Overuse of Antibiotics for Children with Sinusitis
Sinusitis is a very common condition that is experienced by millions of people in the US, including children. This condition arises from the inflammation of the sinuses due to viral, bacterial, and various kinds of other infections.
A lot of different cures are offered for sinusitis. Natural remedies, over the counter drugs, oils and herbs, and medicated nasal sprays/inhalers are just some of the options available for treating your sinusitis.
When dealing with children with sinusitis, you need to be more careful in choosing a treatment program. There are a lot of instances where parents turn to doctors and expect prescription drugs for their kids. This attitude is one of the reasons why there is rampant overuse of medications such as antibiotics. There is no doubt that antibiotics are great for treating infections. But you need to know how to properly apply antibiotics.
You need to straighten the facts with your doctor when trying to find out what is good for children with sinusitis. Extra caution is needed if you are thinking of using antibiotics, since overuse or misuse of antibiotics may lead to a decline in your child’s health condition.
Ask yourself some questions while assessing your child’s sinusitis situation. Learn more about sinusitis and how antibiotics can affect children before going ahead with a prescription for antibiotics to cure your child.
Are you sure that your child has sinusitis?
Various kinds of upper respiratory tract infections are commonly mistaken as sinusitis. Symptoms like runny nose, green or yellow mucus discharge, coughing, fever, headache, fatigue and facial swelling are among the signs that your child (or even an adult) has a respiratory infection. But these symptoms do not necessarily point to sinusitis as the culprit. When your child is just experiencing a common cold or seasonal allergies, then there may be no need to consider sinusitis treatment options such as antibiotics.
Are you sure that antibiotics can cure your child’s sinusitis?
If you do find out from your doctor that your child has sinusitis, you should not assume immediately that you can use antibiotics to treat the sinus infection. Antibiotics are only used for sinusitis caused by bacteria, parasites and some types of fungi.
What is your child’s history with sinusitis and other respiratory infections?
A mixture of different types of upper respiratory infections can be confusing to diagnose and treat. If misdiagnosed, you may be given a prescription that will work for one of your child’s infections, but may have a negative effect on a separate coexisting infection. For example, if your child has bacterial sinusitis and seasonal allergies at the same time, taking antibiotics is not going to be a good idea. This medicine can kill the bacteria causing sinusitis, but it can also aggravate the allergies.
What kind of dosage and treatment schedule is appropriate for children with sinusitis?
Upon reviewing the factors involved in choosing a treatment program for your child’s sinusitis, if your doctor may still end up suggesting antibiotics. In this case, you need to make sure you are given the right instructions for the medicine’s use. Usually, children are prescribed with antibiotics while they are experiencing symptoms, and up to 7 more days after feeling better from sinusitis. A high dosage can be given, but long term use should be avoided. You do not want your child’s immune system to become used to having antibiotics – this can result to having bacteria that are resistant to the medication’s effects.
For more details you may check out Sinusitis Antibiotics for Children
Overuse of Antibiotics for Children with Sinusitis / Author: Owen
