What is the difference between Fungal Sinusitis vs. Bacterial Sinusitis

There are many common misconceptions regarding fungal sinusitis, and a tremendous amount of false information is available on the Internet. Virtually all cases of “fungal sinusitis” are really allergic fungal sinusitis. Allergic fungal sinusitis is not a fungal infection, but rather an allergy to one of several, common varieties of a fungi found in the soil. We are all constantly exposed to these varieties, but those of us with an allergy to the fungus can develop very severe sinus and nasal symptoms. The allergic reaction causes swelling in nose and in the sinus cavities, and the sinus drainage pathways stopped working. Secretions accumulate within the sinus cavities and bacterial infections begin to develop. These patients are typically treated with antibiotics and will often have temporary belief of symptoms, since the bacterial infection resolves temporarily. However, the ongoing problem of poor sinus drainage continues, and the infections return. Treatment requires repair of the obstructed drainage pathways and usually requires treating of the underlying allergy.True fungal sinusitis is a very serious infection and usually occurs in patients who have a compromised immune system. I have had many patients who were misled into thinking they had this form of fungal sinusitis, rather than the allergic fungal sinusitis that was actually present.

Christopher Thompson, MD

Can you get addicted to Afrin®?

Afrin®  works by clamping down and narrowing of all of the blood vessels in the nose. Without engorgement with blood the nasal airway is more open and breathing is better. Unfortunately, when the afrin wears off the blood vessel engorgement worsens and the breathing is typically even worse than it was originally. Over time the afrin has to be used very frequently just to be able to breathe at all. Afrin should be avoided except for infrequent use for just three days for a cold or sinus infection. If the patient has complaints of difficulty breathing through the nose on a regular basis they should see and ear, nose, and throat doctor to have the cause diagnosed.

Zachary Wassmuth, MD

What is the difference between Acute Sinusitis & Chronic Sinusitis?

Acute sinusitis is what most patients are familiar with as a sinus infection. Rapid onset of new symptoms including facial pain, facial pressure, colored nasal drainage, bad odor or flavor in the nose or throat, and headache. The symptoms usually last for 7-10 days and may require antibiotics, decongestants, and allergy treatments to resolve.

Chronic sinusitis on the other hand is simply the persistence of these symptoms at a low level for weeks or months. Typically starting off as an acute infection that the patient never gets completely over. Patients may also develop chronic cough or asthma like symptoms over time. Chronic sinusitis may require surgical therapy to resolve but can sometimes be successfully treated with office based balloon sinuplasty under local anesthesia.

Daniel Slaughter, MD

Interested in the balloon sinuplasty, tune in to kxan on May 28, 2012

Dr. Christopher Thompson will discuss the benefits of balloon sinuplasty on kxan on May 28th, 2012 at noon.  If you have been interested but unsure, this news story is a must see for you.  You will be able to watch some of in office procedure.  They even interviewed patients that had the procedure done in the past and hear how it has changed their life.

Prolonged use of Nasal Steroid - Safe or Dangerous?

As an otolaryngologist, I am frequently asked if nasal steroid sprays, one of the most common treatments for chronic sinus and allergy problems, are dangerous to use over the long term.  In general, the answer is no. 

Let’s look at a few issues specifically...

The most common side effects from nasal steroids are local.  Some patients have mild burning, dryness, or nose bleeds.  These are reasons to change brands or stop the medication all together.  A  rare local complication includes septal perforation, or a hole in the septum that divides the nose in half.  This is a complication that would typically happen after significant nose bleeds develop.  So again, if nose bleeds are a problem, stop the medication and see your otolaryngologist.

Systemic side effects such as adrenal suppression, blunted growth, glaucoma, cataracts, osteoporosis, and diabetes have long been a worry since high dose oral steroids can have these complications.  The good news is that over the years, nasal steroids have become much less “bioavailable” .  The nasal sprays treat topically, but very little is actually absorbed into the bloodstream.  More recent studies have failed to show any significant risk for any of these side effects with properly used nasal steroids.

If you suffer from chronic nasal/sinus problems and nasal steroid sprays help, feel confident that long term use is quite safe.

Zachary Wassmuth, MD

Is Balloon Sinuplasty right for you?

The promise of a simple solution to sinus pain is very enticing but you need to know if balloon sinuplasty will work for you. 

Let's make it simple. Maybe.....

Sinus pressure and infections can be relieved in the right case as a simple office procedure. There are many factors for you're surgeon to consider if this therapy can work for you. Is your problem really a deviated septum? Is it an allergy issue? Do you have polyps? These and many other issues cannot be treated with a balloon procedure alone. 

A comprehensive evaluation by an experienced surgeon is what is really needed to know if balloon sinuplasty is the right solution for you.

Daniel Slaughter, MD

Allerigies or Infection?

