Sensitivities and allergies to any substance can affect your sinuses, resulting in nasal congestion, headaches and a runny nose. Gluten is known for its relationship to celiac disease, but if you’ve been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, you have an allergy to the protein. This protein is primarily found in rye, oats, barley and wheat. Gluten sensitivity causes chemical releases throughout the body, resulting in inflammation.
Gluten Sensitivity
Your immune system identifies every substance that enters your body as safe or harmful. Gluten is safe for human consumption, but if you’re allergic to the protein, the immune system cells in your blood mistake gluten for a harmful substance. This hypersensitivity to gluten causes your system to create immunoglobulin E antibodies that attack the protein and attempt to rid it from your body. IgE antibodies trigger mast cells in soft tissues to create histamine, a chemical that protects soft tissues from infection. The presence of histamine in soft tissue causes inflammation and irritation, which results in most gluten allergy symptoms.
Sinus Effects
As histamine is created in the sinus cavity, blood vessels dilate, which allow more blood flow to the nasal tissues. The increased blood flow to the sinuses causes inflammation and swelling. Swelling in your sinus cavity blocks your nostrils and prevents you from breathing and draining mucus properly through your nose. A blockage in the sinus cavity causes mucus to back up through the cavity, resulting in a constant dipping in the back of your throat. This action is called post-nasal drip and can cause coughing, a sore throat, bad breath and the feeling of a lump in your throat. Excessive mucus that gathers in your stomach can cause nausea.
Sinus Pressure
The swelling that forms throughout the sinus cavities causes sinus pressure. The extra pressure causes pain throughout the head and face and can make your face sensitive to touch. A sinus headache is a throbbing, dull pain in the center of your head. It is typically worse when you wake up and improves throughout the day. Sinus headaches are treated by alleviating the extra pressure placed on the face by taking over-the-counter decongestants, breathing in moist air, using saline sprays and alternating cold and hot compresses over your eyes and forehead.
Considerations
If you're diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, it's best to remove foods with gluten from your diet. If you develop thick, yellow mucus and a fever with body chills, call your doctor. These are signs of a sinus infection that may require prescription antibiotics to kill the infection.
