If you have a lingering sinus infection after antibiotics, an ENT doctor often elects to be more aggressive in treatment than a primary care physician. They may prescribe longer courses of antibiotics, stronger medications, or recommend a procedure to open the sinuses.
Chronic Sinusitis
When antibiotic treatment fails, allergy testing, desensitization, and/or surgery may be suggested as the most effective options for treating chronic sinusitis.
How effective are amoxicillin and Augmentin for treating sinus infections? Amoxicillin and Augmentin are both first-choice antibiotics for treating most bacterial sinus infections. For initial treatment, these medications work just as well as other antibiotics that cover a broader range of bacteria.
How well do antibiotics work for sinusitis? Antibiotics work in most cases of acute sinusitis that are caused by bacteria. Most people start feeling better 3 to 4 days after they start taking the medicine. Antibiotics won't work for infections caused by a virus.
See a doctor if you have: Severe symptoms, such as severe headache or facial pain. Symptoms that get worse after improving. Symptoms lasting more than 10 days without getting better.
Encephalitis: This results when the infection spreads to your brain tissue. Encephalitis may not have obvious symptoms beyond a headache, fever, or weakness. But more severe cases can lead to confusion, hallucinations, seizures, difficulty speaking, paralysis, or loss consciousness.
A doctor may recommend Augmentin if an infection could be antibiotic-resistant or if amoxicillin alone does not work. The drugs are generally well-tolerated, but there is still a chance of side effects.
The recommended choices are amoxicillin or amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate (Augmentin) for 5 to 10 days. Doxycycline is a good alternative for people with penicillin allergy, followed by levofloxacin or moxifloxacin.
Antibiotic resistance is making even common infections, such as sinusitis, challenging to treat. You can help prevent antibiotic resistance. One way is to wait up to 7 days before taking antibiotics for mild sinus infections, allowing time for your body to fight the infection naturally.
Sinusitis may require a call to your doctor.
Although many sinus infections go away on their own, you may need to see a doctor if: You have severe symptoms from the beginning. You start to get better but then feel worse again. Have symptoms that last more than 10 days.
The bacteria confine themselves in stubborn “biofilms,” making it difficult for your immune system or antibiotics to find and attack them. An overlap of additional factors such as smoking, environmental pollutants, and deviated septum, further complicate the picture of chronic sinusitis.
An “acute” sinus infection lasts anywhere from ten days up to eight weeks. A “chronic” infection lasts even longer. It is ongoing — it may seem like it's improving, and then it comes right back as bad as it was at first. Chronic sinus infections may drag on for months at a time.
A person can also experience a so-called superinfection due to taking amoxicillin. These superinfections can be fungal or bacterial, and they include Clostridium difficile colitis. This type of colitis is especially harmful because it can cause severe and prolonged diarrhea that damages the intestines.
Common medications that may interact with amoxicillin include: allopurinol (may increase the incidence of rash) anticoagulants (blood thinners), such as warfarin (may prolong bleeding time) oral contraceptives (may decrease absorption leading to reduced efficacy)
Your healthcare provider may take a sample of your infected tissue and send it to a lab. There, the type of infection can be figured out. Tests can also show which antibiotics will kill the germs. You may have an antibiotic-resistant infection if you don't get better after treatment with standard antibiotics.
You should go to an ER if you're experiencing sinus pain along with any of the following serious symptoms: Difficulty breathing. Rash. Neck pain.
Left untreated, a sinus infection has the potential to spread to your meninges (the protective coverings around your brain and spinal cord), causing them to become inflamed — a condition called meningitis. Meningitis gives rise to the following signs and symptoms: Sudden, high-grade fever. Neck stiffness.
Call 911 immediately or go to the nearest emergency room (ER) if you have any of the following symptoms of sinus infection: Intense sweating. Horrible chills. Inability to breathe.
Sinusitis (also called rhinosinusitis) starts when this drainage system becomes blocked, usually from swelling due to inflammation caused by infection or allergy. Soon, your head hurts, you feel facial pressure or pain, and thick mucus clogs your nose.
As your body works hard to fight off the sinus infection, you'll feel more tired than usual. Fatigue can be also be caused by head pain, a lack of adequate sleep, and difficulty breathing due to sinusitis.
Blowing the nose can worsen the feeling of congestion due to pressure build-up within the nostrils, which may shoot up the mucus into the sinuses instead of ejection through the nose.