Jonesboro Times

Singer Ariana Grande has had to cancel at least two shows to focus on her health after suffering from inflammation of the sinuses.

Grande has dealt with bouts of sinus infections in the past. In 2016, the "Thank U, Next" singer apologized, canceling her show at Portugal's music festival, Rock in Rio, due to a throat infection and sinus infection.

"I'm deeply saddened to tell my babes in Portugal that I have to cancel my performance at Rock in Rio," Grande wrote on Instagram in 2016. "I've literally been crying over this for an hour. I have a throat and sinus infection, and my doctors have advised me not to sing for a few days. I promise to make it up to you and give you the best show I'm capable of when I return. Again, I'm so sorry to the babes who were coming to see me. I love you with all my heart."

In 2019, Grande canceled a concert in Lexington, Kentucky, again due to a sinus infection. This time she was suffering sinus inflammation without congestion and sinus allergies. She admitted to sounding okay but having difficulty breathing. The singer had been on the road for nine long months already for her "Sweetener" world tour, according to the Huffington Post.

“Hi, my loves," Grande wrote on Instagram in 2019. "So I’m still very sick. I’ve been sick since the last London show. I don’t know how it’s possible, but my throat and head are still in so much pain. I sound okay, I’m just in a lot of pain and it’s difficult to breathe during the show. I am seeing my doctor and trying my (very) best to get better for tomorrow’s show. the last thing I would ever want to do is cancel a show at this point with so few left.”

Grande isn't alone, as it is estimated that nearly 37 million Americans suffer from at least one episode of acute sinusitis each year, according to the American Sinus Institute.

“Sinusitis can impact oral health, because if you're not breathing through your nose, but through your mouth, you're drying those membranes,” Dr John Ditto of Richmond Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told the Jonesboro Times.

One of the newer, more effective treatment options for chronic sinusitis is balloon sinuplasty. In this procedure, a tiny balloon is inserted into the sinus cavity and expanded, opening the nasal passages and allowing the patient to breathe better.