Skip the Antibiotics for Sinusitis
It may seem like the thing to do, but giving an antibiotic to your child for sinus troubles isn’t likely to make him feel better. According to a study in Pediatrics (2001;107:619-625), the runny nose, green nasal discharge, cough and other symptoms of sinusitis will disappear on their own without the use of an antibiotic.
Researchers studied 188 children ages 1 to 18 who’d been diagnosed with acute sinusitis that had lasted from 10 to 28 days. These kids didn’t have the more severe of sinusitis, which lasts even longer and includes symptoms such as facial pain, swelling and fever. The researchers gave the children either a placebo or one of two antibiotics – amoxicillin or amoxicillin-calvulanate. They found that symptoms improved within 7 days in 81 percent of the children whether they’d been given the antibiotics or the placebo. There was also no difference in relapse rates or reducing absences from school or day care. Most case of sinusitis seem to be caused by viruses, not bacterioa. Antibiotics are useless against viruses. The researchers say the bottom line is to just hang in there, and your child will get better on his own.