinates because that can help open up airflow," Hollenkamp said.
Seasonal aggravations of sinus conditions can begin even before spring weather arrives. Tree pollen, the usual suspect in sinus inflammation and other symptoms, can start up in January in the southern U.S., according to information from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)'s website. That's small comfort for Indiana sinus condition sufferers, who may not notice aggravated symptoms until spring-like weather begins to arrive in the Hoosier State later in the year.
Some trees emit pollen until it's almost summer, which means so-called "spring allergies" such as sinus inflammation, sneezing, congestion and itchy, watery eyes, can last for a month.
AAFA also reports that additional sinus and allergy triggers from grass and ragweed pollens also come with spring-like weather, particularly on cool nights and warmer days. As spring progresses, so does the risk of those triggers, depending on the weather. Weather favorable to plants generally also favors increased pollen emissions.
Grass pollen in particular also emerges with spring-like weather, as do flowers, both of which also can worsen seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Patients with compounded problems of narrow sinuses and allergies have treatment options, including balloon sinuplasty. After allergies are ruled out, a specialist may recommend balloon sinuplasty to treat narrow sinuses or structural problems. The minimally invasive procedure is typically done in-office an involves insertion of tiny balloons into the sinuses to expand the narrow opening.
Anyone wondering whether their symptoms amount to a sinus condition may take Indianapolis Sinus Center Online Quiz to find out.