Antibiotics Probably Won’t Help Sinus Infections, According to Study in JAMA
If you have a sinus infection, you might want to think twice before rushing off to the doctor to pick up a prescription for antibiotics. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis medical school worked with a number of doctors in the St. Louis area to test whether an antibiotic was more effective than placebo and over-the-counter supportive therapies including saline nasal washes, cough medicines and decongestants. Out of 166 people, half the patients received the antibiotics and half the patients received a placebo, but all the patients received recommendations for supportive therapies.
The results showed that the patients who received the antibiotics did not improve any faster than those who received the placebo plus the other supportive therapies. These findings appear in the latest issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“What was surprising was, at Day Three there was no difference,” said Dr. Jay Piccirillo, an ear, nose and throat specialist at the Washington University and the senior author of the study.
The researchers originally thought that an antibiotic would speed up relief for patients with bacterial infections.
“Patients can avoid the complications of antibiotics, and, as a society, we can delay the emergence of new resistant bacteria through the restrained use of antibiotics,” said Piccirillo. “What we want to break is that knee-jerk request for antibiotics, and the doctor’s reaction to give it.”
So what can you do? My recommendations to patients with a sinus infection starts with doing a steam inhalation, boiling some water and adding a few drops of antimicrobial essential oils such as oregano, thyme, or basil to the water. I have patients put a towel over their head and breathe the steam for at least 15 minutes twice per day. The heat helps loosen up the mucous deep in the sinus cavities. I recommend doing a neti pot nasal lavage following each steam session to wash out the gunk. The trick with treating sinus infections is to make sure the sinuses can drain, otherwise you are more likely to grow bacteria and fungus.
Other supplement recommendations that I often use include high dose probiotics to optimize the immune system, N-acetyl cysteine or NAC, a mucolytic that helps keep the sinuses wet and draining (not dry and stuck), plus a strong immune support with anti-viral and anti-bacterial herbs, vitamin C, vitamin A, and immune boosting mushrooms that can help the immune system jump into high gear and fight any type of infection, viral, bacterial or fungal. Repeated use of antibiotics only weakens the body’s overall immune system, disrupts the bacterial balance in the digestive tract, and adds to the creation of super-bugs, resistant to the antibiotics.
The next time you have a sinus infection, hit it hard with some home remedies and immune support before you pick up the phone and call your doc for a prescription. Antibiotics may not work any faster.
Source: Got Sinus Infection? Antibiotics Probably Won’t Help by Scott Hensley, NPR Healthblog
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