Antibiotics
for Sinus Infections - When NOT to Take Them
Advantages, Disadvantages
Antibiotics
can be great treatment for bacterial sinus infections,
but are of little effect against viruses,
which represents the majority of cases. The Center for Disease
Control & Prevention strongly suggests NOT taking antibiotics
for a viral sinus infection. Only a bacterial infection of
the sinus cavities should be treated with antibiotics.
However,
if the bacteria attracts and begins to grow fungus,
antibiotics could exacerbate the problem and cause more
health issues. Doctors should take swabs or do other tests
to get the correct indication.
Common
Antibiotic Prescriptions for Sinus Infections:
Amoxicillin, penicillin or azithromycin-type antibiotics.
Advantage:
The right antibiotic, taken as prescribed, can alleviate
the symptoms of a bacterial sinus infection to make us feel
better very quickly.
Disadvantages:
- Because antibiotics make us feel better so fast, a couple
of problems arise:
- People too often run to their doctors for a “quick-fix”
antibiotic.
- A differentiating diagnosis between virus, bacteria
and fungus is not made before the prescription is given.
- We stop taking the prescription before using it all,
which creates more problems, discussed below in this
presentation.
(Doctors should not feel pressured to give their patients
antibiotics just because they’re hurting, and should
do proper swab testing to see if the sinus infection is
bacterial or viral if there is doubt.)
- Although we feel better fast, the antibiotics are often
just a relief of the symptoms and may
not get to the root problem which started the infection;
it hasn’t really gone away, especially if it started
from a virus and not bacteria. Therefore, many people
experience a repeat infection within two to three months
and begin a tedious and harmful cycle of repeat-course
antibiotics. This can lead to, not prevent, chronic
sinusitis.
Sometimes, an antibiotic will simply dry up the sinus
mucus so it doesn’t have a chance to thin down and
run out (either through the nose or spit out from the
back of the throat).
Picture dried up, cracked desert clay or earth dirt. Should
a little water be added back into the equation, the clay
or dirt will get pasty and become muddy. It can stick
to shoes and make a cake-like coating on your clothes.
Until the mud is thinned out by enough water to make it
run off, it will stay there.
That’s what happens with sinus mucus. It must be
moistened enough to get thin and run out. More often than
not, antibiotics will simply dry it up and leave it where
it is or make the mucus even thicker. Then, when the situation
is right for it to get just a little moisture again or
the yeast is encouraged to flourish, the mucus gets muddy
again, new bacteria and fungus gets trapped, and the sinus
infection is re-activated.
IMPORTANT:
If an antibiotic is prescribed – The entire prescription
MUST be taken, even if one finds out mid-stream that their
sinus infection was not bacterial. And it must be taken in
its properly timed doses. It’s vital not to stop as
soon as feeling better. Taking the whole prescribed amount
as advised will likely reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance
to that antibiotic for future needs (see our Side
Effects of Antibiotics for Sinus Infections page.
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