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Sinus pain can range in severity from a mild headache to excruciating head and face pain, toothaches, and earaches. Regardless of the underlying cause, sinus pain usually develops as the result of inflammation and congestion in the sinus cavities.

Congestion is a major contributor to sinus pain, so many treatments are aimed at reducing congestion.

There are a variety of over-the-counter medications, home remedies, and lifestyle modifications that can help to prevent or reduce sinus pressure and offer sinus pain relief.

What Causes Sinus Pain

Sinuses are hollow spaces in your facial bones that are lined with membranes that secrete mucus. Sinus pain is often a result of inflammation that blocks mucus from draining and leads to pain.

Sinus swelling can follow viral illnesses, including the common cold, or it can be due to mucus production from allergies or breathing in polluted air that leads to irritation. It can also happen if there are nasal blockages due to abnormal growths called nasal polyps or structural abnormalities, such as a deviated septum, that make you prone to congestion.

If you have intense sinus pain and pressure that gets worse when you are diving, flying in an airplane, driving up a steep mountain, or participating in other activities that involve steep altitude changes, it could be a condition called sinus barotrauma.

Although the pain will usually subside when these activities are discontinued, sinus barotrauma is a sign of an underlying sinus problem that needs to be evaluated by an otolaryngologist, a healthcare provider that specializes in conditions of the ear, nose, and throat.

Sinus barotrauma can also be accompanied by ear barotrauma, which can cause a ruptured eardrum.

How to Treat Sinus Pain

If you experience sinus pain, there are over-the-counter (OTC) medications, home remedies, and lifestyle strategies that may be helpful.

If your symptoms last more than a week or keep recurring, see a healthcare provider. It could be a bacterial sinus infection, also called sinusitis, that requires a course of antibiotics or it might be migraines or another condition that requires medical intervention.

Fungal sinus infections can also occur and require surgery and/or antifungal medications.

Over-the-Counter Treatments

OTC medications can help relieve pain, encourage nasal drainage, or treat allergies.

Pain Relievers

Common pain relievers that may be effective for treating sinus pain and headaches include:

Aspirin can be used in adults but should not be given to children due to the risk of Reye's syndrome.

Some of these pain medications can be combined if one of them is not effective when used alone. You should talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist before trying this, however, and let them know of any other medications you are taking.

Decongestants

Over-the-counter nasal decongestants help break up congestion by reducing the swelling of blood vessels. They work well for easing sinus pain from colds and come in oral medications, such as Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) or Sudafed PE (phenylephrine), or nasal sprays like Afrin (oxymetazoline).

Unless recommended by a healthcare provider, nasal decongestant sprays, such as Afrin, should not be used longer than three consecutive days to avoid a condition called rebound congestion.

Antihistamines

If allergies are causing your congestion and leading to sinus pain, OTC antihistamines may be helpful.

Antihistamines work by targeting histamine, a chemical that's released in response to allergens and that plays a role in allergy symptoms, including runny nose. Antihistamines block histamine receptors to relieve allergy symptoms.

Common OTC antihistamines include:

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is another OTC option, but it is an older, first-generation antihistamine that has a higher risk of side effects, especially drowsiness, compared to the second-generation antihistamines listed above.

Home Remedies

There are a variety of home remedies that can help with congestion to relieve sinus pressure. Home remedies that you can try include:

• Drink water: Staying hydrated can help to thin nasal secretions. Drinking plenty of fluids is also important in your recovery from viral illnesses.
• Neti pot: A neti pot is used to irrigate the nasal passageways and can help to control congestion and nasal secretions.
• Saline nasal sprays: Saline nasal sprays are sold over-the-counter at most drug stores. They are used to loosen nasal secretions and thereby decrease congestion by allowing it to drain. They can be used many times per day.
• Cool mist humidifier: The humidity loosens nasal secretions and the cold air can help to decrease inflammation. If you do not have access to a cool-mist humidifier, several hot, steamy showers per day can also help to loosen nasal secretions.
• Warm compress: Use a warm rag or heating pad over your sinuses to ease the pain. Do this several times per day.

Avoiding Irritants

Pay attention to triggers for allergies and nasal irritation and try to reduce or prevent those exposures whenever possible. Common irritants include:

• Cigarette smoke: Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke are common triggers for sinus pain and sinusitis. Quitting or reducing exposure can alleviate symptoms.
• Pollution: When you breathe in air pollutants, such as industrial chemicals or paint fumes, they are absorbed by the nose and can lead to irritation of the nose and sinuses.
• Allergens: Allergies are a major culprit of sinusitis and sinus pain. Common allergens include pollen, mold, pets, and dust mites. An allergist can give you an allergy test to help identify what's causing your symptoms so that you can take steps to reduce exposure.

Relaxation Techniques

In addition to remedies and medications, practices that promote relaxation may help you to manage or prevent sinus pain. This can include:

• Massage: Relax in a dark, quiet room. Gentle head and neck exercises or gently massaging your head and face may also help.
• Meditation: Research suggests that mindfulness meditation may help decrease the intensity of head pain. Focusing on your breathing, body sensations, and surroundings can be a useful coping strategy to manage pain.

