| By :
Bessie Jo Tillman
If sinusitis stubbornly persists after completing the standard treatments for it, you should start looking for obscure causes of sinusitis. Some of those causes include emotional and other stressors, undetected dental conditions, and a weak immune system. How do the teeth affect the sinuses? The maxillary sinuses below your eyes lie in close contact with your upper teeth. If an upper tooth becomes infected, the infection may rupture into the sinus cavity to cause a chronic sinus infection too. If the tooth infection goes undetected, antibiotics may only clear the sinus infection temporarily and lead to repeated courses of antibiotics that cause overgrowth of unfriendly organisms. These unfriendly organisms do not respond to the antibiotics and so the vicious cycle goes on until a dental examination reveals the source of the infection. A perforation into the sinus cavity can also occur from minor trauma, dental treatments with instruments, or extraction of a tooth. This perforation may lead to sinus infections and chronic sinusitis. The second overlooked cause of sinusitis involves immune system stress and weakness which makes sinuses more susceptible to inflammation. Several groups of folks are known to have suppressed immune systems which can make the more susceptible to chronic sinusitis. Immune problems can develop when a person takes chemotherapy or cortisone for an extended period of time, and in those with genetic immune deficiencies. But perhaps the greatest threat to the integrity of our immune systems lies in the overuse of antibiotics. When the first course of antibiotics fails to cure the sinusitis, another more potent antibiotic may be prescribed. Using antibiotics as the main treatment for sinusitis leads to a vicious cycle of problems due to these three main side effects of antibiotic use. The first reason: Bacteria respond to the antibiotic onslaught by producing "Super-Bugs" that survive the antibiotics and make the infection more difficult to treat. Second reason: That yeast bug Candida loves to overgrow when the antibiotic kills off much of the normal bacteria that keep it under control. When the yeast overgrow in the gut, they may overgrow in the sinuses too and put an extra burden on the immune system. Third reason: Antibiotics themselves may weaken the cells in our immune systems. After all anti means against and bios means life. So antibiotics may manifest against our life too. Research has shown that antibiotics can damage the mitochondrial membranes (part of the cell that produces energy). If the immune system cells become damaged they have a harder time defending us. Our third overlooked cause of chronic sinusitis involves the emotional and other stresses in our lives. Stresses come in a variety of ways and they really only become distressors according to the way we respond to them. In our society we seem to constantly have to fight against all those things to do that rob our time. So time pressure robs our sleep and contributes to difficulty in maintaining the body at optimal functioning levels, including sinus functioning. When we're stressed out from having too much to do, all of our relationships with people we care about can suffer. Such stresses may lead to negative emotions like fear, anger, depression, anxiety and hostility. An unhappy emotional state keeps the immune system from functioning optimally. Research corroborates the common sense notion that the mind affects the state of well being of the body. Negative thinking leads to ill health, even in the sinuses. If you ever want to get rid of your chronic sinus miseries, you must find out what's causing it. Sometimes we find several underlying causes that have to be dealt with. In your search for the causes of your chronic sinusitis be sure to consider dental problems, immune deficiency and various forms of stress.
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