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Fungal Sinus Infection Treatment

Fungal sinus infections are a rare type of sinus infection that is caused by fungi growing inside your sinuses. The three types of fungal sinus infections are fungus ball sinusitis, allergy fungal sinusitis and invasive fungal sinusitis. Symptoms of a fungal infection include swelling around the nose, forehead and cheeks, congestion and difficulty breathing. Treatment for fungal sinus infections requires oral steroids, nasal steroid sprays, or surgery in extreme cases. Contact your doctor immediately at the first sign of a sinus infection to prevent symptoms from worsening.

  1. Fungus Ball Sinusitis

    • According to the Harvard Medical School Guide, a fungus ball is created inside of your nose from fungi multiplying over a period of time. This is caused by a blockage of the sinus ostia, the opening that connects the sinus to the nasal cavity. As fungi builds up, it creates a fungus ball. Medications cannot effectively clear up the sinus infection, and needs to be manually scooped out of the sinus. The surgeon will use a curette, which is a scooping device to remove the ball from the sinuses. Once the procedure is complete, no further treatment is necessary.

    Allergy Fungal Sinusitis

    • Allergy fungal sinusitis is caused by an allergic reaction to the fungi living in your nose, which causes inflammation in the lining of your mucous membranes. This inflammation leads to facial pain, congestion and a temporary loss of smell. It is common to have polyps along with your fungal infection. According to the Mayo Clinic, nasal polyps are small non-cancerous growths in your nose that cause blockage and temporary loss of smell. The allergic reaction causes mucin to produce in the sinuses. According to the Harvard Medical School Guide, mucin is thick and dark green, with the consistency of peanut butter. Treatment for allergy fungal sinusitis is a combination of nasal saline sprays to shrink the polyps and antibiotics to kill the bacterial infection. If saline sprays prove ineffective, surgery to remove the polyps is necessary. Polyp removal temporarily relieves you of sinusitis, but polyps usually grow back within 2 to 3 years, according to the Harvard Medical School Guide.

    Invasive Fungal Sinusitis

    • This type of fungal sinusitis is a life-threatening condition as it attacks the sinus walls, blood vessels and eventually bones. This infection is rare and occurs in those with weakened immune systems from: HIV/AIDS patients, patients undergoing chemotherapy, those with uncontrolled diabetes and those taking immunosuppressant drugs. If left untreated, infection can spread to the eyes and brain, causing blindness and meningitis, according to the Harvard Medical School Guide. To treat the infection, tissue removal through surgery is necessary and antifungal agents must be taken to completely irradiate it.

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