I've had sinus headaches nearly all my life. You know the kind - you wake up in the morning with congestion and such sharp pain you don't want to move your head. I had them several times a week, plus sinus congestion 365 days a year, post nasal drip, and a constant cough that was driving my husband out of his mind and giving me a sore throat. Finally, my doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory steroid nasal spray for daily use which has changed my life.
I was amazed to read recently that a person's nose and sinuses are supposed to produce up to a quart of mucus and secretions every day! It travels through the nose clearing out bacteria and pollutants. Then it goes backward and down the throat. We don't even realize we're swallowing this stuff. It's only when an excessive amount of mucus is produced that we have trouble.
That's when you have pressure and pain in your face, behind your eyes, and even in your upper teeth. You should be checked to see if the anatomy of your nose is to blame. You might have a deviated septum. The septum sits between the sides of your nose and could be off center, thus blocking one side. Have trouble breathing through one nostril? This could be your problem, but it can be surgically corrected.
Another possibility is polyps in the nose. Polyps are just fleshy growths that can be removed, but they can block passages. And yet another factor to consider is your teeth. Infections in your upper teeth can affect your sinuses.
If you have allergies and/or sinus congestion chronically causing misery, you are probably supporting your local pharmacy through your purchases of decongestants. It does help how you feel, but the problem is that it sets you up for rebound headaches. (See the above article as well as my articles on rebound headaches.)
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