You may want to enroll in a local mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training program to learn techniques commonly used in studies on meditation and head pain.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you get fast relief from a sinus headache?

OTC pain relievers or decongestants are often helpful. If you get sinus headaches frequently, consult your healthcare provider, who can evaluate if it might be migraines.

How long does a sinus headache last?

Sinus pain from viral infections will typically go away within about a week. If it lasts longer, see your healthcare provider, since you may have a bacterial or fungal infection or another condition that requires medical care.

Will a sinus headache go away on its own?

Yes, but if the pain goes on longer than a week, intensifies, or keeps recurring, see your healthcare provider.

A Word From Verywell

Sinus pain can be frustrating, but it usually resolves within a few days and there are many options you can try at home to relive congestion and find some relief.

If your pain worsens, continues more than a week, or keeps recurring, contact a healthcare provider or allergist who can help identify exposures and/or evaluate if there are other medical conditions that may be causing the discomfort.

Spring is nearly upon us, but for many, that means that allergy season is starting. Unfortunately for this group, when the weather changes and the seasons shift, that means nasal congestion, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes. If you fall in this group, you’re probably wondering how to get through allergy season without feeling sick for weeks upon end. While there are, of course, allergy medications you can take, they have side effects, including making you sleepy, which is no good for productivity. You can also visit a sinus specialist such as our very own ENT doctors at Detroit Sinus Center. But, before you make that step, there are a few at-home remedies you can try. Here are our top five natural remedies for clearing up seasonal allergy symptoms.

1. Cleanse Your Nasal Passage
One of the most common causes for an allergy flare-up is from pollens sticking to your mucus membranes. Your mucus membranes, or the glands lining the inside of your nose that produce mucus, will work overtime to produce mucus if there’s any pollen present. Therefore, ensuring that your nose is nice and clean is important for reducing allergy symptoms.

There are a few ways to clear out your nasal passage, ridding your mucus membranes of pollen, but the most commonly used is a neti pot. This nasal irrigation treatment looks like a little teapot, which you add a saline solution to, and pour through one of your nostrils. Keep your head tilted so that the solution runs through the other nostril. It definitely feels weird, but once you have rinsed your nasal passages thoroughly with a neti pot, you will feel much less congested. Keep in mind that you may need to repeat this method once or more times a day in order to keep the pollen out of your nose and prevent allergy symptoms like sneezing and watery eyes.

While they work wonders when used correctly, improper use of a neti pot could increase symptoms and potentially cause an infection. Here is a guide to using a neti pot, written by the FDA.

2. Smell Essential Oils
Essentials oils can be a great way to open up your nasal passages during allergy season. Any of your favorite essential oils will do, but menthol-based ones will work the best at clearing up your sinuses. Pick up some bottles of pure peppermint, spearmint, and eucalyptus oils and smell them throughout the day. You can simply twist the cap off and smell the oil or you can get an essential oil diffuser so the smell fills the room, rub a few drops on your wrist, add some drops to your bath, even add some to your tea — it’s up to you! Either way, you’ll be breathing easy and your sinuses will be cleared up in no time.

3. Clean Your Home
This is a must-do for everyone who lives with allergies — clean, clean, clean your home. Seasonal allergies are linked to changes in nature, so there’s a very good chance that you are tracking allergy-inducing pollens from the outside into your home. So, even if you think you’re escaping the outdoors, they have likely come inside to wreak havoc on your sinuses and cling to your mucus membranes. No matter what specific plant you are allergic to, it has likely become part of the dust in your home, perhaps trapped in your carpet or fabrics, tracked indoors from your shoes, clothes, pets, and open windows. In order to get through allergy season without going through ten boxes of tissues, be sure to clean your home more frequently than usual. Dust everything, vacuum everything, wash everything — you’ll thank yourself later.

4. Try Herbal Remedies
There are a few herbal remedies that have been known to clear up clogged sinuses and alleviate allergy symptoms, but we’ll discuss just two herbs — quercetin and butterbur. Quercetin is found in many plants and foods and is an antioxidant flavonoid. Including this herb in your diet may help relieve common allergy symptoms as it works to block the release of histamines. Butterbur works similarly and also acts as an antihistamine. This herb has been known to help alleviate headaches, seasonal allergy symptoms, and more.

5. Give Acupuncture a Try
Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine and has been said to help with health issues such as allergies and chronic pain. While some may not believe in this form of medicine, it is actually heavily backed by science. Visit an acupuncture professional and discuss what allergy symptoms you are having. Acupuncture can be used to naturally alleviate allergy symptoms such as runny nose, itchy eyes, congested sinuses, and more.

Visit a Sinus Specialist in Detroit

If all else fails, schedule an appointment with your local sinus specialist or ENT doctor. Detroit Sinus Center offers a variety of sinus treatments ranging from prescription medications to non-invasive surgeries. We’ll help you through allergy season so you can breathe easy once again. Contact us today to schedule your appointment with our sinus specialists in Detroit!