SC Connecticut News

• The overuse of antibiotics prescribed for sinusitis can lead to health risks or the development of antibiotic resistance.
• Antibiotic resistance can increase risks for patients who develop infections after other medical procedures.
• Patients with chronic sinusitis have alternative treatment options, such as balloon sinuplasty.

People suffering from chronic sinusitis, who are hoping to treat the infection with antibiotics, may find over time that they become less effective, according to Dr. Robert Weiss of CT ENT Sinus Center. Weiss recommends a more permanent solution to improve a patient’s quality of life.

"There are some countries, there are some communities, some schools of thought that, for most of what we in the Western world use antibiotics for, that don't use antibiotics,” Weiss told SC Connecticut News. “They will use everything but an antibiotic. Why? Because they're so concerned about the complications of using antibiotics.”

According to WebMD, among adults in the U.S. who are diagnosed with acute sinusitis, about 90% end up receiving a prescription for antibiotics. While acute sinusitis is a sinus infection lasting less than four weeks, a sinus infection that persists for 12 weeks or more is termed "chronic," with symptoms that include coughing, facial pain or discomfort, nasal congestion, headaches and nasal drainage. While antibiotics are often the first line of defense, Weiss questions that wisdom.

“Unfortunately, our society, our medical society and patients, look for that antibiotic,” he said. “There are several problems with antibiotics; the risk profile of using an antibiotic is not as low as most people would think when they study it.”

Overusing antibiotics has been linked to changes in the patient's gut microbiota, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA says that overusing antibiotics could also be a risk factor in premature death.

"There are certain infections that we can't treat very easily because of antibiotic resistance," Weiss said. "Certain antibiotics can affect your tendons. You can get a tendon rupture. I can give you a laundry list of things.”

Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) backs up some of Weiss’s positions, noting that people who build up a tolerance to antibiotics could be at an increased risk if they have other health issues that result in an infection, ranging from joint replacement and organ transplants to diabetes treatment.

“The less we treat our patients with antibiotics, the better. If you have five or six courses of antibiotics because your sinuses weren't behaving and you didn't get any definitive treatment, you went after the first or second infection and required antibiotic,” Weiss said. “Now you get definitive treatment, which may be a balloon (sinuplasty) to open up your sinus and relieve you of getting all those antibiotics down the line. We think that's very beneficial to a patient."

For patients diagnosed with chronic sinusitis, balloon sinuplasty could prove to be a better option than treating continually with antibiotics. It is a simple procedure with few reported complications, according to Healthline. The procedure does not involve any cutting or removal of bones or tissue.

If you're interested in learning more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.