Anything that blocks the sinus cavities or causes the mucus membrane to swell can lead to sinusitis. Other general cases of sinuses may include a respiratory infection, environmental allergies, especially hay fever, environmental irritants, including tobacco and pollution…food allergies or sensitivities, especially to milk, a diet that is high in mucus forming foods, a dental infection and any activity that places pressure on sinuses for example swimming and flying in planes.

Doctors say that an immune system reaction to fungal infections in the sinus cavity, systemic candidiasis may also cause sinuses. Sinusitis comes from the Latin word ‘sinuo’ which means “to bend, wind, and curve.” According to Medilexicon`s medical dictionary, sinusitis is the “Inflammation of the mucous membrane of any sinus, especially the paranasal.

Behind the bones of your face there are some hollow spaces, filled with air, which lead to the nose cavity – they are what we know as the sinuses. Your sinuses have the same mucous membrane lining as your nose does. The membrane produces a slimy secretion (mucus), keeping the nasal passages moist. The mucus traps dirt particles and germs.

Alternatively, Sinuses are cavities in the bone around the nose, the cheeks and the eyes. These cavities are lined with membranes that produce mucus and when the sinuses are functioning normally, this mucus serves a protective purpose-it warms and moistens incoming air and filters it for germs. When sinuses can’t drain properly, however, the mucus accumulates and becomes stagnant, making the area ripe for infection.

There are four main known sets of sinuses and they are all paired according to medicals doctors at ExfordUniversity.

The sets of sinuses are MAXILLARY SINUSES ….these are the largest sinuses, also the ones that most commonly are affected when a person has sinusitis. Above your eyes, either side of your forehead (THE FRONTAL SINUSES). There is also behind the bridge of your nose, between your eyes (ETHMOID SINUSES). They can also be broken down into anterior and posterior – front and back. Then lastly there is SPHENOID SINUSES- these are between the upper part of your nose and behind your eyes.

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