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PrintMedical Reports: HEALTHCAST: Colds
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If you have a cold you just can't shake, you may need special treatment. As reporter Judy Fortin explains, you may be suffering from more than just the sniffles.
WSVN -- A cold can make you feel lousy, but what if the symptoms last for weeks or even months?
A doctor might diagnose sinusitis, an inflammation of the sinus lining.
Dr. John DelGaudio: "Sinusitis is the most common chronic illness in the United States. Acute sinusitis is even more common and that can be from a viral infection or from a bacterial infection."
Symptoms include headache, congestion, sore throat, fever and fatigue.
Dr. John DelGaudio says most cases of acute sinusitis are gone within four weeks and will often improve without treatment.
Those that don't may require antibiotics and decongestants.
Chronic sinusitis may be diagnosed if the condition doesn't improve.
Dr. John DelGaudio: "Surgery is usually indicated for patients who have had chronic sinusitis that doesn't respond to medical therapy, so usually a minimum of a month on antibiotics in addition to decongestants and or oral steroids."
It's not just colds that increase susceptibility to sinusitis -- so do allergies, nasal polyps and a deviated septum or nasal cavity.