Rob,

   Have you considered allergic fungal sinusitis?  The most current
Mayo theory is that it is not an actual allergy to mold, but an
abnormal immune response (probably genetic) to the mold.  They call it
eosinophilic fungal sinusitis.  They were saying at one time that most
if not all chronic sinusitis is caused by this, but I think they are
backing away from that now.
But it sounds like your case very well could be that.  I have recently
been diagnosed with this after years of antibitoics not working very
well by themselves.  I also had a lot of the dandruff like problems and
itfchy skin and started getting vaginal yeast infections when I was 12
and had never taken an antibiotic then.   From what I have read it is
an abnormal T-cell response to fungi in general although I don't think
it shows up on a standard immunology test.
   There are different schools of thoughts on the treatment.  The
current theory is that using an antifungal sinus rinse such as
amphotericn B or itraconazole (sporanox) helps significantly.  But they
are also working on a study using oral sporanox (systemic).  You might
want to do some more research on this and try to find a doctor who
treats it.  There are others besides those at Mayo.  For me the rinses
didn't help at all;  just seemed to cause more irritation.  I think the
systemic ones (I'm on Vfend now) are working much better.  Sometimes
you have to take a combination of antibiotics and antifungals to combat
the problem.  You don't want to get so bad you have to take oral
steroids.  That's where I am now.
     And yes,  ear problems can be caused by sinusitis.  During my
last surgery the doctor saw the fluid running into my eustachian tubes.
      Where do you live?

Kathyw

Yes, they can.

But there's also a rare condition called Wegener's granulomatosis, whose
primary symptoms include both sinusitis and skin lesions.  You may want
to be tested for that condition.

As another poster has stated, this sounds like seborrheic dermatitis. The
primary cause of this condition, frequently associated with dandruff, is a
hypersensitivity reaction (allergy) to a fungus called Pitysporum. The
best treatment for this is 2-fold: an antifungal ketoconazole shampoo
(Nizoral), a ketoconazole (or other antifungal) cream for the eyebrows and
affected skin, and a mid potency steroid cream to reduce the flaking and
inflammation while the antifungals are doing their job. All of these are
prescription items, and are best obtained by seeing a dermatologist.

Since a lot of sinus inflammation seems to have an allergic component, I
suppose it's possible that these conditions are related. In my case, I get
sinus headaches from a deviated septum and pooling of thick mucus when I
sleep. I can pretty much anticipate a sinus headache later in the day when
I wake up with a stuffy nose and hives (urticaria) on my forehead, temple,
or eyebrow on the affected side.

Thanks you so much to all that have replyed.

Sorry that I havn't replyed before. It's been hard work getting
through the last few weeks.

I've been trying different things from the doctors for seborrheic
dermatitis. Had a steroid liquid for the scalp which worked well
initially but end up hell as the seborrheic dermatitis returned about
10 times worse, wanted to rip my scalp off. Using an antifungal
ketoconazole shampoo. The doctors prescribed emollient cream for the
face, which I seem to be allergic to, had someone today ask if I had
sunburn, going to see if I can get some antifungal cream from the
chemist, we have hydrocortizone cream in the house, going to see if
that helps as well. But we'll try it in stages and see the doctor as
well.

See the ENT specialist next week.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update I've seen the ENT consultant.

It put me in a much better mood.

Sorry if the details are a bit sketchy. I get very nevous when seeing
medical professionals also I he was examining me at the sametime as
talking. My partner, she was there taking notes but I haven't spoken
to her since.

He confimed  the reason why my face looked like I had sunburn was
emollient cream. He said something about using that type of cream was
like lightly sandpapering your skin, and for me it felt like it!

Also confirmed that what was happening to my skin on the face, scalp
and ears was also happening to the inside of my nose and sinusis. I've
forgotton the technical term he used, it has been mentioned here as
well. Basically I show a allergic reaction but I'm not allergic to
anything, as far as we know. Have had the skin prick test done a few
times before.

My sinuses look good but I have to have a CT scan done to make sure of
the ones he cannot see.

The best bit is that surgery is unlikly - fantastic news, I was
dreading more surgury.

After the CT scan, providing it is clear, as far as I can remember,
there is two avenues of investigation. 1. Allergy specialist 2.
physio.

The physio I found very interesting - something to do with possible
tension or something not being right with the muscles. He press the
muscles at the back of my neck and the side I have sinus pain hurt
very much more than the other side. The odd thing is that I feel okay
when in bed and sleep very well, most of the time. He ask a lot of
questions about my teeth and jaw but they seem to be okay.

It will be interesting to see what happens?