The difference between bloody nasal discharge and sinusitis and nasopharyngeal carcinoma

What is the difference between sinusitis and nasopharyngeal carcinoma? One is the anatomical location. Sinusitis is in the sinuses, while nasopharyngeal carcinoma is in the nasopharynx. Another is the clinical manifestations. Fifty-three percent of patients with chronic sinusitis have headaches. Among them, the headache of maxillary sinusitis is characterized by persistent dull pain, located on the temporal side, lighter in the upper and lower parts and heavier in the afternoon. The headache can be relieved during sleep due to natural drainage of the body position; the headache of frontal sinusitis is located in the patient's upper eye socket and forehead.

The headache is more severe at noon, less severe at 3-4 pm, and disappears naturally at night. In the anterior group of ethmoid sinusitis, the headache is in the forehead, between the eyebrows, or between the inner side of the eye socket and the root of the nose; in the posterior group of ethmoid sinusitis, the headache is mainly located on the top of the head and behind the eyeball. In sinusitis, there is tenderness and percussion pain in the sinus area, as well as headache, nasal congestion, and decreased sense of smell.

For nasopharyngeal cancer, headache is sometimes the main pain of the patient. One-fifth of the patients may experience it in the early stage. If the patient is older and has symptoms such as nasal congestion, epistaxis, hearing loss, tinnitus, and cervical lymph node enlargement, one should be alert to the possibility of nasopharyngeal cancer. The characteristics of the headache are: located on one side of the forehead, temporal, face, and occipital region. There are intermittent headaches in the early stage, which gradually worsen and become continuous. The nature of the headache varies, and it is sometimes very severe. It is more obvious at night, and painkillers are often ineffective. Some cases present with symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia. If the cancer metastasizes to the base of the skull, cranial nerve paralysis may occur.