Antibiotics for Sinus Infections

Why taking antibiotics for sinus infections is probably pointless, and risky.

By: Celeste Perron

February 15, 2012

2 Comments

Source: Getty Images

Painful sinus infection? Don't beg your doctor for antibiotics.

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At least once a week during the winter months I hear somebody say that they're taking antibiotics for a sinus infection, or are going to ask their doctor to prescribe some. I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes at this cluelessness—shouldn't everybody know by now that antibiotics are bad for your belly (unless you truly need them) and that most sinus infections are viral, not bacterial?

More people will get this message now that a study in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association found definitively that antibiotics don't relieve the symptoms of acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (which is what people often have when they say they suffer from a "sinus infection").

In the study, subjects given the antibiotic amoxicillin did report improvements in their sinus symptoms, but no more so than a group that was given a placebo. Because sinus infections usually improve on their own, and because antibiotic resistance is a public health problem, the study authors write that this new research supports the policy of "watchful waiting," rather than treating sinus infections immediately with antibiotics.

More about antibiotics and belly health:

Antibiotics Might Make You Fat

Shocking Treatment for Bowel Disease

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Anonymous | Feb 20, 2012

While this indeed may be the case, doctors must be aware that certain cases must be given antibiotics. For 3 years I would come down with a cold, which the doctors would diagnose as sinusitus and tell me to take a wait and see attitude. After several weeks of having sinusitus, I would develop bronchitis. Then they would give me antibiotics. This went on every three months for about 3 years. Towards the end of that time I was in really rough shape from having bronchitis so many times. And angry because the times I had a doctor who would give me the antibiotics, I would get better right away. Then I switched to natural medicine and broke the cycle that was, I am sure, killing me.

Anonymous | Feb 18, 2012

Neti pots can really help alleviate symptoms, but I hadn't been sterilizing it between uses: http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/the-risks-and-benefits-of-neti-pot-nasa...