Sinus pressure is a very uncomfortable and painful feeling in your sinuses that happens when the membranes around the nasal passage become inflammable or swollen. The pressure is felt in the face area between your eyes, mouth, cheeks, and forehead.
You suspect that you may have a sinus infection, also known as sinusitis, when you begin to feel the pressure building in your forehead when your nose starts running, and you don’t feel too well. [1] Sinus infection is not a cause for alarm, as it tends to heal within days as long as you take care of yourself properly. The primary source of sinus pressure is from seasonal allergies or the common cold.
There are different types of sinus pain and pressure they include: [2]
- Frontal sinuses: This pain happens in the forehead.
- Maxillary sinuses: This pain occurs in the cheeks.
- Sphenoid sinuses: This pain occurs behind the eyes and at the back of the head.
- Ethmoid sinuses: This pain is felt between the eyes and across the nose.
Sinus pressure can be eased and treated. Here are some home remedies to relieve sinus pressure.
Steam
Steam can help reduce the pain of sinus pressure. When the sinuses are dry, and there is dry hair, it increases the pressure, makes the pain more severe, and could cause headaches. However, applying steam on the sinuses relieves the pain since the steam helps to moisten the passages on your sinus and thins out any mucus that may have thickened over time, also the fact that steam adds moisture to the air.
To apply this steam treatment, you should take hot bathes and inhale the steam, and this helps to reduce the pressure. You can also use humidifier therapy. Humidifiers are very effective to treat sinus pressure since it applies to dryness of skin, although improper or overuse of humidifier can be harmful as it could worsen the pain. [3]