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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / July 2005When should antibiotics be used?
I have had a sinus irritation for roughly 14 days. I went to the doctor and she said I has sinusitis. At the time I was blowing out greenish mucus, but not I am not, although I still have head pressure. Should I take the antibiotics? I have not used antibiotics for 15 years so I don't want to take any chances with the medication making me sick. Steve If you have discolored flem, you have an infection, so I would take them and use saline nasal rinses also 2x a day. This is what my MD prescribes for me and it works. Use all the Med even if you feel better otherwise it will come back. shirley What kind of antibiotic were you prescribed? Just my opinion, but if the mucus has cleared up and the pressure is clearing up, I would wait a few more days and see if it clears on its own. Since you haven't been on antibitoics in years, then you seem pretty healthy, and maybe your immune system will take care of it As Shirley said, if you are not using saline rinses, then try that first. If it doesn't clear up then, I would take the antibiotic and will repeat to take it all even if you feel better on it. If not, then ask for a refill or better yet another antibiotic so that you don't develop resistance. I was told by a doctor at Mayo, that you should feel good for 5 days before you stop the antibiotic. Many of us here are in the predicament we're in because we never got infections cleared up in the beginning. You need to knock it out completely or you may be on antibiotics forever. Then you can develop resistant "bugs" that are very hard to get rid of. Kathyw On 7/27/05 3:42 AM, in article 1122460950.304590.213240@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com, > What kind of antibiotic were you prescribed? Just my opinion, but if > the mucus has cleared up and the pressure is clearing up, I would wait [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Kathyw Antibiotics are wonderful but one reason the infection returns is failure to restore cilia movement. Hot tea, pulsatile irrigation, adequate fluids, rest, avoid chilling, etc are esp important after the antibiotic. This is the number one problem that comes to my office and could have been avoided by HOT TEA. Hi, It's called Zithromax. I am also a little apprehensive because the doctor did not look in my nose at all. She seemed to make the diagnoses from what I said about the green mucus. Does green mucus always mean Sinus infection? Steve > What kind of antibiotic were you prescribed? Just my opinion, but if > the mucus has cleared up and the pressure is clearing up, I would wait [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Kathyw You can have side effects from the antibiotics, but they are not common, especially if you only take them occasionally. I've had some doctors tell me that zithromax isn't that good for sinusitis. But then others say it helps. If you take it and it doesn't work, you might ask for something like Augmentin or the new macrolide, Ketek, which is related to Zithromax, but is supposed to be better for sinusitis, according to my doctor. My only point was that if it clears up on its own, you might not need it, but if it doesn't and you have any symptoms left at all, even if you aren't blowing out the colored mucus, then you do need to be aggressive with treatment because not taking the antibiotic long enough presents its own set of problems. Also, Bactrim is an old sulfa drug that many bacteria became resistant to, but since it isn't used as much now, many are suseptible to it. Kathyw On 7/27/05 8:59 PM, in article 1122523164.680284.3050@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com, "kathywb2001@yahoo.com" > Bactrim > is an old sulfa drug that many bacteria became resistant to, but since > it isn't used as much now, many are suseptible to it. > Kathyw Actually its the drug of choice for resistant staph. > I have had a sinus irritation for roughly 14 days. I went to the doctor and > she said I has sinusitis. At the time I was blowing out greenish mucus, but > not I am not, although I still have head pressure. > > Should I take the antibiotics? I have not used antibiotics for 15 years so > I don't want to take any chances with the medication making me sick. If left untreated, acute sinus infection can progress and turn into chronic sinusitis. And then it could take months to cure it--or in a few cases, it will be incurable. It's your life, and it's your choice.  SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. Yes that's true but I can also see it from the side that taking the meds might not cure me and leave me with other problems. >> I have had a sinus irritation for roughly 14 days. I went to the doctor >> and she said I has sinusitis. At the time I was blowing out greenish [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > It's your life, and it's your choice. > Yes that's true but I can also see it from the side that taking the meds > might not cure me and leave me with other problems. I've had both chronic sinusitis and allergies to certain antibiotics. Chronic sinusitis is definitely worse. Because I've had it now since 1993, and I may end up with it for the rest of my life. If I had my life to live over again, I would have treated my acute infections much more aggressively so they didn't become permanent. SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. What is it like, the chronic sinusitis? Does it go away and come back or is it constant? >> Yes that's true but I can also see it from the side that taking the meds >> might not cure me and leave me with other problems. