Psychosomatics of a runny nose and sinusitis

What psychosomatics says

In psychosomatics, the nose is linked to smell, literally and figuratively. A runny nose and sinusitis are described through the feeling “I can’t stand it,” “I’m fed up with this.” A person, a situation, an atmosphere that makes you feel bad, and you can’t leave.

It could be a coworker who wears you down, fights with your parents every time you visit, a job where the boss is driving things into the ground and you have to watch.

Another theme is instinct. You can’t “sniff out” what’s ahead and live with anxious forebodings: a move, a new boss, the unknown after a change. Psychosomatics helps you name what you’re fed up with and find what you can do about it.

What it is

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses: small spaces behind your cheekbones and forehead that connect to the nose. Inflammation of the maxillary sinuses under the eyes is called maxillary sinusitis, of the forehead sinuses frontal sinusitis. That’s how the clinical protocol of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health (2017) divides them.

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) says sinusitis often starts after a cold or flu and usually clears up on its own within 4 weeks. It’s usually caused by a virus, not bacteria, so antibiotics are rarely needed.

The Kazakhstan Ministry of Health protocol names the main complaints: it’s hard to breathe through your nose or it’s blocked, there’s pus-like discharge, and it hurts where the sinus is inflamed: under the eyes, above the eyebrows, at the bridge of the nose. Sometimes sinusitis starts from a bad upper tooth, and then you need a dentist too.

If your nose has been running for years or gets blocked in spring or around a cat, it may be allergic rhinitis. The Kazakhstan Ministry of Health has a separate protocol for it (2023).

How it shows up

• A blocked nose, you breathe through your mouth
• Pain and pressure under your eyes, in your forehead or at the bridge of your nose
• Yellow or green mucus from your nose
• Your sense of smell is gone or weaker
• A headache, your upper teeth ache
• Bad breath, a cough, snoring at night

Start with a general practitioner. If sinusitis doesn’t go away or keeps coming back, you need an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor. The NHS advises seeing a doctor if you’re not better after 3 weeks of treating it at home.