Too Many Antibiotics Prescribed For Sinus Infections

According to a study published in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, by Hadley J. Sharp and colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, antibiotics were prescribed for 82 per cent of acute sinus infections and nearly 70 per cent of chronic sinus infections.

This is surprising because most sinus infections are caused by viruses, and antibiotics only kill bacteria.

Bonnie - BINGO! It's amazing that they finally admitted it. It is unconscionable that doctors are still doing this given the fact that there has been so much emphasis on the over-prescribing of antibiotics. Are doctors ignoring this because they are afraid to say no to patients or is it just easier to prescribe an antibiotic than treat the cause? What the study didn't mention is that sinus infections, based upon research done at the Mayo Clinic, are often fungal as well.

In 2002, of all the antibiotic prescriptions that year in the US, 21 per cent were for adults with sinus infections and 9 per cent was for children.

They concluded that "Prescription antibiotic drugs are being used far more than bacterial causes studies would indicate."