subject: The Use Of Antibiotics As Sinus Medication [print this page] Bacterial Sinusitis Bacterial Sinusitis
The only way that antibiotics can be effective in getting rid of sinusitis is if you have bacterial sinusitis. This means that proper use of antibiotics as sinus medication involves making sure that you do have bacterial sinusitis, instead of the other types of sinusitis that you might have. So how can you make sure? It is hard to do this on your own, since sinusitis symptoms, no matter the type or cause, are very similar. But there are a few suspect symptoms that can lead you to check with a doctor if you do have bacterial sinusitis. These symptoms include:
-thick, yellow-green mucus discharge
-facial pain
-toothache
-headache
If your symptoms do not go away for a long time (e.g. more than a week), and they seem to worsen, an ear, nose and throat doctor should be visited to get a correct diagnosis of your sinusitis. And if you do have bacterial sinusitis, you would need a doctors prescription so you can use antibiotics as sinus medication.
Broad Spectrum Antibiotics
There are two types of antibiotics that you can be prescribed with. Broad spectrum antibiotics are used against a wide range of bacteria. Doctors prescribe these when bacterial sinusitis is severe, not responding to narrow spectrum antibiotics, or when your sinusitis is experienced with other upper respiratory tract infections. These are particularly helpful when your sinusitis poses a great risk to your health, or you have other conditions/diseases that would threaten your life if your sinusitis is not treated immediately.
Some examples of broad spectrum antibiotics are amoxicillin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin.
Narrow Spectrum Antibiotics
For narrow spectrum antibiotics, these drugs are meant to target only specific types of bacteria. For instance, bacteria can be classified into gram negative bacteria and gram positive bacteria. Some narrow spectrum antibiotics can target only gram negative bacteria, and some will only be effective on gram positive bacteria.
Some examples of this type of antibiotics are penicillin g, gentamicin, and clindamycin.
Forms of Antibiotics
The most common form of antibiotics is the pill or oral form. These are easily ingested through the mouth. For severe cases of sinusitis, antibiotics can be injected into your veins for quick administration. There are also topical ways of taking in antibiotics. Nebulizers can be great tools in holding sinus medication in a form of fine mist that is to be inhaled into your troubled sinuses. This form can act faster than the oral form, since it goes directly to the problem areas to provide relief. You can feel improvement in as quickly as 5 minutes.
No matter what form of antibiotics you are prescribed with, it is very important to remember to take your sinus medication exactly as instructed. This will ensure that your body is receiving the needed dosage to clear yourself of infection completely. You might feel so much better to the point that you believe youve been completely healed after a few days of antibiotic use, but if the doctor recommended that you take your medicines for 14 days, then you should continue the medicine for 14 days. Bacteria can stay inside your sinuses for quite a while, even without you feeling any more of the tell-tale symptoms. But being faithful to your doctors instructions for your medication can greatly help in eliminating all traces of bacteria in your system.
