If you have a chronic sinus infection it could mean many things. The question becomes whether that symptom is fibromyalgia or sinusitis. It can be either. Sinusitis that is related to fibromyalgia may be one of the earliest detectable symptoms of the disease.
Ruling out fibromyalgia is also necessary for the successful treatment and relief of sinusitis. What may surprise you to learn is that the reason that they are so closely intertwined is that sinusitis is a yeast infection, and fibromyalgia can make yeast infections a fact of life for men and women.
Controlling the balance of yeast in the body is essential for relieving the symptoms of fibromyalgia. It is also one of the first lines of defence against sinusitis.
What is sinusitis?
Sinusitis is a chronic infection of the sinus cavity which extends behind and around the eyes, the hose and down towards the throat. It is a form of yeast infection. Suffers complain of having a stuffy head, runny nose, may experience fatigue, frequent illness and headaches.
While it is known to be a yeast infection, the cause of the yeast infection can vary. Some people also have blockages or deformities in their nasal cavity that promote sinusitis. It is associated with fibromyalgia and food allergies.
Someone with a chronic yeast infection may not make the connection between it and their stuffy nose and head pain, but it may very well be there. Eliminating fibromyalgia becomes important as chronic sinus infection is an early warning symptom of that disease.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that is characterized by a cluster of symptoms, the most prevalent being chronic pain and fatigue. Persons with fibromyalgia may experience pain in their joints, muscles, morning stiffness, sleep disturbances, fatigue, foggy brain and gastric issues.
There is no known cure for fibromyalgia, although many women do experience a lessening in its severity after menopause. Men and women can develop fibromyalgia. The risk factors include having someone in your family with it, traumatic brain injury, immune disorders, major illness and surgery.
Recent studies have shown that fibromyalgia appears to affect the amygdala center of the brain and it can be detectable by a blood test if it is developed enough within the body.
How can you tell which is which?
Telling which is which is going to take medical testing. Your doctor can examine your sinus cavity to see if there is a blockage or deformity that makes you susceptible to infection. For a diagnosis of fibromyalgia to be made you have to have a cluster of symptoms present.
New advances are being made in detecting fibromyalgia using blood tests and brain scans, but they are not always capable of detecting it during the development of the disease. Chronic sinusitis may be a clue that fibromyalgia is present. Fibromyalgia can also be the reason you may be experiencing sinusitis as well.
Does one cause the other?
It is not known if one causes the other to happen, but it is accepted that one of the common core clusters of symptoms for fibromyalgia is chronic sinusitis. Your doctor can help determine if there is a structural issue with your sinus cavity causing the repeated infection, but very often the common symptom of recurring yeast infections is the culprit.
Fibromyalgia causes a dysfunction in the sympathetic nervous system and immune system that can lead to chronic yeast infection. Chronic yeast infection can occur throughout the body, but are the cause of sinusitis too.
Who has an increased risk?
Persons with any kind of immune disorder such as arthritis or asthma can be at risk for both fibromyalgia and sinusitis. It is not uncommon in those who are morbidly obese as well to see the development of both of these diseases as the body’s natural systems become impaired in that condition.
Fibromyalgia may have a genetic cause, so if you have someone in your family who has been diagnosed with the disease you have a higher risk too. Chronic illness, trauma, brain injury, major surgery and traumatic events can also put you at a higher risk for fibromyalgia or sinusitis too.
What should you do?
The first thing you should do is work with your doctor to see if any of the medications you are on may be increasing your risk of sinusitis by disrupting the balance of the yeast in the body. The most obvious culprit will be an antibiotic. The next thing you should do is be tested for yeast infections.
Yeast infections happen in both men and women. Yeast is in any area where there is a mucous membrane, as well as the digestive system. Look into fibromyalgia dieting to reduce your symptoms and make changes too. Very often an underlying problem is an unknown food sensitivity that causes a reaction that upsets the balance of yeast.
After you have taken these steps, if you still don’t have relief you may want to talk to your doctor about medications and/or surgery to correct the problems with your sinusitis. That doesn’t mean that you are excused from changing your diet, sinusitis and yeast infections can return. If surgery does correct the problem with the chronic infection in your sinuses, you do not want a yeast imbalance starting anywhere else in your body.
Finding out more
If you are wondering if you have fibromyalgia or sinusitis, you need to start by eliminating certain foods from your diet and talking to your doctor. They may recommend switching medications, or suggest a sinus medication to address the issue. Chronic sinusitis is a very common symptom of fibromyalgia.
If it isn’t getting better no matter what you do, you may want to speak to your doctor about evaluating and testing for fibromyalgia. There is much being discovered about how to treat and test for fibromyalgia that is giving many people back their lives. Educate yourself about the disease and its related symptom diseases and disorders so that you can be proactive in seeking relief from your symptoms.
Further reading:
Chronic Sinusitis: http://www.chronicfatigue-fibromyalgiatreatment.com/cfs-and-fibromyalgia/other-related-conditions/chronic-sinusitis/
Fibromyalgia and chronic rhinosinusitis: outcomes after endoscopic sinus surgery: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18702911
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