Sinusitis

If you have several sinus infections in a year or are prone to sinus infections due to allergies, the ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors at Nebraska Medicine understand your discomfort and know how to provide relief. Our specialists, many of whom are fellowship trained, are skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of sinus infections. Because we offer the most up to date treatment options in the region, we have the ability to deliver a solution designed precisely for you, no matter your age. 

When is it a sinus infection and not a cold?

If you routinely have these lingering symptoms, you could be dealing with a sinus infection called sinusitis:

• Congestion 
• Runny nose 
• Headaches
• When you do have a cold, your symptoms tend to linger

A sinus infection begins as a cold, which is a virus, and evolves into a more serious bacterial infection. If two weeks after your cold hits you’re still sick it's a good idea to go to your doctor. By then the bacteria may have infected the trapped mucus in your sinuses. You'll typically feel feverish, with headaches, a sore face and achy teeth. There’s often a change in drainage color as well – it’s cloudy, and brown-gray-yellow.

Nebraska Medicine Offers Many Ways to Help Alleviate Sinus Infections 

The team of doctors at Nebraska Medicine are uniquely qualified to thoroughly diagnose the cause of your sinus infection and formulate a comprehensive, individualized plan of treatment to provide lasting relief.

Antibiotics are the typical treatment for somebody with acute sinusitis, or a sinus infection (the result of the tissue lining the sinuses swelling). An antibiotic should provide relief within a couple of days.

If sinus infections are frequent or become chronic they can be corrected with minimally invasive surgeries not normally requiring overnight stays. However, we offer alternatives to surgery.

Sinus Treatments

Nebraska Medicine offers the broadest breadth of sinus treatments in the region. This enables us to create a comprehensive, individualized plan for you that addresses your condition, not just the symptoms. Effective, long-term treatment options may include:

• Balloon Sinuplasty
• Endoscopic Sinus surgery
• Topical treatments

A fairly new procedure we offer patients who have battled these exasperating sinus problems for an extended period of time. The procedure involves using a balloon to dilate the sinus openings so the sinus cavity can drain better. Because no incisions are made, most patients have a quick recovery.

Endoscopic sinus surgery is a surgery done through the nose with no cuts made on the outside. It is designed to open sinus passages and to restore function. Recovery time for this is normally about a week.

If you have a deviated septum, we may recommend an outpatient procedure to straighten the your septum. You can return to work in a couple of days, and the swelling is gone within two weeks.

Clinical Trials and Research

Thanks to our academic partner the University of Nebraska Medical Center, we remain up to date on all the research related to allergies and sinus issues, and often take part in clinical trials ourselves.