Rheumatoid arthritis and sinus

Gosh i never considered that my RA inflammation might impact my sinuses

I didnt either but the sinuses have gone into overdrive.

Yes, it can 100% affect your sinuses. I’ve been dealing with it for 10 years now. I’ve had 3 surgeries & endless antibiotics and it just continues to get worst. I have lost all sense of smell & taste. It’s worst than the RA itself

How does it affect them?? I get issues like an allergy but doc says he doubts that is the cause ( flowers etc ) as its only started in the last couple of years. ( its been 4 years or so since I was diagnosed with RA

I didn't realize the RA and sinus problems could be connected. I have had sinus trouble all my life. One or two years ago I had an upper respiratory infection that lasted at least a month, but it finally cleared up. I even saw an ENT whose diagnosis was 'you have diminished hearing. Do you want to talk to someone about hearing aids'. I did not. Since Thanksgiving 2025 I have had 2 different episodes of sinus infection which led to tonsil and ear problems and a whole lot of serious coughing. I simply referred to it as 'upper respiratory' issue. I went through 2 different dealings with 3 antibiotics each time. I thought it had basically cleared up in April. Here it is June, and I am back at the doctor's because I thought the 2 'upper respiratory' infections had caused permanent damage to my hearing. I saw a wonderful NP who seemed to know more than the doctors. She put me on another prescription of Prednisone. She thinks that this prescription will clear up my ears. She did not think that I would need to see an ENT.
Hope it does work.

Checking out the Sjogrens foundation Patient education has helped me.
I have had RA for a long time and not been diagnosed with Sjogrens, but the sinus trouble would be so debilitating, with headaches, blurred vision, sinus pain and such, that I found this sight helpful in managing my problem. Some other helps have been, AYR nasal gel, Arm&Hammer Simply Saline nasal spray-so I can wash out my sinuses if I breathed something causing swelling, Neosporin on a Q-tip if I have pain that will turn into a headache-I think from dryness both the air and me, and being immunosuppressed, using a humidifier.
I’ve been to 2 ENT Dr’s over the years, but because it’s autoimmune related, they were not able to help me. My helps have been trial and error, research and ENT permission to use the Neosporin in my nose as needed.

@cmspringer
After reading all the comments, I spoke with my RA doctor at Mayo Clinc. He said that he thought that the sinus problem came because of the medication that those with RA take. I said I would be curious to see a study done using people with RA and not on medication. All the medication we take suppress the immune system and therefore opens us up to more infections.

My ENT has me using a compounded antibiotic nasal wash. I keep it in the fridge and at the first sign of an issue, it's added to warm saline solution in a pump bottle and I use it twice a day. I've had sinus infections all my life and two surgeries. RA with PsA overlap. On Xeljanz and Leflunomide and I catch every bug that comes out of my grandkids noses!

Both my ENT and rheumatologist say these constant infections stem from the medication which further suppress my faulty immune system. Plus I'm on daily steroids for Adrenal Insufficiency

my doc says use a saltwater spray then 15 minutes later use beconase spray