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THIS WEEK’S TOPIC:

Innovations in Treating Chronic Sinusitis

Chronic sinusitis, a problem affecting as many as 50 million Americans, is an irritation of the sinus/nasal passages that lasts at least 12 weeks or longer.  In the Southeast, the problem is very common due to our high average humidity and mild winters.  These conditions lead our environment to be heavy with mold and fungus that can take hold in the nasal passages and sinuses leading to chronic infections.  Many persons will deal with slowly-worsening symptoms such as difficulty breathing through their nose, decreased sense of smell, facial or headache pain, frequent sinus infections, and more.  Eventually, folks with chronic sinusitis find their quality of life severely impacted, driving them to seek help.  It’s important to get help from infectious disease and ENT specialists who are well-versed in diagnosing and treating this problem and who use a team approach to achieve the best outcome.  This week, two such specialists, Dr. Pugliese and Dr. French stopped by to share information about diagnostic innovations in treating chronic sinusitis that are available to help them get more specific about what organism(s) are causing the allergic response and inflammation.  One such evolving diagnostic test is DNA sequencing that now lets physicians learn exactly what is causing the problem.  We talked about the various treatment measures used to treat chronic sinusitis as well as got some great advice on things we can do in the home to help reduce the frequency and severity of recurrences when they do happen.  It’s very likely you or someone you know is dealing with chronic sinusitis so please share today’s episode with your network!

The host of Top Docs Radio is Charles “CW” Hall with Hyperbaric Physicians of Georgia.

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Andrew Pugliese, MD, Infectious Disease Consultants        

• Doctorate in Medicine, St. George University School of Medicine
• Fellowship, Infectious Disease, Winthrop University Hospital
• Triple Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease
• Pioneer in non-surgical treatment of acute and chronic sinusitis
• President of Sinus Solutions

Courtney French, MD, Ear, Nose & Throat Institute  

• Doctorate in Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine
• Residency, Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Regular presenter of research material at numerous national/international ear, nose & throat conferences