Med First ENT Centre

Every winter, sinus problems fill my OPD in South Delhi. From October to February, smog, Diwali smoke and cold, dry air all hit the same place: the lining of your nose and sinuses. I’m Dr. (Major) Rajesh Kumar Bhardwaj, an ENT surgeon with over 35 years of practice, 15 of them in the Indian Army Medical Corps. Most of the sinusitis I see in this season gets better without antibiotics or surgery, once people know what is going on and what to avoid. This guide covers what your sinuses are, why Delhi’s winter air sets them off, and how to tell a cold from a sinus infection or an allergy. It also covers what helps at home, what makes things worse, and when a blocked nose needs a doctor. What are the sinuses, and why do they get blocked? Your sinuses are air-filled spaces in the bones of your face, and each one opens into your nose. There are four pairs: the frontal sinuses behind the forehead, the ethmoid sinuses between the eyes, the maxillary sinuses behind the cheeks, and the sphenoid s...

  Every October, as Delhi’s air turns grey, a familiar story walks into my clinic in Vasant Vihar. The nose has been blocked since last winter. Sprays, steam and a few courses of antibiotics later, it still hasn’t cleared, and the question finally comes: do I need an operation? Sometimes the answer is yes, and the operation is usually FESS, short for functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Often the answer is no. Here is how an ENT tells the difference, what the surgery involves, and what to try before it comes to that. Is it really sinusitis? A nose that stays blocked for months is not always sinusitis. The usual causes are a deviated septum (the wall between the nostrils is bent), swollen turbinates, allergic rhinitis, nasal polyps, or a mix of these. They can feel the same but are treated very differently. Doctors call it chronic rhinosinusitis when symptoms last 12 weeks or more. That means a blocked or running nose, often with facial pressure or a weaker sense of smell, plus chan...