1. Sinusitis (Sinus Infection) Slideshow Pictures
2. Nasal Allergy Relief Products Slideshow Pictures
3. 10 Common Allergy Triggers Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• Sinus infection facts
• What is a sinus?
• What is a sinus infection?
• What causes sinus infections?
• What are the types of sinusitis?
• What are the signs and symptoms of sinus infection?
• How is sinus infection diagnosed?
• How is sinus infection treated?
• Are there home remedies for a sinus infection?
• What are complications of sinus infection?
• Can sinus infection be prevented?
• Pictures of Sinusitis (Sinus Infection) - Slideshow
• Pictures of Nasal Allergy Relief Products - Slideshow
• Pictures of 10 Common Allergy Triggers - Slideshow
• Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Symptoms
• Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Home Remedies
• Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Home Remedies
• Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Complications
• Patient Comments: Sinus Infection - Effective Treatments
• Find a local Ear, Nose, & Throat Doctor in your town
• Sinusitis Index

For sinusitis caused by virus infection, no antibiotic treatment is required. Frequently recommended treatments include pain and fever medications (such as acetaminophen [Tylenol]), decongestants and mucolytics.

Bacterial infection of the sinuses is suspected when facial pain, nasal discharge resembling pus, and symptoms persist for longer than a week and are not responding to OTC nasal medications. Acute sinus infection from bacteria is usually treated with antibiotic therapy aimed at treating the most common bacteria known to cause sinus infection, since it is unusual to be able to get a reliable culture without aspirating the sinuses.

The five most common bacteria causing sinus infections are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes. The antibiotics that are effective treatment for sinus infection must be able to kill these bacterial types. Although amoxicillin (Amoxil) is an acceptable first antibiotic for an uncomplicated acute sinus infection, many physicians choose amoxicillin-clavulanate (Augmentin) as the first-line drug for treatment of a suspected bacterial sinus infection because it is usually effective against most of the species and strains of bacteria that cause the disease.

In the penicillin allergic individual, cefaclor (Ceclor), loracarbef (Lorabid), clarithromycin (Biaxin), azithromycin (Zithromax), sulfamethoxazole (Gantanol), trimethoprim (Bactrim, Septra) and other antibiotics may be used as first choices. If a patient is not improving after five days of treatment with amoxicillin, the patient may be switched to one of the above drugs or amoxicillin-clavulanate (Augmentin). Generally, an effective antibiotic needs to be continued for a minimum of 10-14 days. It is however not unusual to need to treat sinus infection for 14-21 days.

Taking decongestants (pseudoephedrine) and mucolytics (guaifenesin) orally may be helpful in assisting drainage of sinus infection.

The treatment of chronic forms of sinus infection requires longer courses of medications, such as Augmentin, and may require a sinus drainage procedure. This drainage typically requires a surgical operation to open the blocked sinus under general anesthesia. In general, antihistamines should be avoided unless it is felt that the sinusitis sinus infection is due to allergy, such as from pollens, dander, or other environmental causes.

It is likely that the use of a topical nasal steroid spray will help reduce swelling in the allergic individual without the drying that is caused by using antihistamines although both are occasionally used.

In many people, allergic sinusitis develops first, and later, bacterial infection occurs. For these individuals, early treatment of allergic sinusitis may prevent development of secondary bacterial sinusitis.

In rare instances or in natural disasters, fungal infections (termed zygomycosis or mucormycosis) may develop in debilitated patients. Death rates of 50%-85% have been reported for patients with these sinus infections. Treatment relies on early diagnosis followed by immediate surgical debridement, antifungal drugs, (mainly Amphotericin B) and stabilizing any underlying health problem such as diabetes.