Mucus, a gelatinous fluid secreted by the membranes around important organs acts as a very good frontline defense for bacteria.
In case of the nasal cavities, mucus prevents irritants in the air, pollutants and dangerous microbes like bacteria and fungi from entering into the system and going to the lungs where they could be devastating.
Mucus and the cilia which are nothing more than projections in the nasal lining that constantly move pushing out the mucus, protect the body from entry of microbial organisms that can prove harmful.
Sinusitis mucus often leads to situations where either the mucus discharge is too thick making it difficult to flow, or the cilia become immobile thus not helping push the mucus discharge towards the throat.
The buildup of this mucus is what causes most of the symptoms of sinusitis and further aggravates the condition.
Mucus can be secreted in many different colors depending on the cause and the situation.
Clear mucus is part of a post nasal drip and causes a running nose by constantly dripping out from the back of the nose.
Green mucus is relatively more dangerous as it signifies sinusitis in most of the cases.
It is also relatively thicker leading to congestion, breathing difficulties and gradual ineffectiveness of cilia.
Green mucus is most often due to a viral infection and the one way to treat this situation is by using homeopathy, ayurvedic and herbal remedies that enhance the immunity of the body thus affecting the root cause of the mucus.
Yellow colored mucus signifies the internal struggle of the immunity system against the bacterial infection.
Mucus usually turns yellow from green indicating that the stagnated thick mucus has been infected with bacteria.
This is a cause of concern as it affects the body in various ways like loss of smell, swelling of the linings and headaches, increased pressure on the nasal cavities and eventual chances of eyeball and brain cavities to be infected.
Brown colored mucus is potentially the sign of sinusitis in heavy smokers.
The tobacco smoke hurts the internal mucus linings and in some cases erodes it thus reducing the functionality.
It is characterized by a nasal discharge that produces a burning sensation, and constant throbbing pain in the delicate bones of the nasal cavity.
Brown mucus discharge could also be due to bleeding.
Blood streaked mucus is generally because of rupture of blood vessels in the nasal passage due to extreme dryness or the excess pressure caused by frequent blowing of nose.
Consuming alcohol, chocolates and garlic also cause a brownish mucus discharge that may or may not have blood in it.
White mucus is often seen when excess mucus discharge causes vomiting.
White mucus is also formed due to dairy products especially milk.
High pressure in the nose along with sharp pain in the sinus cavities are the other symptoms.
Whatever is the mucus color, excess dripping or inability of the nose to make the mucus flow indicate abnormal conditions where the body is affected by sinusitis.
The defense of the body against infection in such cases is weakened further paving way for bacteria and fungi to attack.
Hence one should treat sinusitis as soon as possible and avoid stagnation of mucus.
Warm tea aroma or steam vapors are effective in improving the fluidity of the mucus and preventing it from settling down in the nose.