Stop Snoring, Start Living: Your 2026 Guide to Sleep Apnea Solutions
Got a snoring problem? There’s a good chance you have a common but frequently undiagnosed condition called sleep apnea. Make 2026 the year you finally sleep better.
Tired of Constant Winter Colds? An ENT Can Help
Winter colds can feel like a fact of life, especially when you work with the public or have kids in daycare or school. However, if the end of every “common cold” signals the beginning of a new one, it’s time to seek help.
At SLENT, with locations in Mandeville, Slidell, and Hammond, Louisiana, our otolaryngology specialists can help with diagnosing and treating underlying causes of what appear to be frequent colds. You could have sinusitis, which is treatable and not really a cold at all. Here’s what you need to know.
Common cold basics
When you catch a cold, you’re actually picking up one of over 200 different viruses, commonly known as rhinoviruses. Symptoms of the common cold include:
- A “tickly” or sore throat
- Nasal congestion
- Runny nose
- Headache
- Sinus pressure
- Body aches
- Fatigue
- Fever (most common in children)
- A nagging cough
Most people recover from a common cold in about 10 days. If your symptoms last longer or recur again and again, you may need to see an ENT.
Why an ENT is the best choice
An ENT is an ear, nose, and throat specialist. All of these systems are connected, and a problem with one can lead to a problem with the others — for example, children with a sore throat and congestion may also develop ear pressure or pain.
An ENT can diagnose if you’re just unlucky when it comes to catching every rhinovirus that comes down the pike, or if your issue is more problematic. ENTs are the best practitioners to accurately identify and treat sinusitis.
Sinusitis symptoms
Symptoms of sinusitis look a lot like those of a cold, with a few differences. You’re likely to have a stuffy or runny nose, headache, fatigue, and possibly a fever. However, your symptoms can last well beyond 10 days, wane and come back again, and include additional issues like facial pain and pressure and green mucus blown out of your nose or coughed up in your sputum.
If you have sinusitis, the odds are better that you actually have a bacterial infection instead of a viral one. Antibiotics aren’t used for colds, as they don’t work on rhinoviruses. But if you have bacterial sinusitis, antibiotics are more likely to make you feel better.
Sinusitis that lasts more than 12 weeks is considered chronic. Chronic sinusitis can lead to ongoing inflammation of your sinuses and blocked sinus cavities. At SLENT, we perform a balloon sinuplasty to open up your sinuses and give you relief from congestion and facial pain for up to a year.
Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? Learn more about sinusitis and treatment for a better winter. Schedule a consultation with the team at SLENT by calling the location closest to you, or visit our contact page for more options.
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