September 9, 2019
A Look At Chronic Sinusitis
By Michael D. Shaw
This column posted an article on chronic disease a few years ago. Strangely, even getting a definition of the term “chronic disease” is fraught with some difficulty. WHO focuses on noncommunicable diseases, and provides a list of the conditions that seem to qualify. Some sources, including Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, note that the US National Center for Health Statistics defines a chronic condition as one persisting three months or longer.
However, the National Center is part of the CDC, and the CDC defines chronic diseases as “conditions that last one year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.”
A 2016 article in Frontiers in Public Health entitled “Use Your Words Carefully: What Is a Chronic Disease?” notes that “There is not only tremendous variation in the diseases that are included under the umbrella term ‘chronic disease’ but also variation in the time a disease must be present for something to be referred to as chronic.” For our purposes, chronic diseases are those conditions that may range from nagging to life-threatening, and seem to be almost impossible to cure, although they are persistently treated.
Which brings us to chronic sinusitis. Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucosal lining of one or more paranasal sinuses. Most commonly, this condition occurs as a result of an upper respiratory viral infection, and needs no treatment–unless pus develops. In such a case, antibiotics are prescribed. The condition is considered to be chronic sinusitis if it persists for more than three months. Bear in mind that many authorities are not comfortable with the long-term use of antibiotics.
During an infection, action of the cilia is impaired, and the normal mucus flow is interrupted. As such, even after the cold runs its course, bacteria can remain on the surface of the mucous membrane, resulting in purulent (pus-forming) sinusitis.
Symptoms of chronic sinusitis can range from nasal inflammation and obstruction to a reduced sense of smell and taste. Pain, tenderness, and swelling around the eyes, cheeks, nose, or forehead can also occur. Sadly, it is estimated that 30 percent of chronic sinusitis sufferers have symptoms not controlled by guideline therapy.
For those keeping score at home, the bugs usually involved in acute purulent sinusitis are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Streptococcus pyogenes. Staphylococcus aureus and anaerobic bacteria (Prevotella and Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium and Peptostreptococcus species) are the main culprits in chronic sinusitis.
As the reference points out, “The microbiology of sinusitis is influenced by the previous antimicrobial therapy, vaccinations, and the presence of normal flora capable of interfering with the growth of pathogens.”
The notion of normal flora (good bacteria, in this sense) capable of stopping the pathogenic baddies seems to imply that probiotics could be a therapy for chronic sinusitis. As it happens, this very topic was discussed in an article entitled “The Potential for Topical Probiotic Treatment of Chronic Rhinosinusitis, a Personal Perspective.” The author notes that topical probiotics have shown efficacy in a limited number of trials in otitis media and tonsillitis, but to date not in chronic sinusitis.
The author concludes…
“[W]e need to engage in empirical interventional studies, rather than trying to unravel mechanisms in the laboratory or spend too much resources on descriptive work. If successful, probiotics could provide a highly valued, inexpensive and safe treatment of airway disease, and is likely to have the added benefit of reducing antibiotic prescriptions and thus contribute to tackling the rising incidence of antibiotic resistance.”
What about running your own personal interventional study? You can with the new product Sure Sinus. Sure Sinus nasal spray manipulates the sinus microbiome to restore immune homeostasis. Sure Sinus works to prevent dysbiosis, or microbial imbalance, within your sinus microbiome. It works with your body to solidify the mucosal immunology of the respiratory membranes in your sinus cavity. The company believes that a 30-day therapy should clear things up for most sufferers.
Listen to Marc Palumbo, founder of Sure Sinus…
“Sure Sinus is a safe and effective way to relieve the headaches and fatigue that plague tens of millions of people. Potent by its inclusion of probiotics, and powerful without a trace of antibiotics, Sure Sinus fits in your pocket–and helps end the sneezing and coughing fits, as well as the inflammation of sinus pain.”
Most chronic sufferers have tried many products. Probiotics is a unique approach, and certainly worth a shot.