The 2,000 Year Old Sinus Infection

I often advise my patients to see a qualified ENT if their sinus symptoms persist longer than a couple of weeks.

This guy really didn’t follow that advice.

Many news outlets are reporting on this story of a mummy – most likely a person of some distinction – who, it turns out, died of complications from a sinus infection some 2,100 years ago.

Forensic scientists looking at dental structures and surrounding bone have concluded that issues which most likely started with his teeth probably spread to his sinuses, creating a fatal infection. Here’s HuffPo:

Rather than age, he may have succumbed to a sinus infection caused by a mouthful of cavities and other tooth ailments, according to new research on the man’s odd dental filling.

Recently published CT scans of his mummified body allowed researchers to reconstruct details of his final days.

It’s not a classic horror story plot per se, but make no mistake: sinus infections can be scary problems indeed. This is especially noteworthy as we approach Halloween, a day when unthinkably sweet foodstuffs tend to attack all our teeth en masse.

So if you want to avoid many millennia of rotting teeth and sinusitis, I urge you to avail yourself of a different kind of sinus CT technology. Do what your mummy tells you, and protect your health.

Tags: halloween, los angeles ent, mummies, sinus infection, sinusitis