Drinking from the same glass or eating with the same utensils as someone with a cold, kissing someone with a cold, and handling money or doorknobs that have been infected are all excellent ways to catch cold. Colds are not transmitted from exposure to extreme temperatures, being physically in a run down condition, or going to bed with a wet head. The above conditions can, however, make you more susceptible if you have come in contact with the virus from a sick person. Every day, we breathe in hundreds of irritants floating through the air that can congest our sinuses. When the sinuses become congested they cannot drain the naturally produced mucus.
Fluid tends to accumulate causing increasing sinus and facial pain and pressure.
Irritants include pollen, cigarette smoke, dust, cold bacteria, exhaust fumes from motor vehicles, lawn and garden equipment, hay, milk and dairy products, to just name a few. Sinusitis is an inflammatory process of the mucus membranes that accompanies an upper respiratory infection. Other forms of sinusitis are caused by small growths in the nose, injury of the nasal bones and environmental, seasonal, or food allergies. Symptoms may include headache, malaise, sore throat, ear ache, facial pain, loss of smell, bad breath, tenderness in the forehead, cheeks and possibly the teeth - especially with touching or tapping these areas, cough, and post nasal drip. In some severe cases, sinusitis can cause facial swelling and a yellow or green thick discharge from the nose.