When we get an upper respiratory infection, our nose and sinuses become swollen which makes us feel congested and heavy headed. For some patients this can last for weeks or months, and becomes chronic sinusitis. We will get nasal sprays, antibiotics, steroids, saline rinses and other medicines, but often the swelling will not go down. We now know the swelling persists because the inflammation in the nose and sinuses will not resolve. But we don't know WHY.

Our project will explore one of the potential causes of this swelling, a breakdown in the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system exists to help remove inflammation and swelling from our body's tissue. We hypothesize that when it stops working, the nose and sinuses can't reverse the swelling.