Health care information for sinusitis sufferers
Home
What is Sinusitis?
Sinusitis Quiz
Symptoms
Causes
Treatment Options
Find A Doctor
Patient Stories
Sinus Anatomy
FAQ
Glossary
Editorial Contributors
Tell Us Your Story
ObstructedNose.com


Important Safety
Information

 Medical Treatment

Surgical Treatment

10 Questions to Ask Your Doctor



Treatment Options

Medical Treatment Options

Antibiotics | Antihistamines | Decongestants | Leukotrinenes | Mucolytics
Nasal Saline Irrigation and Steam Inhalation | Reflux Medications | Steroids
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medication

Antibiotics
There are two groupings of antibiotics. Narrow-spectrum antibiotics are drugs that work against only a few types of bacteria. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are drugs that attack a wide range of bacteria. The broad-spectrum antibiotics are generally more effective, but are more likely to promote antibiotic resistance. For that reason, your otolaryngologist will most likely prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics, which often cost less. He/she may recommend broad-spectrum antibiotics for infections that do not respond to treatment with narrow-spectrum drugs.

To prescribe the best antibiotic to treat your infection, an otolaryngologist must first identify the exact bacteria growing in your sinuses. To do this, he or she may remove a swab of nasal discharge and grow it into a bacterial culture in a laboratory.

NOTE:
It is important that you follow your doctor's instructions when using antibiotics, even if you feel better before your treatment is completed.

To find out more about specific types of antibiotics, follow these links:

Antibiotics May or May Not be Effective Treatment for Sinus Symptoms
The symptoms of bacterial sinusitis and a cold can be identical. But what is an effective treatment for one isn't effective for the other. Antibiotics (anti-bacterial agents) are intended to kill bacteria. If sinus symptoms are caused by bacterial infection, then antibiotics can help. If symptoms are caused by a cold, antibiotics are useless, because a cold is viral.

The widespread use of antibiotics when they are not necessary has contributed to an increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant strains of many dangerous bacteria. Therefore, it is important that you and your doctor do not attempt to treat a viral cold with an antibiotic.

Because of the resistance that many bacteria have developed to commonly prescribed antibiotics, some ENT physicians recommend taking a culture endoscopically. In two or three days, the microbiology laboratory can identify the type of bacteria growing in the culture so that the physician can prescribe an effective antibiotic. About half of all bacterial sinus infections will resolve without antibiotics.

Because the symptoms of bacterial sinusitis and a cold can be identical, it is common to assume that a sinus infection lasting less than 5 to 7 days is a viral infection, and therefore does not require an antibiotic. If sinus symptoms do not improve after 5 to 7 days, it becomes more likely that the infection is caused by bacteria and will respond to an antibiotic.

Generally speaking, you should be able to detect an improvement in your symptoms within one or two days of starting an effective antibiotic. If, on the other hand, you only start to feel well toward the tenth day of the antibiotic, the antibiotic is probably not contributing to improvement and the infection would have resolved on its own.

Email This Article To A Friend
Printer-friendly Version

Find an ENT Professional Near You


THIS SITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR 911 IMMEDIATELY.

All articles and graphics copyright ©2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Medtronic, Inc. All rights reserved.
Please review our Privacy Policy, Sponsor Information, Terms Of Use or Contact Us for more information.

Version 2.0 This web page was first published on May 07, 2002, and was last updated on June 14, 2006.
iTonsil.com | LandmarX.com | Meniett.com | MedtronicENT.com | MicroFrance.com