Sinusitis differential diagnosis

Sinus headache vs migraine
Headache is rarely a symptom of sinusitis and a "sinus headache" is often a misdiagnosis of a migraine. Acute sinusitis can cause pressure within the sinus cavities of the head, but this typically has associated pain to palpation of the sinus area and purulent greenish discharge from the nose. The use of the term sinus headache therefore is often misleading and results in underdiagnosis of migraine. Recent studies indicate that up to 90% of "sinus headaches" are migraine This confusion occurs in part because migraine involves activation of the trigeminal nerves which innervate both the sinus region but also the meninges which surround the brain. As a result, direct determination of the site of pain origination can be confused on a cortical level. Additionally, nasal congestion is not an uncommon result of migraine headaches, further confusing the issue. A recent study further demonstrated that most patients with "sinus headache" respond to triptan migraine medications, and state dissatisfaction with their treatment when they are treated with decongestants or antibiotics. . The subtlety is that while most patient with sinusitis have some sort of facial pain, pressure, or headache, not all patients who attribute the symptom of headache to their sinuses may have legitimate diseases of the sinus. Acute and chronic sinusitis can cause pressure within the sinus cavities of the head, but this is associated with pain on palpation of the sinus area.