Panama City Reporter

• 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.

According to the National Institutes of Health, erectile dysfunction is described as a man’s inability to achieve and maintain an erection that can enable satisfactory sexual intercourse, affecting 5% of men in the U.S., according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

According to Yahoo Sports, citing a study from Kaohsiung University in Taiwan, men suffering from chronic sinusitis are 50% more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction compared to men who do not suffer from sinusitis. According to the Kaohsiung study, sinusitis causes blood flow in the male genitals to be reduced.

According to WebMD, patients diagnosed with chronic sinusitis have several options for treatment, including balloon sinuplasty and endoscopy. Endoscopy is a procedure in which a physician inserts a flexible endoscope to allow him to see inside the sinus cavity and find the blocked area.

Because there are no incisions, recovery time is reduced. The procedure is done with local anesthesia while the patient remains awake and blockages and polyps are removed with instruments.

During the balloon sinuplasty procedure, the physician inflates the balloon, which clears the obstruction, enabling the sinuses to drain properly, according to WebMD.

Blair noted in that he often tells patients undergoing balloon sinuplasty they may experience blood on the front of the nose for an hour or two, and stuffiness for a couple days to probably a week. He said they also could experience a headache for 12 hours or so.

“So usually, by the next day, people are feeling good enough to even go to work. Traditional sinus surgery is a little different,” Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Panama City Reporter. “With balloon sinuplasty, the recovery time is significantly shorter, hopefully the outcomes are permanent, your quality of life is much improved and your sino-nasal symptoms have been fixed or greatly minimized,” Blair explained.

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