You've got a stuffy nose, a cough, and maybe even a sore throat. It seems like a regular cold. But after several days, your symptoms aren't getting better. Can a cold turn into a sinus infection?
The truth is, colds and sinus infections often go hand in hand. A sinus infection often starts after a cold. But other things can cause them, too.
What Is a Common Cold?
A common cold is a viral infection that affects your nose, throat, sinuses, and windpipe. Symptoms usually last 7-10 days. But they can last longer, especially if you smoke.
More than 200 viruses can cause the common cold. Rhinovirus is the most common one. These viruses spread through the air or through close contact with someone who is sick. When a person with a cold coughs or sneezes, they spread tiny droplets that carry the virus. If you breathe in those droplets, the virus can enter your nose.
You can also catch a cold if you touch something with the virus on it, then touch your nose or mouth. It's easy to get sick in places where lots of people gather, such as schools or offices. The virus can also spread at home if someone there is sick.
Common cold symptoms include:
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Cough
- Postnasal drip (mucus dripping into the back of your throat)
- Headache
- Body aches
- Tiredness
- Hoarseness
- Fever (this happens more often in children)
These symptoms usually get worse over time until they reach a peak, then slowly go away. Some medications can ease symptoms. For example, decongestants may decrease drainage and open your nasal passages. Pain relievers may help with fever and headache. Cough medicine or a bioelectronic sinus device may help, as well.
You usually don't need a doctor for a cold. But see one if you don't feel better after a few days.
What Is a Sinus Infection?
A sinus infection is inflammation or swelling in the lining of your sinuses, open spaces inside your skull that connect to each other. Most people have eight sinuses, four on each side of the head. Two are located in your forehead above your eyes, and two are between your eyes and behind your nose. The biggest ones, called maxillary sinuses, are under your eyes and behind your cheeks.
Things that can cause sinus inflammation include:
- Infections
- Allergic reactions
- A deviated septum (when one of your nasal cavities is smaller than the other)
- Nasal polyps (small growths in the lining of your nose)
When these tissues swell up, mucus can't drain. Bacteria or viruses can grow in the trapped mucus. This can lead to:
- A thick, yellow, bad-smelling discharge from your nose
- Pressure or pain around your face and eyes
- Headache (usually in the forehead area)
- Blockage in your nose
- Congestion
- Postnasal drip
- Fever or cough
- Bad breath
"Sometimes there is a fever, but not always,” says Kitty O'Hare, MD, an internal medicine specialist at Duke Primary Care in Durham, NC.
Can a Cold Turn Into a Sinus Infection?
While colds and other respiratory infections, such as the flu, don't technically turn into sinus infections, they do create an environment that lets them develop.
That's because these infections can cause tissues in your sinuses to swell and fill with mucus. They may also cause your sinuses to make more fluid than usual. The undrained mucus offers an ideal environment for viruses, bacteria, or other germs to grow and develop into an infection.
Also, when you sniffle or blow your nose a lot, this can push bacteria from your nose into your sinuses and make the infection worse.
How to Tell if Your Cold Has Become a Sinus Infection
Sometimes, it's hard to tell the difference between a common cold and a sinus infection because the symptoms can look so much alike.
There are two main ways to tell them apart:
Symptoms from a bacterial sinus infection usually last more than 10 days without getting better. "We start thinking of a sinus infection if there is a stuffy nose and cough that last for more than 10 to 14 days," O'Hare says.
You may start to feel better after a few days, but then your cold symptoms return and get worse. This is called a rebound, and it can be another sign of a bacterial sinus infection.
Certain symptoms are more likely to indicate a sinus infection:
- Pain or a feeling pressure in your face
- Thick mucus that's not clear
- Symptoms that get worse when you bend forward
How to Treat Sinus Infections
Most sinus infections go away on their own with time.
Some home remedies may help you feel better:
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Use over-the-counter medicines like pain relievers, antihistamines, decongestants, or nasal sprays.
- Try a saline nasal rinse or spray.
- Take steam or hot showers to help loosen mucus and make it easier to breathe.
If these things don't help, your doctor might prescribe a decongestant or nasal spray. If they find out bacteria as the cause of the infection, they may prescribe antibiotics.
Antibiotics don't work on viral infections. Taking them when you don't need them can cause more harm than good.
"You could have side effects, and it may make it harder to treat future infections if your body stops responding to the medicine," says Kitty O'Hare.
If a sinus infection doesn't clear up after 12 weeks, it's considered chronic sinusitis and may require further treatment.
When to Call Your Doctor
See your doctor if your symptoms don't get better in 10 days, especially if you have pain around your face or eyes along with thick yellow or green nasal discharge.
Also, see your doctor if you have a high fever or other symptoms that are serious and don't get better with over-the-counter treatments.
If your sinusitis lasts more than 12 weeks or keeps coming back, your doctor may need to treat whatever is causing it. You might have allergies or an issue inside your nose, such as polyps or a deviated septum.
FAQs on Cold Turning Into a Sinus Infection
Can a head cold turn into a sinus infection?
A head cold can't technically "turn into" a sinus infection, but it can cause one to develop. When the cold causes swelling in your sinuses, mucus can get trapped in them. Bacteria, viruses, or other germs can grow in that trapped mucus and cause a sinus infection.
Can allergies turn into a sinus infection?
Allergies can lead to a sinus infection. Like infections, allergies to pollen and other substances can cause your sinuses to swell and block the flow of mucus. That creates an environment for bacteria or viruses to grow and cause an infection.
Can a sinus infection turn into pneumonia?
A sinus infection might progress to pneumonia, but it's rare. Some of the same bacteria can cause both conditions. If a bacterial sinus infection isn't treated, the infection can spread, especially in people with other health problems.
