Gateway Reporter

Inflammation of the sinus can affect anyone, and that includes athletes.

British skeleton racer Lizzy Yarnold struggled with sinus pain during the 2018 Olympics before using a steam bowl to clear things up and walk away with her second gold medal.

According to The Sun, Yarnold was struggling to breathe the cold air of PyeongChang, South Korea, and it was making sledding difficult. She told reporters at the Olympics that she was having sinus problems and also had a chest infection that affected her inner ear and throat. Yarnold bounced back and became the first double gold medalist in the history of the sport.

Dr. Manish Khanna of Capitol Breathe Free explained that sinus issues can often be the result of a blockage in the eustachian tube — a structure that connects the middle ear to the back of the nasal passage. It has several functions including draining the middle ear if there is fluid or mucus secretions, as well as equalizing pressure.

“A proper functioning eustachian tube can help prevent that build up and allow things to drain properly,” Khanna said. “And it also protects our ear, in a sense, from our nasal secretions from all the things that we breathe in through our nose so when the eustachian tube is partially closed, the eustachian tube can help prevent bacteria thick secretions from getting into the middle ear. It's got multiple functions.”

According to healthline.com, eustachian tubes are normally closed except for when you swallow, chew or yawn.

Types of inflammation of the sinuses include acute sinusitis, which is most often caused by the common cold, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can be resolved within a week to 10 days unless an infection occurs. This often can be treated through home remedies, but chronic sinusitis can last more than 12 weeks and require medical treatment like a balloon sinuplasty. That is a fairly non-invasive procedure where a balloon is inflated inside each sinus, allowing it to drain.

To check if your symptoms match match inflammation of the sinuses, take this quiz from the Capitol Breathe Free webpage.