President John F. Kennedy was one of many former presidents who was known to be a smoker. | Wikimedia Commons/Cecil Stoughton, 1920-2008, Photographer
President John F. Kennedy was one of many former presidents who was known to be a smoker. | Wikimedia Commons/Cecil Stoughton, 1920-2008, Photographer
If you suffer from sinus problems, you're in good company, historically speaking.
Presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt, both smokers, suffered from them as well.
JFK suffered from acute sinusitis and was treated successfully with antibiotics, according to information from his presidential library.
Roosevelt’s physician in the White House was Ross McIntire, an ear, nose and throat specialist, according to the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library. One of the president's major concerns was sinus problems. Almost nightly, FDR received treatment for his sinus conditions, which “plagued him greatly,” according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Roosevelt was a known heavy smoker, according to The New York Times.
"Smoking is one of the hardest things there is because it's very, very difficult," Mongiardo said. "It's a terrible addiction; it's very difficult to stop. Most patients of mine want to stop. And sometimes they just need a little bit of encouragement.”
Cigarette smoke may play a significant role in diseases of the upper airway, including chronic rhinosinusitis, the National Institutes of Health said.
One study concluded that balloon sinuplasty appears to be a safe and effective treatment for chronic sinusitis with positive long-term outcomes, according to the American Journal of Otolaryngology. Balloon sinuplasty is a minimally invasive, in-office procedure that carries a low risk and very short recovery times for most people.
If you're interested in evaluating your sinus symptoms and are considering seeing a doctor, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.
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