Who Is Prone to Sinus Problems?
People who have very narrow sinus cavities can have a bottleneck for drainage so that any swelling or infection creates a blockage that causes sinus infection. “If your sinus passageways are narrow to begin with then what happens is if you get any kind of inflammation whether it’s from pollution, allergy or infection, the sinus shuts down, the mucus sits there and pools, and you become infected,” says Jordan Josephson, MD, author of Sinus Relief Now (Penguin), and an attending physician at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York City. Those with allergies and food sensitivities are predisposed to sinus infections since the offending allergens like cigarette smoke, pollution or food triggers enter the body and turn on cells, make proteins and release chemicals that cause the sinuses to swell, leading to infection. Also, those with lowered immunity (as when you’ve had a cold) may be at higher risk for developing sinusitis. Since your immune system helps fight infection, when its lowered from an
