Sinus infections are also referred to as sinusitis. In fact, there are two types namely acute and chronic.

An acute sinus infection is caused by harmless bacteria that most healthy people have in their upper respiratory tracts. This happens to approximately two percent of adults and 20 percent of children who are suffering from a cold. It usually lasts for two to four weeks and those affected respond very well to medical therapy.

One of the two types, chronic sinus infections are very common. Approximately at least 37 million Americans are influenced by this every year and this usually lasts for 3 months or more and it may keep on coming back.

The symptoms for acute and chronic are very similar. These include bad breath, cough, dental pain, difficulty breathing through your nose, erythema, facial pain, fatigue, fever, nasal congestion, nausea, pain or tenderness in the eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead and sore throat.

If you have acute or chronic sinus infection, you are advised to visit a doctor if left undiagnosed and untreated, complications could occur which may lead to severe medical problems and at times death. Just to give you an idea, here are a few of the complications that could happen.

We know that fevers and headaches are common with a sinus infection. But did you know that this together with soft tissue swelling over the frontal sinus may indicate an infection of the frontal bone better known as Potts Puffy Tumor or Ostemyelitis?

The person's eye socket can also get infected due to ethmoid sinusitis and if it swells or becomes droopy, this will result in the inability to see and even permanent blindness. What's even worse is when it causes a blood clot forms around the front and top of the face. The person's pupils will become fixed and dilated and this will happen on both eyes.

A sinus infection may also make someone experience mild personality changes or altered consciousness. If this happens, its possible that the infection can spread to the brain and result in a coma or death.

Given that anything can happen if you've a sinus infection, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. This will the professional time to diagnose what's wrong and then recommend the correct treatment.

A few of the tests might be as easy as touching your face lightly to check for tenderness in the skin to CT scans, MRI's and X-rays.

The treatment that doctors initially recommend to a patient who has a sinus infection is usually an over the counter drug like Tylenol. If you have no improvement after a week, then they will assume that it is bacterial infection and treat it with a proper antibiotic.

Along the time that the patient will be under the medication depends on the person. Usually, the person will use antibiotics for 2 weeks but this will be extended for another 7 days should the infection be chronic.

Sinus infections can be treated so before you take any medicine out of the cabinet, have yourself checked by the doctor first to determine what is causing it. For all you know, your sinus infection is not caused by bacteria but rather an allergy.