Do you know why we have sinuses? Don't feel bad if you don't. The experts also are puzzled about why we have four pairs of empty, air-filled cavities in the face, and why they cause so many problems.
   But doctors do know how sinuses function. Lined by the same type of mucus membranes that coat the back of your throat, your sinuses take in air and drain out mucus containing germs and debris. Children often are plagued by sinus problems. Factors that affect your child's sinuses include:

• Allergies
• Family history
• Infection
• Pollution
• Second-hand smoke  

These problems may contribute to each other. For instance, a child is more likely to develop sinus trouble if one or both parents tend to be congested, explains Dr. Vanthaya Gan, a pediatrician on the medical staff at Children's Medical Center Dallas and professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern. “If that child is allergic or around second-hand smoke, it will worsen the condition.”
   Exposure to allergens and second-hand smoke can make your child more susceptible to sinusitis, an inflammation and infection that can cause pain and swelling on the side of the face, the bridge of the nose and under the eyes. Look for a fever of over 101 degrees, thick, colored discharge, fatigue or a cold that is not getting better after 10 to 14 days, Dr. Gan says.
   “If your child has these symptoms, you should take him or her to a doctor,” Dr. Gan says.
   The common cold usually causes clear nasal and low-grade fever. Your child simply won't feel as ill from a cold as from sinusitis. The clear discharge from a viral cold can turn green after three to four days and usually gets better in seven to 10 days (viral colds often cause a green nasal discharge, and the colored drainage is not necessarily indicative of sinusitis, which is a bacterial infection).
   Allergies also will not cause fever or colored discharge, and allergies become worse when your child is around the offending substance.
   Treatment for a sinus infection includes antibiotics, decongestants and nasal irrigation with saline nasal sprays to help open up the nasal blockage. Dr. Gan warns not to use nasal decongestant sprays for more than three to five consecutive days, since they can worsen swelling after that. “It's also very important to drink more water,” Dr. Gan says.
   For persistent or chronic sinusitis, surgery may be necessary to widen the sinus channels.

Keep sinuses moist
It's important for your child’s sinuses to remain moist. This keeps secretions thin and allows them to flow easily, improving breathing and reducing the chance of infection.
   Here’s a recipe to keep your child’s sinuses from becoming too dry:

• 1 cup of water.
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt.

   Spray or drop this solution in nasal passages several times a day. Dr. Gan recommends making the saline solution fresh daily to prevent bacterial growth.

Resources
Click here to learn more about sinusitis on the Children’s Web site.
Click here for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Click here for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.