How to distinguish sinusitis from rhinitis? What is the difference between them?

How to distinguish between sinusitis and rhinitis? Although rhinitis and sinusitis are two different diseases, in many cases they affect each other. Repeated attacks of acute rhinitis and sinusitis may eventually lead to chronic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis.

How to distinguish sinusitis from rhinitis? It mainly includes the following three aspects:

Anatomy: The nasal cavity is a ventilation cavity between the front and back nostrils. The inner surface of the nasal cavity is covered with nasal mucosa. Inflammation of the nasal mucosa is rhinitis. The sinuses are air-filled cavities around the nasal cavity, in the skull and facial bones. There are 4 pairs of symmetrical sinuses, namely the maxillary sinus, frontal sinus, ethmoid sinus and sphenoid sinus. Each sinus has a sinus opening that communicates with the nasal cavity. Through this sinus opening, the nasal membrane and the mucosa in the sinuses are continuous with each other. Inflammation of the sinuses is sinusitis.

Clinical manifestations:

The main symptoms of chronic rhinitis are stuffy nose and mucous nasal discharge. Chronic sinusitis is characterized by frequent discharge of white glazed nasal discharge, yellow purulent nasal discharge after a cold, and decreased sense of smell. As mentioned above, rhinitis and sinusitis are closely related in their onset, but their clinical manifestations are different and the findings in the examination are also different.

Treatment:

The main symptom of chronic rhinitis is poor nasal ventilation. If regular drug treatment is ineffective, surgical treatment should be considered.

The main symptoms of chronic sinusitis are nasal congestion, purulent nasal discharge, dizziness, decreased sense of smell, etc. If drug treatment is ineffective, surgery should be performed as soon as possible. Otherwise, the deepening of inflammation and the formation of nasal polyps will inevitably lead to increased difficulty of cure and increased treatment costs.

How to distinguish sinusitis from rhinitis? The above is an introduction from the aspects of anatomy, clinical manifestations, and treatment. I hope it will be helpful to your health. I wish you a speedy recovery!