Sinusitis :: Tips for child’s blocked sinuses

Blocked sinuses, which rarely occur in kids under age five, are often caused by a cold or hay fever, according to St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

By treating child’s sinus congestion, one can prevent it from developing into a true sinus infection – sinusitis.

Sinusitis is an inflammation of nasal sinuses, either bacterial, viral, allergic or autoimmune, of the paranasal sinuses.

It can be acute (going on less than three weeks) or chronic (going on more than three weeks). Sinusitis is one of the most common complications of the common cold. Symptoms include: Headache; facial pain; nasal congestion; fever; general malaise; thick green or yellow discharge; feeling of facial ‘fullness’ worsening on bending over.

Here are some tips to open up child’s sinuses:

– Use warm water or saline nose drops followed by suction or nose blowing to wash dried mucus out of the nose.

– Run a humidifier in the home.

– Ice applied over the sinus for 20 minutes may give some pain relief.

With treatment, sinus congestion often resolves in five to seven days.

A fever and increased pain could indicate a bacterial sinusitis that may need proper treatment.


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