If you have been suffering from sinus problems, at least you’re in good — and talented — company.
Each year, nearly 37 million Americans suffer from at least one episode of sinusitis or sinus allergies each year, according to the American Sinus Institute.
Pop star Ariana Grande is one of them. She apologized to fans after canceling a performance at a music festival in Portugal in 2016 due to a throat infection and sinus infection that was preventing her from singing, Yahoo! News reported.
“I’m deeply saddened to tell my babes in Portugal that I have to cancel my performance at Rock in Rio,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’ve literally been crying over this for an hour. I have a throat and sinus infection, and my doctors have advised me not to sing for a few days. I promise to make it up to you and give you the best show I’m capable of when I return. Again, I’m so sorry to the babes who were coming to see me. I love you with all my heart.”
In 2019 Grande canceled a concert in Lexington, Kentucky, again due to a sinus infection, according to the Huffington Post. She admitted to sounding okay but was having difficulty breathing. The singer had been on the road for nine long months already for her “Sweetener” world tour when the sinus inflammation struck again.
“Hi, my loves,” she wrote on Instagram in 2019. “So I’m still very sick. I’ve been sick since the last London show. I don’t know how it’s possible, but my throat and head are still in so much pain. I sound okay. I’m just in a lot of pain, and it’s difficult to breathe during the show. I am seeing my doctor and trying my (very) best to get better for tomorrow’s show. The last thing I would ever want to do is cancel a show at this point with so few left.”
One of newer and most effective treatment options for chronic sinusitis is balloon sinuplasty. In this procedure, a tiny balloon is inserted into the sinus cavity and expands the opening of the nasal passages, allowing the patient to breathe better.
“Chronic sinusitis can have many significant consequences to one’s health,” said Dr. John Stewart of Arizona Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told the Huntsville Leader. “If left untreated, it can affect not only one’s nasal passageways and respiratory system, but your cardiovascular health as well.”
If you’re interested in evaluating your sinus or allergy symptoms and are considering seeing a doctor, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.
