Tag: Blood Clot

What Are Sinus Infections?

Sinus infections are also known as sinusitis. In fact, there are two types namely acute and chronic.

An acute sinus infection is caused by harmless bacteria that most healthy people have in their upper respiratory tracts. This happens to approximately 2 percent of adults and 20 percent of children who are suffering from a cold. It usually lasts for two to four weeks and those affected respond very well to medical therapy.

Among the two types, chronic sinus infections are very common. It is estimated that at least 37 million Americans are affected by this every year and this usually lasts for 3 months or more and it may keep on coming back.

The symptoms for acute and chronic are very similar. These include bad breath, cough, dental pain, difficulty breathing through your nose, erythema, facial pain, fatigue, fever, nasal congestion, nausea, pain or tenderness in the eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead and sore throat.

If you have acute or chronic sinus infection, you are advised to see a doctor because if left undiagnosed and untreated, complications could occur which may lead to severe medical problems and at times death. Just to give you an idea, here are some of the complications that could happen.

We know that fevers and headaches are common with a sinus infection. But did you know that this together with soft tissue swelling over the frontal sinus may indicate an infection of the frontal bone better known as Potts Puffy Tumor or Ostemyelitis?

The persons eye socket may also get infected due to ethmoid sinusitis and if it swells or becomes droopy, this may result in the inability to see and even permanent blindness. What is even worse is when it causes a blood clot forms around the front and top of the face. The persons pupils will become fixed and dilated and this will happen on both eyes.

A sinus infection could also make someone experience mild personality changes or altered consciousness. If this happens, it is possible that the infection can spread to the brain and result in a coma or death.

Given that anything can happen if you have a sinus infection, you are advised to see a doctor as soon as possible. This will the professional time to diagnose what is wrong and then recommend the proper medical treatment.

Some of the tests could be as simple as touching your face lightly to check for tenderness in the skin to CT scans, MRIs and X-rays.

The treatment that doctors initially recommend to a patient who has a sinus infection is usually an over the counter drug like Tylenol. If there is no improvement after a week, then he or she can assume that it is a bacterial infection and treat it with a proper antibiotic.

The length of the time that the patient will be under the medication depends on the person. Usually, the person will use antibiotics for 2 weeks but this can be extended for another 7 days should the infection be chronic.

Sinus infections can be treated so before you take any medicine out of the cabinet, have yourself checked by the doctor first to determine what is causing it. For all you know, your sinus infection is not caused by bacteria but rather an allergy.

Prevention Is Still Better Than Spider Vein Treatment

Prevention is still better than spider vein treatment because you save time and money. Here are some things you can do to prevent spider veins from every appearing on your legs.

First, elevate your legs whenever possible. You can surely do this when you get home from school or work. The ideal angle of your feet should be higher than heart level so blood will be able to flow throughout the body.

You should also exercise regularly because this reduces pooling or pressure in the veins. Examples of these include jogging, walking, running, climbing and swimming as such activities will help you maintain your body weight and reduce pressure on your legs. You should also watch what you eat since there is no point sweating it out when you are just going to gain the calories you lost.

Sometimes over exercising can cause a vein to rupture. If this happens, elevate your leg and put a compress in the affected area then contact your doctor or get emergency medical care immediately.

It is nice to relax in a hot tub or go to a sauna but this must not be done often. Doing so lets absorb excess heat which increases vein distention and lead to more pooling of blood.

If you have to sit for long periods of time, stretch those legs and flex those ankles so blood will flow in the lower part of your body.

Women should wear a compression hose because this provides external graduated counter-pressure to aid in venous blood flow to the heart. This also reduces pooling and pressure in the veins. Aside from that, it can reduce the risk of forming a deep vein blood clot which should be worn when you are on a long flight or car ride.

But despite these preventive measures, spider vein can still happen. When they do, you have to decide whether or not you want to undergo surgery to remove it or not. If you are worried about paying for it, ask your insurance provider if it is covered under the plan even if most of the time, they will not allow this because it is a cosmetic procedure.

However, the loop hole here is if your doctor signs for it and sees that this is necessary. You just have to get photographs and other results to show to the insurance provider so this can be approved. This enables you to have this procedure done without paying a single dime.

When this happens, you just have to follow the instructions given by the doctor like what you can and cannot do before and after surgery. You will have to go back to the doctor for follow up checks and another series of injections since your spider veins will not go away in just one session.

The best cure against any disease regardless if it is minor or major is prevention. If you dont, will most likely end up spending hundreds of dollars and in this case, for spider vein treatment. You have to remember that to get the best results, you have to undergo two or three sessions in the next few months.

So do that math and you will realize that you could have spent that money spending it on something else.

Are There Side Effects for Spider Vein Treatment

Are there any side effects from spider vein treatment? There are a few but most people do not experience it. Just the same, you should know what could happen.

The first side effect is hyper pigmentation which occasional develops when the vein is injected. Fortunately, it does not that long and it normally fades. Since your skin will turn dark, one way to prevent people from seeing it is to wear pants or apply bleaching cream.

It is also possible that an inflammation will occur for a few days after the procedure. Doctors that perform on patients say that this is also normal because things will look worse before they get any better. You just have to bear with it.

Your skin may not turn dark but it can become reddish. This happens when multiple veins develop around the injection site.

The last spider vein treatment side effect is deep vein thrombosis. Of the four mentioned this is very rare and when it does happen, the patient will feel pain and the veins will be red, swollen and engorged.

If you experience any of these side effects, it is best to call your doctor immediately so he or she can come over and examine it further.

Doctors will always do their best to prevent complications and side effects like these from occurring. One of the things they do is let you answer a questionnaire and you have to answer it truthfully. You will also need to undergo a physical exam because you may or may not have spider veins but something more serious.

Patients who have circulatory problems, diabetes, heart condition or a blood born disease like hepatitis or AIDS are also not allowed because these people have the tendency to bleed or have poor healing.

If you experienced a blood clot in the past, the doctor will not say no right away so you still have a shot since this is decided on a case to case basis depending on the cause of the clot.

Women who are pregnant or are breast feeding are also not allowed to undergo this procedure because it could contaminate the milk which is fed to the infant and in some cases, spider veins go away on their own once the female gives birth. In both cases, the patient will just have to see the doctor later on if she still wants this done normally after three months.

You should avoid certain activities and taking certain things a week before surgery to prevent any problems. This includes not taking any medication especially antibiotics and not applying any lotion especially in the areas where the doctor will work on.

The side effects of spider vein treatment are minimal and in some cases very rare which is why sclerotherapy which was widely used in Europe has made its way to the US and doctors here have been performing this procedure for more than a decade.

You just have to find a licensed practitioner who will be able to perform this procedure safely so you can go out and show your legs. This could even make you look younger so you will feel good about yourself which is perhaps the best thing about this form of spider form treatment.