Nasal infection primarily causes swelling of the paranasal sinuses. The condition is often referred to as sinusitis, sinus infection, or rhinosinusitis. Nasal infection can be acute or chronic and can be caused due to various reasons. Let us know more about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of nasal infection.
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Nasal Infection: Causes and Symptoms
Nasal infection is commonly caused due to the common cold and displays signs of congestion in nasal passage and blocking of sinus drainage. It may also be caused due to pollen, dust particles, pollutants, and other allergens. Fungi are known to be one of the causes of chronic sinusitis. The most prominent nasal infection symptoms are a thick and smelly discharge from the nose and a sense of feeling stuffed up. Postnasal drip, headache, sore throat, or cough and fever are also some symptoms of nasal infection.
Nasal Infection: Types
The symptoms usually depend upon the type of nasal infection. It is classified into two basic types, acute and chronic nasal infection. While acute nasal infection usually lasts for less than a month, chronic can last for even more than three months. Nasal infection is also classified according to the sinus cavity affected. Along with the common symptoms, one may experience pain in specific facial areas depending on the affected sinus cavity. Ethmoid sinusitis mainly leads to pain around the eyes. Frontal sinusitis causes pressure in the frontal sinus cavity, commonly leading to a frontal headache. In the case of maxillary sinusitis, you might experience pressure or pain in the cheek area. Sphenoid sinusitis can lead to pressure behind the eyes or forehead.
Nasal Infection: Possible Treatments
The treatment includes medications for treating the underlying health condition causing nasal infection. Further antibiotics are also prescribed for nasal infection relief. The duration of prescribed treatment will depend upon the type of nasal infection. The minimum nasal infection treatment duration is at least 2 weeks.
Home Remedies for Nasal Infection
You can also opt for home remedies to treat this problem effectively, some of which are given below.
Nasal Infection Home Remedy #1
Here is one of the best and easiest home remedies for nasal infection. Start your day with a hot shower. Have three sessions of steam throughout the day. Boil water in a big vessel. Hold your face over the steam and use a thick towel over your head. Inhale the steam vapors for at least ten minutes. This is a very effective remedy to thin the thick mucus. This will help in drainage, giving you relief from a sinus infection.
Nasal Infection Home Remedy #2
Drinking carrot juice is another great and relieving sinus infection home remedy. Take 300ml of carrot juice along with 100ml cucumber juice and 100ml of beet juice. Mix well to concoct 500ml of healthy and beneficial juice. You can also add 200ml of spinach juice instead of beet and cucumber juice. Taking this juice twice a day for a few days is helpful in curing the nasal infection.
Nasal Infection Home Remedy #3
Apple cider vinegar is another classic ingredient used for sinus infection treatment. Add 2 tsp of organic apple cider vinegar to a full glass of warm water and mix well with a spoon. Now drink it down slowly. Repeat this thrice a day for at least 3-5 days. This will help thin the mucus and slowly decrease the mucus production, eliminating the nasal infection.
Nasal Infection Home Remedy #4
Drinking lots of water is essential to cure a nasal infection. You also need to have extra liquids, both hot and cold throughout the day while suffering from a nasal infection. Having hot teas made up of herbs like fenugreek, anise, sage or fennel is much effective in curing sinus problems.
Nasal Infection Home Remedy #5
Garlic is another natural solution to nasal infection. You can opt for garlic juice or garlic capsules which are effective due to the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties of garlic. Instead of garlic juice or capsules you can also opt to add chopped fresh garlic to a bowl of hot water. Now inhale the steam for ten minutes. Do this 3 times a day for a few days to get relief from nasal infection.
A healthy diet along with the aforementioned home remedies will help you get rid of the nasal infection. If you still do not notice any improvement in the condition, then it is best to consult a doctor to get nasal infection relief with viable nasal allergy medications prescribed.
Tiffany is a Medical Student and also works as a fitness coach in part-time. She is also a writer and writes on health and fitness articles. Tiffany loves to engage with users and help them provide various useful information on General Health. She provides researched-based information and also featured on various blogs and magazines.