One of the most common questions that I get has an ear nose and throat specialist, often from friends and family, is how to tell the difference between nasal allergies and an infection. Although there is overlap between the symptoms, there are a few rules of thumb to help you tell the difference. Allergic symptoms may start gradually or suddenly, and include sneezing, nasal congestion, clear nasal drip, postnasal drip, itchy ears, eyes, throat and nose, fatigue, and sometimes cough. There are many ways of treating allergies, but those targeted at the allergic response can be grouped into one of three categories. Those are antihistamines (Claritin, zyrtec, benedryl), steroids (nasal sprays or oral), and leukotriene inhibitors (singulair). Decongestants such as Sudafed, topical decongestant such as Afrin, and mucous thinners such as mucinex often help with her symptoms.

An infection will include the congestion, postnasal drainage, and fatigue but will also cause discolored nasal discharge, sore scratchy throat, sinus pain, cough, and fever. Most nasal and sinus infections are viral for the first 5 to 7 days. We worry about bacterial infections when you continue to have these symptoms for more than seven days, and especially if you get better for a few days, and then develop the symptoms of an infection again. This is when it is appropriate to start antibiotic therapy.

Christopher Thompson, MD

Dr. Chris Thompson, along with other Austinites volunteered their time, money and skills to give medical help to a Ugandan man with a mass of scar tissue called keloids

Austinites volunteered their time, money and skills to give medical help to a Ugandan man, Sam Obura, with a mass of scar tissue called keloids.  Watch this story of Sam Obura on KXAN with Leslie Rhode.



05/07/2012 - Life-changing village in Austin Video - Part1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiqDOdYRCTA

05/08/2012 - Life-changing village in Austin Video - Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiLrWU8avU0&feature=plcp

Nasal Surgery WITHOUT packing

Nasal surgery has long had the reputation for being a painful, uncomfortable procedure. If you ask anyone who has undergone an unpleasant nasal procedure, most times you will find that it was not the surgery that was bad, it was the postoperative nasal packing and its removal that caused all the problems. The main purpose of nasal packing is to decrease postoperative bleeding and scar formation.

The surgery technique used by the physicians at Nasal & Sinus Center of Austin does not require nasal packing. With this surgery technique, patients are able to breathe through their nose immediately after surgery and have a decreased risk of postoperative infection. The physicians of The Nasal and Sinus Center of Austin are committed to resolving all of your nasal and sinus issues using the most up to date methods with the least amount of discomfort.

Non-surgical options for sinus problems

Our approach at the Nasal and Sinus Center begins with the belief that very few such problems require surgical therapy. Malignant tumors, severe infections involving the eye, brain, facial bones, or blood stream are definitely surgical problems. However, almost all other nasal and sinus problems first require non-surgical therapy. Allergies and chronic sinus infections are the most common problems that we see, and most patients have tried different types of medical therapies, usually with mixed results. Many of our patients also have structural problems such as septal deviation, turbinate enlargement, air-filled turbinates, septal perforations, polyps, and adenoid enlargement. If the patient has not tried appropriate medical treatment, we start there. Even patients with structural problems may respond to this and get back to a reasonable quality of life. We use a host of non-surgical options and always lean heavily on our custom-made topical treatments with antihistamines, antibiotics, antifungals, and steroids. Patients who do not respond to the topical therapy may benefit from oral medicines and we may even go several weeks with antibiotic therapy when appropriate.

Quality of life is the best measure of effectiveness for our therapy, and when the medical therapies fail, we can consider minimally-invasive procedures. Persistant nasal stuffiness can be permanently relieved with a simple, in-office procedure done with local anesthesia to reduce the size of the inferior turbinates. Nasal lesions and even polyps may be easily removed in the office without general anesthesia.

We are extremely excited about being the first in Central Texas to introduce the Finess procedure in the office with local anesthesia. This new balloon technology allows us to open impacted sinuses without any tissue removal, virtually eliminating the risk of scarring. As you can see, we have an extensive array of non-surgical alternatives at the Nasal and Sinus Center of Austin.

Restore drainage and find instant sinus relief

Balloon sinus dilation is a new, minimally invasive office procedure that uses small balloons, similair to those used to open blocked arteries, to reopens the sinus pathways, restores drainage to deliver immediate and long lasting relief to sinusitis sufferers.


In balloon sinus dilation, the physician will location the area to be treated (frontal sinus, sphenoid sinus and/or maxillary sinus). He will then place the balloon device into position in the sinus cavity. The physician will then inflate a small balloon and dilate the treatment area. The balloon device will then be removed. This in-office procedure is done under local anesthesic with no downtime. It is also covered by most insurances.


Schedule a consultation with one of our physicians to see if the Balloon Sinuplasty is the right treatment for you!