How long do I have to take an antibiotic? | Antibiotic treatment for sinusitis

How long do I have to take an antibiotic?

Depending on which preparation has been selected for the treatment of sinusitis, the antibiotic must be taken continuously for a certain period of time. Usually it is 5-10 days. It is extremely important to stick to the prescribed period of use.

Even if there is an improvement or even complete freedom from symptoms, the antibiotic should be taken until the end. Because even if the complaints are no longer visible or noticeable, there may still be pathogens in the body. A break of the antibiotic therapy could lead to a high growth of the germs. Therefore the income duration of the antibiotics must be kept strictly.

What do you do if the antibiotic does not work/help?

If you notice that the antibiotic prescribed by your doctor does not help, you should consult a doctor again. One should not stop the antibiotic or take another one, if one has one at hand, because it can cause antibiotic resistance. In addition, the disease can worsen or even lead to complications.

The doctor should now check the use of antibiotics. If it is written in the room that an allergy is the reason for the antibiotic not working, a special anamnesis and an allergy test should be performed. In addition, a sample should be taken from the fluid found in the inflamed area.

Afterwards, it can be clarified in the laboratory whether it is a virus or bacteria. If it is a bacterial inflammation you can choose the right antibiotic based on the exact pathogen that can work against the type of bacteria, because not every antibiotic works against every bacterium. An X-ray or a computer tomography can also be taken to determine the exact location and size of the inflamed area.

Finally, it should be discussed with the physician which change will be made in the therapy. If the sinusitis is caused by an allergy, antibiotics will not help. Here temporarily for example Kortison can be used.

In rare cases also a mushroom, like the Aspergillus, can be causative for a maxillary sinusitis. Here antimycotics help. These are special means against fungi.

Examples are caspofungin, amphotericin B, fluctyosin or variconazole. In the case of a viral infection, only pain– and anti-inflammatory drugs can be used. Unfortunately, antibiotics do not help here either.