As with any different kind of treatment, the so-called “traditional” sinusitis treatments have their advantages and disadvantages. The traditional sinusitis treatments we are going to cover in this article are those that many of us are familiar with. These include antibiotic treatment and over the counter sinus medications.
Sinusitis Treatment Advantages
When it comes to antibiotic treatment, which is often what you will get if you go to see a doctor for troubles with sinusitis, they do pretty well, so long as your problems are viral or bacterial in nature. For people whose sinus troubles are allergen-related, or due to some other cause such as a fungal infection, antibiotic treatment doesn’t really offer much help. However, if your sinus troubles are viral or bacterial in nature, you will see improvements from using antibiotics.
Over the counter sinus medications often mask the symptoms of your sinus infection and provide temporary relief of stuffiness, runny nose, and even congestion. They provide fast relief that can be felt in as little as a half hour after taking the medication.
Sinusitis Treatment Disadvantages
For antibiotic treatments, they are relatively limited in applicable use here. They are often prescribed whether your sinus infection is viral, bacterial, or otherwise, as it would take a large number of different tests to ascertain the exact origin of the organism causing the infection. This means that one can find themselves using antibiotics, unnecessarily, which is a concern since antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are becoming a real issue.
When it comes to over the counter treatments, these often either have the effect of making you drowsy, or they contain stimulants in order to counteract the drowsy effect that many of these medications contain. This is fine for the person with the “casual” sinus infection, but for those who have chronic sinus infections, or other conditions such as heart problems or high cholesterol, taking stimulants on a regular basis is not recommended.
As with any sort of treatment, there are going to be pros and there are going to be cons. The biggest inherent flaw with medication as the treatment for sinus infections is that they often do not actually target the problem – unless the sinusitis is as a result of a viral or bacterial infection. For those dealing with chronic sinus troubles, a more holistic approach might be advised to obtain real, long-term relief for the issues. While these medications do have their up sides, it is also advised to beware of the ill effects and side effects that using these medications could entail.
