For eight years Dawn Burley, 27, battled chronic sinusitis, a condition associated with nasal congestion and pressure-related headaches – two symptoms which almost halted her career aspirations. on any given day, the severity of Burley’s symptoms often meant avoiding bright lights and loud noises – presenting significant obstacles for an aspiring graduate student hoping to pursue a career in social work in a big city. Nighttime wasn’t much better. Trouble breathing and coughing caused by a continual post-nasal drip made restful sleep a luxury, which resulted in a chronic fatigue that made studying – and life in general – almost impossible. After years of enduring pain and exhaustion with little relief, Burley feared that her quality of life would never get better.

“There is no other way to describe my life at that time other than just miserable,” says Burley. “Every morning, the first thing I would do was assess how I felt and then determine what my symptoms would and would not allow me to do that day. It was like being in prison – my condition literally controlled my life.”

As one of 7 million Americans battling chronic sinusitis each year, Burley’s experience is not unique. With sinusitis, the walls (or linings) of the sinuses become inflamed and swollen, preventing normal drainage and causing mucus and pressure to build up. Symptoms include secretion of a thick, yellow or greenish discharge from the nose or down the back of the throat, nasal congestion, or tenderness and swelling around the eyes, cheeks, nose and forehead. When sinusitis lasts longer than 12 weeks, or occurs more than three or four times per year, it’s considered chronic sinusitis.

Having visited numerous doctors and tried everything from over-the-counter to prescription medications, Burley eventually was referred to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician who recommended that she consider the minimally invasive Balloon Sinuplasty procedure to open the sinuses. Unlike traditional sinus surgery, Balloon Sinuplasty does not involve removing any bone or tissue, and can be performed in the doctor’s office, in addition to the operating room.

Balloon Sinuplasty is performed by inserting a specially-designed balloon into the nose to reach the inflamed sinus cavity. The small balloon is slowly inflated, gently widening and restructuring the walls of the sinus passage – without cutting and with minimal bleeding – helping to drain mucus from the blocked sinus and restore normal sinus drainage. while the procedure is usually performed under general anesthesia in an outpatient setting, some patients – like Burley – are candidates for an in-office procedure under local anesthesia. within days, Burley was back to her usual activities, feeling relief from painful headaches and congestion, and starting to enjoy her life again.

“Balloon Sinuplasty has had an incredible impact on my life. Before the procedure, my sinusitis symptoms and the horrible way they made me feel was all I knew – it was my ‘normal,’” says Burley. “It’s wonderful to realize that ‘normal’ can mean actually feeling good. I no longer have to plan my life around a condition that was stealing it.”

Today, Burley is now able to dedicate all of her time to pursuing her dreams as a social worker, fully embracing the big city and all it has to offer. “I hope that my experience inspires others to speak with their doctor about their sinus issues to see if they should see an ENT physician. It’s worth it – no one should have to suffer for years like I did.”

All medical procedures involve risks. Only a physician can tell you if treatment with Balloon Sinuplasty is right for you. To learn more about Balloon Sinuplasty, visit balloonsinuplasty.com.

MIAMI (CBS4) – You know the symptoms – sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes – sounds like allergies, right?

Nope. Millions of people are actually suffering from something else and are misdiagnosed.

Allergist Dr. Shelia Bonilla said patients often come to see her with what they believe is an allergy or persistent cold. they tell her they’ve been taking Claritin or Zyrtec, or some over the counter drugs, and they’re not helping.

Bonilla said her patients often suffer from what’s called rhinitis which is not an allergy at all; it’s an inflammation of the nostril and sinuses and its symptoms are the same as colds and allergies.

“You’ve got a runny nose. You may have a feeling of a lump in your throat like a post nasal drip, drainage from the sinuses and you may have sneezing,” said Bonilla.

Marcia Kreditor said she’s suffered from sinus problems for the last four years, waking up in the middle of the night with severe congestion and dryness.

“They did some surgery and there was no difference whatsoever and I was like great. the surgery was horrible, it was a horrible thing to go through,” said Kreditor who then decided to go see Dr. Bonillia.

“I treated her with an antihistamine for the nose and a nasal steroid, and she felt really better,” said Bonilla.

“It’s been exactly a week and I can breathe. I can go to sleep and my nostrils don’t clog up and I’m breathing,” said Kreditor.

So how do you know if you’re suffering from rhinitis?

“They are more bothered by smoking or perfume even detergent, they’re foul-smelling,” said Bonilla about people suffering from rhinitis. “They say even traffic bothers them.”

Bonilla said unlike rhinitis, which can be brought on by a change in the weather, allergies are often triggered by dust, pollen and pets.

With a sinus headache, you will often deal with post nasal drip, which is a collection of mucus in the back of your throat when you're lying on your back. you may also be congested. These symptoms are also typical of migraine. However, a sinus infection will last considerably longer, and if it becomes worse you may feel generally sick and even have a fever (with migraine you may feel like you have a fever, but you usually don't). Fatigue is common. you may also find that your mucus is thicker than normal and discoloured.

The pain in a sinus headache is usually localized around the eyes, and you may actually feel some tenderness.

“They’re really just catching a lot of colds from kids,” he says.

But there’s another possibility, one that many people have never heard of. It’s called nonallergic rhinitis. People with nonallergic rhinitis have many of the same symptoms as people with nasal allergies — the runny noses, congestion and annoying post-nasal drip. Some sneeze, too. But “when we do allergy testing on them, we don’t find anything,” Shulan says.

These patients often have no personal or family history of allergy, are older than the usual new allergy patient, averaging about age 35, and are more often women than men, says Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, an allergy researcher at the University of Cincinnati.

Patients often say they have symptoms year-round or are bothered by irritants that are not known to cause the immune system responses associated with a true allergy, says Dr. Michael Blaiss, an allergist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. The possible triggers include:

? Perfumes and other substances with strong odors.

? Cigarette smoke and car exhaust.

? cold air, wind and humidity.

? Foods — and not just the spicy ones. This variation is called gustatory rhinitis.

? just lying down triggers symptoms in some people, Blaiss says. Though these people don’t have allergies, “this is a real condition,” he says.

Says Bernstein: “It can have an impact on sleep and concentration, cause headaches and lead to sinus infections.”

The underlying causes aren’t well understood. with some, the problem seems related to changes in the nose that occur with aging, says Dr. Stanley Fineman, vice president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Older noses tend to be drier, Fineman says, so sometimes simple saline nose sprays can help.

Doctors also often recommend certain antihistamines, decongestants, steroid nasal sprays and drying agents. But the popular non-sedating antihistamines that are sold in drugstores often don’t work, Blaiss says. Patients also won’t benefit from allergy shots — unless they also have allergies, which is still also possible, he adds.

It should be noted that adults can, at any age, develop allergies, says Dr. Jacqueline Eghrari-Sabet, an allergist in Gaithersburg, Md.

Gannett News Service