Grand Canyon Times

• People who suffer from chronic sinusitis are at risk of developing erectile dysfunction.
• Medications such as Sudafed and other decongestants can also cause erectile dysfunction.
• New treatment options, such as balloon sinuplasty, are available for patients with chronic sinusitis.

Dr. Brian Lee of Scottsdale Sinus and Allergy Center said that with new, less-invasive procedures to treat sinusitis, men who suffer from sinusitis and its negative effects can have a quicker and easier recovery.

"With traditional sinus surgery, that usually requires a trip to the hospital and full general anesthetic, usually less than one to two hours," Lee told the Grand Canyon Times. "And essentially what they're doing is they're removing tissue and bone, they're scraping the sinuses, usually having to partially or fully pack the nose afterwards. That recovery can be very rough, especially in the first one to two weeks and even lasting to the tail end of it -- four, six, eight weeks. It's a very involved and lengthy recovery process." 

The National Institutes of Health defines erectile dysfunction as "the inability to attain and maintain an erection of sufficient quality to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse.” The National Center for Biotechnology Information reports that the condition affects approximately 5% of men in the U.S.

A study of data from more than 1 million men from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) found that chronic sinusitis is associated with increased risk of erectile dysfunction. 

Yahoo Sports published a report from Kaohsiung University in Taiwan, saying men who suffer from chronic sinusitis are as much as 50% more likely to be impotent than men who don't. The study found that when sinusitis inflames the lining of the sinus cavity, it causes the blood vessels in the genitals to restrict blood flow.

In addition to the problems caused by sinusitis, a report by Men's Journal reported that using medication such as Sudafed or other decongestants for sinus symptoms can cause erectile dysfunction.

Lee, however, stressed that there are other treatment options. According to the NHIRD report, treating sinusitis surgically has significantly decreased erectile dysfunction in patients.

Two such options are endoscopy and balloon sinuplasty. According to WebMD, endoscopy is a common practice in which a doctor inserts thin, flexible instruments called endoscopes into the nose, which send images to a screen, allowing the doctor to see where the sinuses are blocked and guide medical instruments to remove polyps, scar tissue and other blockages.  

Endoscopy is often done with a local anesthetic, meaning the area is numbed but the patient stays awake during the procedure. There are no incisions into the skin, so recovery is relatively quick.

Another treatment option is balloon sinuplasty, which is a good choice for those who don't need anything removed from their sinuses. During balloon sinuplasty, the physician puts a thin tube with a small balloon attached into the nose. The doctor then guides the balloon to the blocked area and inflates it. The balloon helps clear the sinus passages, alleviating congestion and allowing the patient to breathe more clearly.

"With the balloon sinuplasty, it's minimally invasive, we're not cutting, we're not removing tissue or bone," Lee said. We’re really using the balloon technology to expand the drainage pathways, getting the same results without having to cut, remove or scrape anything. That translates into a much better recovery, meaning that usually within a day or two, most patients are back to their normal level of activity."

If you're interested in learning more about diagnosis or treatment of chronic sinusitis, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.