What is the difference...?

lindsleek

Between a plain old cold and a sinus infection?

I have been congested for days and have terrible sinus pressure. H says he thinks I might have a sinus infection, so my question is: How do I know? What is the difference, as in how I am feeling/symptoms? And MD wanna-bes out there?

TIA!

kcisthebombdotcom

Sinus infections generally have green/yellow mucus and pain in the eyes/face/teeth. Usually when I have a cold, I just have a runny nose (but clear) and a cough that goes away after a few days. Sinus infections hang around for longer unless you get on antibiotics.

BelhurstBride

Whenever I've had a sinus infection it's been couple with green mucous instead of just yellow/white/clear. I think I had a fever, too.

delphinus12

How long have you had the congestion/pressure? I get a sinus infection a couple of times a year. For me I always know I have one because the junk lingers on for more than a few days and my face hurts, especially in the area between my brows and sometimes my cheeks.

Also, I always have green snot with the infection.

Have you tried a sinus rinse/neti pot?

greengirl0909

I always relate it to smelling.  If you still have some sense of smell and can taste your food, I say sinuses.  If you can't taste, then cold.  JMO, with no medical training!

CalMum_Momma

color of snot. Also, you can use a pen light in front of a mirror in a darkened room and shine it directly on the skin in the corner of each sinus. If you can see light in your sinus, then they are not likely to be infected. If they're dark, they probably are.

simplejude

green/yellow mucus, sometimes fever, pain, and it lasts longer than a cold. Any time I have gone in for a sinus infection they wouldn't give me anti-biotics for it unless it had been more than a week of continuous symptoms. 

lindsleek

simplejude:

green/yellow mucus, sometimes fever, pain, and it lasts longer than a cold. Any time I have gone in for a sinus infection they wouldn't give me anti-biotics for it unless it had been more than a week of continuous symptoms. 

How do they test for a sinus infection? Like how do they know that is what you have?

lindsleek

KC_13:

Sinus infections generally have green/yellow mucus and pain in the eyes/face/teeth. Usually when I have a cold, I just have a runny nose (but clear) and a cough that goes away after a few days. Sinus infections hang around for longer unless you get on antibiotics.

I definitely have the green/yellow snot thing going on but I don't really have pain in my face, just a lot of pressure.

lindsleek

delphinus12:

How long have you had the congestion/pressure? I get a sinus infection a couple of times a year. For me I always know I have one because the junk lingers on for more than a few days and my face hurts, especially in the area between my brows and sometimes my cheeks.

Also, I always have green snot with the infection.

Have you tried a sinus rinse/neti pot?

This has been going on since Thursday night.

And no, I'm not even sure I know what a neti pot is???

delphinus12

lindsleek:

delphinus12:

How long have you had the congestion/pressure? I get a sinus infection a couple of times a year. For me I always know I have one because the junk lingers on for more than a few days and my face hurts, especially in the area between my brows and sometimes my cheeks.

Also, I always have green snot with the infection.

Have you tried a sinus rinse/neti pot?

This has been going on since Thursday night.

And no, I'm not even sure I know what a neti pot is???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neti_pot

I don't use a neti pot though- just a sinus rinse, you can get from the drugstore. Does wonderful things for sinus congestion/pressure!