Sinus infections can be triggered by a variety of causes, and can be tricky to treat. First for Women published an article on sinus infections, citing a study in a 2022 issue of the International Forum of Allergey & Rhinology that found many people and physicians have different ideas of what it means to have a sinus infection, based on categories of symptoms.
Ahmad Sedaghat, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Rhinology, Allergy and Anterior Skull Base Surgery in the UC College of Medicine told First for Women that sinus infections are usually a complication of a viral upper respiratory infection. In other words, sinus infections are usually secondary infections.
Some sinus infections are the result of a viral infection while others are caused by a bacterial infection.