Sunshine Sentinel

• Chronic sinusitis has been shown to cause erectile dysfunction.
• Other unexpected side effects of sinusitis include depression and poor sleep.
• Possible sinusitis treatments include endoscopy and balloon sinuplasty.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), erectile dysfunction -- which the National Institutes of Health defines as "the inability to attain and maintain an erection of sufficient quality to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse” -- affects approximately 5% of men in the U.S. A study using data from more than 1 million people from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database found that chronic sinusitis is associated with increased risk of erectile dysfunction. According to the report, treating sinusitis with functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) significantly decreased erectile dysfunction in patients.

Yahoo Sports reported that men who suffer from chronic sinusitis are as much as 50% more likely to be impotent compared to men who do not suffer from sinusitis, citing a report from Kaohsiung University in Taiwan. The study found that when sinusitis inflames the lining of the sinuses, it causes the blood vessels in men's genitals to restrict blood flow.

"There are studies that correlate breathing with everything; it's just a given," Dr. Cody Aull at West Palm Beach Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Sunshine Sentinel. "We know that it increases the amount of anxiety a patient feels. That’s kind of a no-brainer. If I'm not breathing well right now and I've got facial pressure, I'm going to be more anxious. We don’t need more anxiety in the world that we live in. Obviously, you have chronic sinus issues, because you have inflammation throughout your entire face. Inflammation causes a lot of bad things. Inflammation can irritate the arteries going to the brain."

People who are suffering from sinusitis may also suffer other unexpected side effects. According to NCBI, 60 to 75% of chronic sinusitis patients suffer from poor sleep, and Physicians Weekly reports that people with chronic sinusitis are 41% more likely to suffer from depression.

People who suffer from sinusitis have several surgical treatment options, including endoscopy and balloon sinuplasty, according to WebMD. Endoscopy is a common procedure, during which doctors insert thin, flexible instruments called endoscopes into the nose. One instrument has a small camera lens that sends images back to a screen, allowing the doctor to see where the sinuses are blocked and guide the other instruments to gently remove polyps, scar tissue and other blockages. There's no cutting involved, so recovery is relatively fast and easy. Endoscopy is usually done with a local anesthetic, meaning the area is made numb and the patient remains awake.

Another relatively new treatment is balloon sinuplasty, which is a good option for patients who don't need anything removed from the sinuses. The doctor puts a thin tube into the nose with a small balloon attached to one end. The doctor then guides the balloon to the blocked area inside the nose and inflates it. The balloon helps clear the passageway so the sinuses can drain properly, alleviating congestion.

To learn more about sinusitis and balloon sinuplasty, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.