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Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Facts about Sinusitis


Sinusitis Simply put, sinusitis is inflammation of the lining of your sinuses. Sinuses The sinuses are located behind the eyes, the cheeks, and the jaw. They are chambers in which mucous is produced to clean out the bacteria that we take in every day through the mouth and nose. The mucous moves along the cilia, which are tiny, moving hairs that maneuver the mucous. Sinusitis creates difficulties for the sinuses as they try to do their job, because the cilia cease to move and the sinuses either produce too much mucous or too little. Possible Causes Sinusitis can be caused in a variety of ways. The inflammation of the sinus lining is sensitive to changes in temperature or humidity, and often swimming, diving, extreme changes in temperature, and smoking will set off inflammation. The reason these things can cause sinusitis is that they create a friendly environment for bacteria and viruses. For example, smoking paralyzes the cilia, causing the sinuses to think that there are bacteria or a virus and to produce more mucous. Since the cilia cannot move, the mucous just sits there, congests, and becomes a breeding ground for more bacteria, creating a sinus infection. Stagnant water or liquid buildup from water activities can produce similar effects. Or, if a virus has already infected the sinuses and swelling occurs, then the produced mucous will build up even more. Sinusitis is just the beginning of any nasal problem. What many people don’t know is that sinusitis, though beginning in the sinuses can also contribute to an ear infection. The reason is that the sinuses and the ears are connected through the Eustachian tube, and something as simple as sneezing can push infection right out to the ears. Not only can infection move out to the ears but also down to the lungs. Sinusitis is not entirely unrelated to an upper respiratory infection. Often Sinusitis, ear infection, and upper respiratory infection have similar, if not the same, causes. Sinusitis Symptoms As mentioned in previous articles, the culprit is often post nasal drip. Post nasal drip is often part of a cold or flu symptom. It is a sensation of mucous dripping in the back of your throat. Frequent sniffing and swallowing should be indications of proactive sinuses. In other words, sinuses are producing more mucous because they sense bacteria or a virus. Sinusitis and sinus infection do frequently occur in the wake of a cold or the flu. Sinusitis Prevention Prevention is the best way to stay out of the way of sinusitis. Many of the preventions are also treatments. For example, Xylitol, a natural enemy to bacteria, is a time-tested prevention for sinusitis. Xylitol is now being used as the leading ingredient in nasal spray. The regular rinsing of the sinuses is generally helpful in keeping bacteria from settling and mucous from getting over-produced.

How To Quit Smoking

One of the most vicious diseases in today’s times is smoking. It makes a person baffle for air 3 times more than a non-smoker. It has very many repercussions on the life of the smoker and those around him. It leads to lung cancer and various heart diseases like asthma and emphysema. We should thus abhor this deadly disease and quit smoking.

Quitting is not easy

But to actually quit smoking is not easy, because it is an addiction. However there are very many ways and methods that help us to quit smoking for instance we can opt for acupuncture therapy or aromatherapy. We can also opt for non-nicotine cigarettes or go for precise prescription by a doctor.

But first and foremost we need to decide in our heart to stop smoking and should also fix a day for the same. Inform your family about your decision and seek for their help and assistance. Throw away all the cigarette packets, ashtrays and lighters. Stop buying any more cigarettes. Rather think of the more useful and better things that you can buy with the money thus saved. Ask the other family members also, who smoke, to stop smoking. Keep yourself busy. Exercise regularly and meditate occasionally. Eat healthy food.

After doing all this you may still feel severe urges to smoke. You may also actually retort back to it, but that’s no problem, just be persistent and bring back your decision on to the right track after this break, because most of the people are successful only after 2-3 attempts.

Be prepared for withdrawal symptoms

About 80% people retort back to smoking after once leaving it and only 20% successfully accomplish the task. People retort back due to many reasons. Some say they feel agitated. Others say that the aroma when someone lights up is irresistible. But most of them do so due to the fear of symptoms that appears after that last puff viz. weight gain, aggressive thinking, dry throat, fatigue, muscle cramps, constipation, dizziness, hypersensitivity to stimuli, etc. but these are all just temporary symptoms and disappear in a few days. In fact after the initial bout is over the blood pressure, heart rate, pulse arte all get back to normal. You thus need to keep your will power strong and stick to your decision for a few more days.

Some people are not able to continue with the smoke cessation programs because they say that they are costly. But this is a wrong perception because they are not costlier than the price spent for buying cigarettes. And then isn’t it more logical to spend on your health rather on a disease.