If you develop chronic sinusitis after an acute sinus infection, you may continue to get symptoms even though the infection has gone. (This is why treating chronic sinusitis with antibiotics does not often work.) After being initially triggered by an infection, the persisting symptoms may be due to a combination of factors.
The most prominent symptom is usually a blocked nose (nasal obstruction). One or more of the following may also occur:
A runny nose. The discharge may be green/yellow.
A reduced sense of smell.
Pain over the affected sinus. However, pain is often not a main feature of chronic sinusitis (unlike acute sinusitis). In many cases, it is more of a feeling of facial fullness or mild discomfort rather than pain.