sinus symptoms and asthma - Sinus Problems Message Board

momtobaby1 · 08-23-2008, 11:32 PM

Hi everyone,
I am 24 years old and was only just diagnosed with asthma about 3 months ago. I've dealt with symptoms all my life though but never realized it was asthma. I have allergy induced asthma with pollen, dander and mold being the big issues for me. Basically everything I guess. Mold and dander bring on full blown asthma attacks for me. Growing up it was horrible when I was around cats and bathrooms with mold but it never occurred to my parents apparently that it was more than really bad allergies. This past summer though really got bad and I finally made an appt. and was diagnosed then. I'm on Asmanex, Singulair, Claritin and of course my Albuterol. I also take Prilosec for chronic acid reflux (had it since I was 16).

My question is about sinus symptoms. I've noticed in the last 2 years that I get frequent sinus problems that I'm never quite sure if they are infections or just horrible symptoms. In the last week the sinus pressure and pain has been bothering me around the clock. I've been taking tylenol with sudafed (the real stuff) and it does help but it's not going away. I don't feel sick otherwise really, no fever or anything. Just the pressure in my face and pain in my face and ears. I'm just getting real tired of taking the sinus medicine around the clock like this. I've started to wonder if it's related somehow to my asthma or if it's something else.

Has anyone had sinus flare ups? Anyone know why or if it's related to asthma or not?

Thanks!

gcsjr · 08-24-2008, 06:10 AM

The sinus symptoms you describe could be connected to your allergies/asthma or to the acid reflux.

Both the upper respiratory (sinuses) and lower respiratory (lungs) systems react to allergens but they react differently. The bronchi in your lungs can constrict when they're assaulted by allergens which can lead to an asthma attack. When the mucus membranes lining your sinuses react to allergens you get pressure, pain, a runny nose, etc. Those two systems are very closely related so it's pretty common to experience allergy symptoms in both your lungs and your sinuses.

It's also possible that the acid reflux is contributing to both your asthma and sinus systems. The acid can irritate the lining of the esophagus, causing inflammation in your lower respiratory tract that can radiate up into your sinuses if the reflux is bad enough (which happens fairly regularly with a type of reflux called LPR - Laryngopharyngeal Reflux - in which the acid gets higher into the esophagus).

Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between asthma and sinus problems irritated by allergies and those that are irritated by acid reflux so the best thing you can do is try to treat both as aggressively as possible.