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > If I had my life to live over again, I would have treated my acute > infections much more aggressively so they didn't become permanent. > What is it like, the chronic sinusitis? Does it go away and come back or is > it constant? It depends on the patient. Some patients just have frequent recurring bouts of acute infections. I have the worst type: a constant low-level infection. I have a constant low-level post nasal drip of little bits of thick yellow mucus that I cough up every morning. I've been doing that now since 1993. SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. Steven, What other symptoms do you have? Do you have fatigue, pain, pressure, etc. Kathyw > Steven, > > What other symptoms do you have? Do you have fatigue, pain, pressure, > etc. Just a sore throat and feelings of congestion in my trachea, all caused by that continuing post nasal drip. Except when I catch a common cold, it immediately turns into a veritable flood of thick brownish phlegm that pours down the back of my throat and blows out my nose. SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. Antibiotics are believed by many to CAUSE sinusitis and respiratory problems. http://www.medicineatmichigan.org/magazine/2004/fall/huron/huron01.asp If I had my life to live over again I would not take an antibiotic ever for sinusitis or anything for that matter other than maybe a proven and life threatening bacterial infection like gangrene or syphilis, and then I would take antifungals with the antibiotic. Risk of getting fungal infection from an antibiotic is very real and can be incurable. One of the problems may be that current treatment guidelines may call for the trial of antibiotics prior to surgery, even in very severe advanced cases of sinusitis. These may have little chance of clearing the sinusitis on there own, but the patients and the insurance comapnies insist on extended attempts to cure the sinusitis with antibiotics. Maybe this works sometimes even in advanced cases, I do not know.... On 7/28/05 9:37 AM, in article f52ie19sm5k5bcqrccp5aaame05plsnang@4ax.com, > One of the problems may be that current treatment guidelines may call for the > trial of antibiotics prior to surgery, even in very severe advanced cases of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Maybe this works sometimes even in advanced cases, I do not know.... If YOU are the patient, would you want a trial of medication so that maybe that would clear the infection and you could avoid a surgery? If you are the patient would you want a pre surgery course of antibiotics so that your post op course would be less severe, less painful, less complications? >If YOU are the patient, would you want a trial of medication so that maybe >that would clear the infection and you could avoid a surgery? Yes if the opinion was that there was a reasonable chance that it would work. >If you are the patient would you want a pre surgery course of antibiotics so >that your post op course would be less severe, less painful, less >complications? Sounds reasonable although I do not recall having that prior to my own surgery and had no pain or complications. I would agree that even surgery, if performed by a properly trained surgeon, has a superior risk/benefit profile than a long term course of antibiotics. Surgery is not a cure however, it just makes the disease easier to live with (assuming its done correctly). >I would agree that even surgery, if performed by a properly trained >surgeon, has a superior risk/benefit profile than a long term course of >antibiotics. > >Surgery is not a cure however, it just makes the disease easier to live >with (assuming its done correctly). Surgery is jsut a procedure but the disease may remit (for practical purposes anyway) given the better ventilation after surgery. On 7/27/05 10:12 PM, in article 1122527527.144972.72320@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "Woody Long" <woodylong30@hotmail.com> wrote: > Risk of getting > fungal infection from an antibiotic is very real and can be incurable. No, not so. I previously posted that the term fungal infection is used very loosely to apply to various kinds of fungal infections. The severe ones that fill the sinus cavity and are potentially lethal are not from taking antibiotics. The oral and vaginal fungal infections from taking antibiotics easily respond to threatment. > On 7/27/05 10:12 PM, in article > 1122527527.144972.72320@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "Woody Long" [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > apply to various kinds of fungal infections. The severe ones that fill the > sinus cavity and are potentially lethal are not from taking antibiotics. One of many references that state the opposite: Transplantation of organs and tissues, wide application of parenteral feeding and parenteral administration of drugs, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and LONG-TERM PERORAL ADMINISTRATION OF ANTIBIOTICS ARE THE MAIN REASONS FOR APPEARANCE OF MANY IMMUNOLOGIC DYSFUNCTIONS AND THEREBY SYSTEMIC FUNGAL INFECTIONS http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstra ct&list_uids=12967510&query_hl=21 > The oral and vaginal fungal infections from taking antibiotics easily > respond to threatment. Don't be fooled by the magazine ads. If in the U.S. there are 3,000,000 recurrent and 375,000 women have chronic vaginal candidiasis. Try telling a roomful of these women they have an infections that "easily respond to treatment" and you are likely to get rotten fruit thrown at you. In 1930's chronic vaginal candidiasis was a rare condition. Adv Nurse Pract. 2005 May;13(5):24-9; quiz 30. Related Articles, Links Recurrent vulvovaginitis candidiasis; an overview of traditional and alternative therapies. Wilson C. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, USA. Vulvovaginitis is a common inflammatory condition that can significantly disrupt a woman's life. The term vulvovaginitis actually encompasses a variety of inflammatory lower gential tract disorders that may be secondary to infection, irritation, allergy or systemic disease (Table 1). This article focuses on candida-caused vulvovaginitis, a condition known as vulvovaginitis candidiasis. Approximately 75% of U.S. women expreience vulvovaginitis candidiasis during thier reproductive years. Between 40% and 50% of these women have recurrent episodes, and 5% to 8% experience chronic candida infections. Approximately 3 million women have recurrent candidial infections. The prevalence of vulvovaginitis candiasis is expected to rise due to the growing number of non-C albicans species (which are immune to most antifungal medcationa) and as a result of more widespread antifungal resistance. Publication Types: Review Review, Tutorial PMID: 15898312 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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