Sinus pressure and congestion: causes, relief and when to get checked

The CDC and MedlinePlus suggest these steps to help mucus drain and ease pressure.

• Place a warm, moist washcloth over your nose and forehead several times a day.
• Breathe steam 2 to 4 times a day, such as from a warm shower.
• Use saline nasal spray several times a day, or rinse with a squeeze bottle or neti pot. Use only distilled, sterile or boiled and cooled water.
• Drink plenty of fluids to thin mucus, and use a clean humidifier.
• Take acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen for pain as the label directs. Never give aspirin to children.
• Use decongestant nasal sprays like oxymetazoline or phenylephrine for no more than 3 to 5 days.
• Avoid flying while congested, and stay away from smoke.

How long to wait: most colds start to improve within 7 to 10 days. If you are slowly getting better, keep up home care. Get checked if you are not better after 10 days, or if you start to feel worse after about a week.

Here is a simple rule from the CDC and MedlinePlus. Come in if any of these are true:

1. Symptoms last more than 10 days without getting better
2. You get better, then worse again
3. A fever lasts longer than 3 to 4 days
4. Severe headache or facial pain that over-the-counter medicine does not relieve
5. You have had several sinus infections in the past year
6. Symptoms remain after you finish a course of antibiotics
7. A child has a high fever with dark nasal discharge for 3 or more days

Walk in or book a visit online. For more on timing, see sinus infection red flags.

Urgent Care Center of Westmont, also known as Immediate Care Center of Westmont, sees sinus problems 7 days a week at two Westmont, IL clinics. Our team is led by board-certified physicians.

1. QuestionsHow long symptoms have lasted, whether they got better and then worse, fever, allergies and past sinus infections.
2. ExamYour clinician looks in your nose, ears and throat and may press over your sinuses to check for tenderness.
3. Tests when they helpA COVID-19 or flu swab may help when you have fever. For symptoms that keep coming back, allergy testing with a blood test can look for triggers. MedlinePlus notes that plain X-rays do not diagnose sinusitis well. If a CT scan is needed, your clinician will refer you.
4. Your treatment planThe CDC says many sinus infections do not need antibiotics, so the plan may be relief and watchful waiting for 2 to 3 days. If bacteria are likely, sinusitis treatment may include prescription medicine when appropriate.

Many insurance plans are accepted, and self-pay visits start from $125.

Children

MedlinePlus says a child may have a sinus infection if a cold gets better and then worse, if a high fever with dark nasal discharge lasts 3 or more days, or if nasal discharge lasts more than 10 days without improving. Day care and large adenoids raise the risk. For young children, use saline drops and gentle suction. Do not give over-the-counter cough and cold medicine under age 4.

Adults

In adults, a sinus infection often starts after a cold that does not improve, or gets worse after 7 to 10 days. Allergies, smoking, nasal polyps, a deviated septum and a weak immune system raise the risk. Pressure lasting more than 3 months is chronic sinusitis and usually needs ongoing care, sometimes with an ear, nose and throat specialist. If your ears also hurt, see our ear pain guide.

• Wash your hands often, and avoid close contact with people who have colds.
• Get recommended vaccines, including flu and pneumococcal vaccines.
• Do not smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke.
• Keep humidifiers clean so they do not spread mold or germs.
• Treat allergies. If you are not sure what sets them off, ask about testing.

Pollen from trees, grasses and weeds is released in spring, summer and fall, so allergy-driven sinus pressure often follows those seasons in Westmont, IL. Colds peak in fall and winter. Browse all of our symptom guides for related problems.