Runny Nose or Maxillary Sinusitis: What Are the Differences?

28 ottobre 2025

2 min di lettura

Generally, people with maxillary sinusitis think they simply have a common cold and a runny nose. However, maxillary sinusitis can be very problematic. When should you seek medical attention?

Punti chiave

Generally, people with maxillary sinusitis think they simply have a common cold and a runny nose.
What is maxillary sinusitis?
What does it look like?

Per chi è

Chi esplora Respiratory system attraverso cold, antibiotics.

Perché è importante

Questo articolo ti aiuta a orientarti rapidamente, per poi passare a una raccolta o serie se vuoi continuare.

Autore dell'articolo

Dr. Alex

Otolaryngologist

What is maxillary sinusitis?

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses. The main danger is that the inflammation turns into a purulent process that can lead to brain damage. Maxillary sinusitis can be acute, chronic, and of different origins. Acute purulent maxillary sinusitis has characteristic symptoms and an obvious picture on X-rays. In 62 % of patients, maxillary sinusitis is not related to ENT diseases at all, but to dental problems. It often occurs due to inflammation of the roots of the 5th, 6th, or 7th teeth. The tooth may hurt when you bite down on it, or it may not bother you at all.

What does it look like?

Maxillary sinusitis is characterized by weakness, difficulty in nasal breathing, subfebrile fever under 101 degrees Fahrenheit, constant nasal congestion, runny nose, and heaviness in the paranasal area. In principle, such symptoms are typical for a common cold, and only a medical professional will be able to identify if this is maxillary sinusitis or not. If you have had these symptoms for more than one week, it makes sense to be examined before possible maxillary sinusitis passes into the chronic phase.

What should make you think of maxillary sinusitis?

Although you should seek the advice of a medical professional if you suspect you have maxillary sinusitis, there are a number of informal tests that you can perform on your own at home:

Press your fingers on your cheeks near your nose. If you have maxillary sinusitis, this will cause quite a lot of pain.
Be aware of any feelings of heaviness on one or both sides of the nose.
When scraping in maxillary sinusitis, the discharge may have an unpleasant odor and a yellow-green color.
Headaches are characteristic of maxillary sinusitis, with a particular increase when you try to blow your nose.

If maxillary sinusitis is advanced, there may be localized swelling in the area of the maxillary sinuses or the face as a whole. However, the arms, body, and legs do not swell. And some people note that with maxillary sinusitis they constantly smell an unpleasant odor.

Other recommendations

If you can't breathe normally with your nose for more than a week, see a specialist before the disease goes too far. It is not effective to pour vasoconstrictors into the nose. They may bring temporary relief, but eventually, they can lead to chronic nasal mucous membrane edema, and the maxillary sinusitis will still be present.

The most effective in the treatment of maxillary sinusitis is antibiotics, but they must be selected and prescribed by a doctor. Don’t seek out your own medications to deal with the issue. You need antibiotics as maxillary sinusitis can develop resistance to other treatments.

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