North Richmond Today

An estimated 37 million Americans suffer at least one episode of acute nasal inflammation each year.

Pop singer Ariana Grande is among those who have suffered bouts of sinus infections. In May 2016, she had to cancel a concert at Portugal’s music festival, Rock in Rio, due to infections in her throat and sinuses.

"I'm deeply saddened to tell my babes in Portugal that I have to cancel my performance at Rock in Rio," Grande posted on her Instagram. "I've literally been crying over this for an hour. I have a throat and sinus infection, and my doctors have advised me not to sing for a few days. I promise to make it up to you and give you the best show I'm capable of when I return. Again, I'm so sorry to the babes who were coming to see me. I love you with all my heart."

In November 2019, Grande had to cancel a performance in Lexington, Kentucky, to take a break from her tour because the Grammy award-winning singer was “in so much pain” from ongoing issues with her throat and sinuses.

“I don’t know how it’s possible, but my throat and head are still in so much pain,” she wrote on Instagram. “I sound okay, I’m just in a lot of pain and it’s difficult to breathe during the show. I am seeing my doctor and trying my (very) best to get better for tomorrow’s show. The last thing I would ever want to do is cancel a show at this point with so few left.”

Anyone who has suffered nasal inflammation can understand what Grande was going through. Sinusitis is an inflammation or swelling of the tissue that lines the sinuses. The inflammation blocks the air passageways, causing mucus to increase. This condition can be caused by something as simple as the common cold.

Sinus infections should be treated immediately with over-the-counter products or by a medical professional.  The consequences of neglect can cause additional health problems, according to Dr. John Ditto of Richmond Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.

“Sinusitis can impact oral health, because if you're not breathing through your nose, but through your mouth, you're drying those membranes,” Ditto told North Richmond Today. “And that can create a decrease in your innate immune system and secretory antibodies that help fight infection. It can increase problems with dental decay, because you don't have that effective immune system.”

Another potential problem is when the infection can’t be treated with conventional medicine.

“Then you may have to go to intravenous antibiotics. And that's the major risk,” Ditto said. “Then you have an infection that you can't manage, which can lead to complications because apparently nasal sinuses are adjacent to the eye and to the brain, so it can lead to orbital infections and also brain infections, potentially meningitis, and brain abscess.”

One potential way to avoid all of that is balloon sinuplasty. This is a minimally invasive, in-office procedure used to successfully treat people suffering from chronic sinusitis. Balloon sinuplasty is one of the procedures available at Richmond Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.

If you are interested in evaluating your symptoms and are considering seeing a doctor, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.