LAX Leader

Only a doctor can properly diagnose sinusitis but if you think you might have this ailment, a Thousand Oaks-based ear, nose and throat (ENT) and plastic surgery practice has come up with a quiz for that.

Bella Vista ENT & Plastic Surgery on Marin Street in Thousand Oaks has a 20-point Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz on its website that asks participants about the various symptoms of sinusitis, inflammation of the sinuses' tissue lining, and their various degrees of severity, from nonexistent to severe.

| FreeImages-Bram van Dijk

Take the quiz, provide a little more information and someone in the practice will respond.

Sinuses are healthy when they fill with air and allow for obstruction-free breathing, but sinusitis sufferers endure blockages and fluids where blocked and filled with fluid, a breeding ground for germs and infection, according to WebMD's page on sinusitis and sinus infection.

Conditions that can cause sinusitis include the common cold, allergic rhinitis, nasal polyps and a deviated septum.

Sinusitis comes in several varieties, including acute sinusitis that often starts with cold-like symptoms that last for weeks, subacute sinusitis and chronic sinusitis that can last for months and recurrent sinusitis that reoccurs several times a year.

Sinusitis can affect a patient's entire body and is best treated when it's caught early, the practice's Dr. Jeffrey Feinfield told West Contra Costa.

"Early intervention is so key, and that's what we really aim for in our practice," Feinfeld said. "Just giving medications and antibiotics and treating a patient six times is not getting to the root of the problem."

In addition to the online quiz, the practice uses a 22-question sino-nasal outcome test as part of its intake forms "to get a better idea of what's going on with the patient," Feinfeld said.

"It's scientifically proven that patients with chronic sinusitis also suffer from poor sleep, depression," he said. "Our philosophy is let's fix the problem, and so the patient can get back on that healing road and be their best selves."

Sinusitis can become debilitating.

"When we suffer from chronic sinusitis, we have severe inflammation in the nose," Feinfeld said.

But sinusitis is more than just infection, pain and pressure in the sinuses, he said.

"When you're uncomfortable you're not going to be able to sleep," he said. "The restorative sleep all of us need eludes chronic sinusitis patients and patients with nasal obstruction traditionally. This leads to their chronic fatigue and a lot of other medical conditions."

The practice's quiz steps the participant through 20 common sinusitis symptoms, such as a clogged or runny nose, facial pain or pressure, loss of smell or taste, and difficulty falling asleep. The participant also is asked about the severity of their symptoms.