Sinusitis Articles
Antibiotics may not Speed Recovery from Sinusitis
In a study of children diagnosed with acute sinusitis of ten or more days duration, some were given a placebo and others were given antibiotics (amoxicillinor Augmentin). Those given the placebo were as likely to get better as the children who were prescribed antibiotics. Symptoms improved within seven days in 81% of children in both the placebo group and the antibiotic group. Within 10 days in 87% of all children improved.
The study published in the journal Pediatrics (April 2001;107:619-625)also found that antibiotic therapy did no better than the placebo in preventing the recurrence of symptoms. The drug did not reduce absences from school or day care when compared to the placebo. Many cases of sinusitis are caused by viruses, against which antibiotics have no effect. Some researchers believe that many cases of sinusitis are fungal in nature.
This does not mean that antibiotics should never be used, only that they should be used "judiciously." Bacterial infections will respond to antibiotics, so a doctor may prescribe antibiotics for some children with symptoms that will not go away on their own, researchers said.
Fatigue and Body Pain may be Linked to Chronic Sinusitis
Research published in Archives of Internal Medicine (2003;163:1832-1836.) and performed by scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center, shows a link between fatigue, unexplained pain and chronic sinusitis. A study conducted at Harvard had shown that fatigue and pain scores of sinusitis patients were similar or worse than a group 20 years older with lung disease, congestive heart failure, or back pain. According to the CDC, 32 million Americans suffer from sinus problems.
On average, sinus symptoms were nine times more common in patients with unexplained chronic fatigue, and six times more common in patients with unexplained chronic pain than in the control group. Sinus symptoms were also more common in patients with unexplained fatigue than in patients with fatigue explained by illness. Unexplained fatigue can therefore be more closely associated with sinusitis than are other types of fatigue.
More than 20% of the subjects in the study met the criteria for a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. Most of the chronic fatigue syndrome patients had sinus symptoms. Many noted a sudden onset of their illness, something they have in common with patients suffering with sinusitis.
Return to the medical conditions that can be treated by naturopathic medicine.
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