Infectious inflammation of our facial sinuses, in addition to swelling in the mucous membranes of the nose and sinuses, can also be associated with swelling of our eyes.
What you will read next:
Anatomy of the sinuses
The sinuses of our face are spaces or cavities that have only one opening. This opening opens into the nose.
Viruses and other Stimulating factors can cause inflammation in the cells on the inner wall of the sinuses. Inflammation is accompanied by swelling and congestion of the nose and sometimes the entire face and eyes. Occasionally there is an infection, a purulent discharge, and a bad odor in the nose following bacterial and fungal sinusitis.
Acute sinusitis
Inflammation of the cells of the sinus wall with cold viruses causes acute sinusitis. Acute sinusitis is associated with stimulation of mucous cells and increased mucus production, And breathing through the nose becomes difficult, the face and even the eyes are swollen, and you may have facial pain and headaches.
Cold viruses are the most common cause of acute sinusitis. Acute viral sinusitis usually resolves within a week to ten days, and most routine home remedies will sufficient.
Chronic sinusitis
Most acute viral sinusitis will go away within ten days. If the symptoms of infection and inflammation of your sinuses persist for more than two weeks, it is called chronic sinusitis.
Signs
Symptoms of inflammation and infection of the sinuses include:
- yellow or green dense discharge of nose
- Discharge behind the throat
- Nasal congestion and difficulty in breathing through the nose
- Swelling of the face, forehead and eyes
- Pain and swelling of the eyes
- Headache
- Feeling heavy on the face
- Swelling and feeling of pressure around the eyes
- Headaches associated with sinus infections are exacerbated by bending forward
- Occasionally there is a cough, a feeling of tightness and fullness in the ears, fever and fatigue
When should I see a doctor?
If you have any of the following symptoms, you should see a doctor as soon as possible:
- If you have a high fever
- If you have a neck spasm
- If you have pain, swelling and redness around eyes
- If you are confused
- If you suddenly have vision changes such as double vision
What is Orbit Cellulite?
If the infection has spread to the eyeball or orbit following a sinus infection, you will have severe pain and swelling and redness around the eyes. Doctors call this condition orbital cellulite. These conditions, if not properly diagnosed and treated in a timely manner, can lead to the following serious complications:
- Decreased vision
- Eye infections and endophthalmitis
- Meningitis
- Clots in the cerebral arteries
- Cavernous sinus thrombosis
- Brain abscesses
Orbital cellulite, which occurs following a sinus infection with swelling, redness, and severe eye pain, is more common in children, but can occur at any age.
When the outer surface of the wall of our sinuses is next to each other, the bony cup of the eye is formed. This wall is especially thin in children and has holes where arteries and nerves pass through the sinuses and nose to the eyeball. It penetrates the eyeball and causes orbital cellulite.
In simple acute viral sinusitis, the inflammation of the eyes is accompanied by only a slight swelling and mild pain and resolves within ten days.
These cases of eye swelling will be improved with simple home remedies.
However, if infectious sinusitis has spread the infection to the eyeball and the redness, pain, and swelling of the eyes are high and progressive, prompt medical intervention by a physician is necessary to prevent serious complications.
Types of eyeball infections
Ocular infections are divided into the following two categories:
- Pre-septal cellulite, which is more common and less dangerous
- Septal cellulite, which is rarer, much more complicated and more dangerous
Sinus infection is the most common cause of pre-septal cellulite. The main symptoms of pre-septal cellulite are redness and swelling more severe than the eyelids, and there will be reduced vision and limited eye movements.
But septal cellulite is much worse and is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Eye paralysis (ophthalmoplegia)
- Decreased vision
- Much more severe eyelid edema
- Painful and limited eye movements
Treatment of pre-septal cellulite
Usually, if the symptoms are mild, the patient should allow the doctor to examine the eye well, and if the patient is in relatively good general condition, the doctor can send the patient home without further admission to continue antibiotic treatment with appropriate antibiotics, such as cefotaxime and flucloxacillin. However, if the patient has severe symptoms or general condition, or the swelling of the eyes is so severe that examination is not possible, the patient is admitted and given an intravenous antibiotic containing flucloxacillin for two to three days and Ceftriaxone is also started for two to three days and treatment is continued until the fever subsides and the swelling and inflammation of the eyelids decrease.
Treatment of septal cellulite
The patient must be admitted in hospital and subjected to intravenous injections of metronidazole, flucloxacillin, and ceftriaxone for one to two weeks to relieve the fever and normalize the eye condition.
If the swelling of your eyes is following a common cold and you do not have severe pain, swelling and redness, you can use the following items to relieve the swelling and puffiness of your eyes:
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Put cold tea bags on the eyes:
Put two bags of green or black tea in warm water for ten minutes, then take it out and let it cool completely, now put each one on your right and left eyes with your eyes closed. You can put a clean linen napkin on each tea bag. Green and black tea cause blood vessels to constrict around the eyes and reduce swelling
- The use of nasal decongestants reduces the production of mucus in the nose and sinuses and also reduces puffiness.
- Use a gentle eye massage:
Close your eyes and gently make very gentle semicircular circular movements on your eyelid with your ring finger. Start the movement from the inner corner of the eye and go to the outer corner of the eye in a semi-circular path, repeat these movements ten to fifteen times on each eye.