Sinusitis is common after a cold or flu.

Symptoms of sinusitis can include:

• pain, swelling and tenderness around your cheeks, eyes or forehead
• a blocked or runny nose
• a reduced sense of smell
• green or yellow mucus from your nose
• a sinus headache
• a high temperature
• toothache
• bad breath

Signs of sinusitis in young children may also include irritability, difficulty feeding and breathing through their mouth.

The sinuses are small, air-filled spaces behind your cheekbones and forehead.

They can become swollen or blocked after an infection such as a cold or flu. This can cause pressure, pain and a blocked nose.

You can often treat mild sinusitis at home without seeing a GP.

Things that may help include:

• getting plenty of rest
• drinking plenty of fluids
• taking painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, if these are suitable for you
• not giving aspirin to children under 16
• avoiding allergy triggers, if allergies make your symptoms worse
• not smoking and avoiding smoky places
• cleaning your nose with a saltwater solution to ease congestion

You can buy saltwater nasal sprays or rinses from a pharmacy. You can also ask a pharmacist how to use them safely.

Always follow the instructions that come with the product. Do not use boiling water directly in your nose. If you make a rinse at home, use water that has been boiled and then left to cool.

Stop using a nasal rinse and ask a pharmacist or GP practice for advice if it causes pain, bleeding or makes symptoms worse.

A pharmacist can advise you about medicines that may help, such as:

• decongestant nasal sprays or drops to unblock your nose
• saltwater nasal sprays or solutions to rinse the inside of your nose
• pain relief, if suitable for you

Decongestants should not be used by children under 6. Nasal sprays should not usually be used for more than 1 week unless a healthcare professional advises this.

In Wales, the NHS Wales Common Ailments Service allows people living in Wales to get advice and treatment for a range of common ailments from a community pharmacist, without needing to make a GP appointment. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

If you have sinusitis, a GP may recommend other medicines to help with your symptoms, such as:

• steroid nasal sprays or drops to reduce swelling in your sinuses
• antihistamines if an allergy is causing your symptoms
• antibiotics if a bacterial infection is causing your symptoms and you are very unwell or at risk of complications

Antibiotics are often not needed because sinusitis is usually caused by a virus.

You may need to use steroid nasal sprays or drops for a few months. They can sometimes cause irritation, sore throats or nosebleeds.

A GP may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist, also called an ENT specialist, if:

• you still have sinusitis after 3 months of treatment
• you keep getting sinusitis
• you only have symptoms on one side of your face

An ENT specialist may discuss other treatment options with you. Surgery is only recommended in some cases.

Surgery to treat long-term sinusitis is called functional endoscopic sinus surgery, or FESS.

FESS is usually carried out under general anaesthetic, which means you are asleep during the operation.

The surgeon can widen your sinuses by either:

• removing some of the blocked tissue
• inflating a tiny balloon in the blocked sinuses, then removing it