Sinusitis and Its Effects on the Nose

Sinusitis and nose functions are in constant conflict.The nose is a delicate organ performing a host of functions. This includes constantly filtering the air that is about to pass through to the lungs. Sinusitis symptoms keep the nose, the mucous membrane, cilia and the turbinates from fulfilling their designed functions. The mucous membrane moistens the nasal passages all day and secretes the mucus discharge which washes the lining and collects all the foreign particles and micro organisms trapped inside the nasal hairs. The cilia, which are delicate, slender projections of the lining in the nasal chambers constantly move and push the mucus into the throat, where the final objective is to send it to the stomach where, needless to say the harmful substances are destroyed by acids.

The turbinates perform multiple functions. These are numerous folds which create a vast surface area for maximum contact of the air with the nasal passage. This is to ensure the air is properly filtered and cleaned thoroughly before it reaches the lungs. Since the nasal passages are very small, the folds provide a great advantage by increasing the surface area through curves. The other function is that these turbinates are in contact will blood vessels. When blood vessels expand, the turbinates are clogged preventing passage of air. The design of the nose is such that the delicate cartilage called nasal septum divides the nasal passage into two airways. It is very normal functioning of the nose when air passes alternately through either passage. While cleaned air is passing through one passage, the other side is cleaning up the air and filtering it, which is done by expansion of blood vessels. The signal for blood vessels to expand is given by nerve cells present in the turbinates.

The upper part of the nose consists of receptor cells which too have cilia. These cilia get stimulated by various chemicals in the air. The stimulations picked by olfactory nerve cells are transferred to the brain which identifies the smell. The nasal passages are also surrounded by sinuses which are cavities in the bone protecting the organs. These cavities help to shape the bone and provide balance and strength to it. The nose is also very close to the internal ear which has fluids present in semicircular cells to detect various sensory signals passing from various parts of the body through the spinal cord.

This delicate design of the nose can sometimes be disturbed due to sinusitis symptoms which can cause pain and discomfort. If the nose is not sufficiently hydrated, the mucus secreted is thick. This mucus doesn't flow freely through the nasal passage and is trapped in the turbinates. This also causes blocking of the narrow sinus cavities leading to facial swelling, headache, toothache and splitting ache between the eyes. Similarly, if the nerve cells of the turbinates are not functioning properly it causes improper expansion of blood vessels which means one side of the nasal passage remains clogged completely. Similarly, if the cilia are rendered immobile, the mucus doesn't flow freely. Stagnation of mucus leads to growth of bacteria, fungi and virus. This aggravates the situation by causing the mucus lining to swell disturbing the balance of the nasal passage, increased secretion of mucus causing post-nasal drip, dizziness and difficulty in breathing along with burning sensation and pain.