Is it possible to have a sinus infection but no colored mucous/equalizing issues?

[Ber Rabbit]

I'm going to see an ENT next week but I was curious. Is it possible to have a sinus infection with no obvious symptoms (icky mucous/inability to equalize pressure)? In April it felt like I had a bunch of drainage, there was always something running down my throat and I started a productive cough after a while. It still occasionally feels like I have slimy stuff sliding down my throat and I've had the cough for two months now. It also feels like there is a lump in my throat (like I swallowed something and it didn't go all the way down) and my chest is sore (like someone hit me--probably from the coughing). Finally went to the Doc a week ago and he ordered an upper GI, a chest x-ray and a thyroid ultrasound and all of them came back normal so he's sending me to an ENT now. A friend's mom died of cancer and she had a "lump in her throat" feeling that was initially dismissed. The way I understand it the upper GI ruled out acid reflux and they thyroid exam ruled out a goiter or something similar so I'm terrified about what the ENT may say (I'm really hoping for a sinus infection). Any words of wisdom are appreciated.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[highlandfarmwv]

Don't think I'm crazy, but it could be anxiety. REally. Causes the back of your throat to swell and feel like a lump. When I was young, I watched abullfight and had a"lump" in my throat for over a month. I also thought it was cancer--again, anxiety makes lum--makes anxiety--makes lump.....

 

[Dive-aholic]

I doubt it's a sinus infection. But it doesn't mean you're not having sinus issues. Right now my environmental allergies are pretty bad. I constantly have stuff sliding down my throat. This causes an occasional cough. Feels like there's a lump in my throat.

Do you have environmental/seasonal allergies? When the pollen count is high, it gets into your respiratory and sinus passages and causes your body to respond by creating mucus to clean out the passages. The mucus has to go somewhere, usually down the throat. This coats the cilia (little hair like things on the lining of your throat to act up causing you to cough. These are the little things that cause smokers to cough so much. Sometimes the mucus builds up in little "shelves" along the passageway creating that lumpy feeling.

In other words, stop worrying, it's probably nothing. And if it is something, you can't do anything about it until the doc tells you what it is...

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Thanks for the input. I don't have any allergies that I know of and these symptoms are all new to me (well, they started in April). I've been doing some thinking and I do have a new car (bought in November) and all this stuff started about the time I started using the air conditioner in it (April). A few minutes after I turned the air conditioner on the first time I started having trouble breathing--thought it was odd but really didn't think much of it. I ordered the car so it was freshly built (in Mexico) but maybe something is growing in the air conditioning system. I'll bring that up to the doc as well.

Went diving this weekend and did get a nasty frontal sinus squeeze/headache on the first dive, Sudafed and some Tylenol Sinus cleared it up. Coughing and lump feeling in throat were absent all weekend though.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[suthnbelle]

Ber, your sinus cavities could be inflammed or infected. I was suppose to dive this weekend but put it off because of all the pressure I'm feeling in my face. I'm going to the doc this afternoon because I think my allergy/sinus problems have turned into an infection. I've given it over two weeks and I'm still feeling crappy. Yuck. I'm not having any frontal sinus drainage but I've got pain in my sinus cavities between the eyes and in cheek area - headaches, etc... Unfortunately I seem to get this stuff alot so I'm used to it. Something you may want to try that works for me sometimes is the sinus rinse. It will clean out your sinuses and make you less stuffy.

Goggle Sinusitis and it will give you symptoms and suggest when to see the doctor. You can also have an infection and not run a fever or have drainage. Remember just from my experience. I hope you get to feeling better.

Mel

 

[Hank49]

I'm going to see an ENT next week but I was curious. Is it possible to have a sinus infection with no obvious symptoms (icky mucous:

Yes, it's possible. I had a bad sinus infection two years ago and for about three weeks had only clear mucous. Until one day...it all let loose. It wasn't pretty but it felt great and was gone after about two more days.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I always have trouble with my sinuses, I can pretty much tell you what the weather will be since I can feel fronts rolling through. I'm not stuffy at all although I've had several sinus headaches (not unusual given the weather this year), unfortunately with the weird weather and no colored mucous as a guide I'm lost. This whole throat lump thing is a new experience and although it's simply an annoyance (and source of worry) in real life, it makes me feel like I'm being strangled when I wear my drysuit.

Other's experience is what I'm looking for, I'm just about on the verge of panic here as I fear doctors more than death. I have a great family doc but I've never met this ENT so terror is setting in; my doc knows I'm a skittish patient so hopefully he's sending me to someone who he knows is nice and won't freak me out. My own mother said she would leave me laying in the street bleeding until I passed out before she would sign a form to allow someone I didn't know to treat me--unfortunately the doc office panic attacks can get that bad.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Hank49]

I'm just about on the verge of panic here as I fear doctors more than death. :

No worries Ber....nothing any doctor ever did to me hurt near as bad as the sinus squeeze I got trying to go down with that sinus infection. Fire coral hurts worse than any shot....I bang my head or shins on my boat and it hurts worse than most dentist appointments....you're tough,....you're a diver for goodness sake...

 

[mdjh51]

the sinuses drain into the nasal cavity. If you have inflammation that occludes the passageways, then you can have a sinus infection without drainage. Likewise, depending upon the particular cavity, the drainage may be to the back of the nasopharynx and down the throat, never to be seen.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Update:

Well, went to the ENT and the nurse said he was really nice which helped keep the anxiety level to a minor bout of tears between the time the nurse left and the time he came in. She was right and I was able to stay composed for the visit. His initial guess pending test results is acid reflux even though I have no heartburn and the UGI came back normal. He looked in my throat and said there is some swelling behind my vocal chords (could be the "lump" I'm feeling) and some irritation below them. I go for a laryngeal videostroboscopy on July 31 and they did a cat scan of my sinuses today to check for infection. They like to see the patients one week after the tests but my schedule and the doctors schedule are not compatible so I can't get in until Sept. 6 for the results. Evidently he's a firm believer in not calling with results; he prefers the personal touch of an office visit. Unfortunately that means if the cat scan I had today shows that I have a sinus infection I have to wait 7 weeks before getting the results and starting treatment. I have check-out dives July 29-30 which aren't a big deal but my dive trip Aug 29-Sept 1 to Tobermory is the one I'm concerned about because I can't mix Meclizine and Sudafed when I dive. It would just be nice to know "yes" or "no" on the sinus infection before I go. The girl doing the paperwork said he's a diver though so I'll call next week and see if he'll make an exception to the "no phone test results" rule.

Ber :lilbunny: