Doctors hear the question, “Are Sinus Infections contagious”, quite often during cold and allergy season. The truth is that it is not a clear-cut answer always, but it is believed that sinus infections can be contagious, however this is very rare that a patient would be able to spread their infection to another person. You should consider the anatomy of your sinus cavities when thinking about a sinus infection and whether it is contagious.
The sinus cavities are open, hollow air spaces within your facial bones such as cheekbones, forehead and upper nose, between the eyes. The tissue in these hollowed spaces can become inflamed and fill with mucous, as a byproduct from external allergens, a virus, or other reasons. If the mucous is not expelled, it can become a problem.
When considering whether or not you are contagious with a sinus infection, you must first think about what the cause of your Rhinosinusitisis. The typical culprit behind a sinus infection is a virus. Viral infections can get pushed up in your sinus cavities and once there, wreak havoc. If a person were to come into close contact with virally infected mucous from your sinus cavities, then yes, the virus could spread to them.
Bacterial sinus infections are sometimes a result of a viral sinus infection going untreated. If the mucous from a viral infection is not expelled, and settles in your sinus cavities, it can become filled with bacteria causing it to become a yellow or greenish color when expelled.
When bacterium sets up shop in your sinuses you will experience symptoms, such as watery eyes, pain in the face, near the eyes, forehead, ears, and back of the eyes, pressure, throat irritation, inflamed ears, phlegm in your throat, etc. however if you have a bacterial sinus infection you are not considered to be contagious.
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