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Antibiotics Do Nothing for Sinus Infection

By On · Add Comment · In antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotics, inflamed sinuses, placebo, sinus infection, sinusitis

Further support for what I’ve been saying on this blog for years (and which has been obvious for decades)–a significant percentage of antibiotics prescriptions is unnecessary. According to a recent study, doling out antibiotics for sinus infections improved neither symptoms nor recovery time. And although patients may now have come to expect antibiotics to treat their inflamed, runny noses, doing so is actually leading to a rise in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, a very dangerous scenario indeed.

The research conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri included 166 adults with moderate, severe or very severe symptoms such as sinuses and nasal discharge that lasted between 7-28 days. Some were given , others placebo, and the results showed that the antibiotics “did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo.”

Said lead researcher Jay Piccirillo: “Patients don’t get better faster or have fewer symptoms when they get antibiotics. Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection–most people get better on their own.”

Wait, let’s hear that again…”most people get better on their own.” And again…”most people get better on their own.” One more time, “most people get better on their own.” How many times do you have to hear it, people?

I have to keep saying it because I am blown away by the number of people still running to their doctor for the cold they just can’t shake. A full 20% of all antibiotics prescriptions are for sinus infections (inflammation and thick yellow or green mucus discharge)–the common approach taken by the very large majority of today’s western medical doctors. With 37 million Americans diagnosed with sinusitis each year, well…that’s a heck of a lot of antibiotics. And how many people actually finish their dose? Well, I don’t know the answer to that, but let’s just say more than a few people mention to me that they “had some antibiotics lying around.” WTF?!

The authors of this latest study have it right, so I’ll just finish with their words:

“We feel antibiotics are overused in the primary-care setting. There is a movement afoot, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to try to improve the judicious use of antibiotics. We hope this study provides scientific evidence that doctors can use with patients to explain that an antibiotic is not likely to help an acute sinus infection.”

Werd to that.

Antibiotics for Viruses: Overprescribed and Useless

By On · Add Comment · In antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotics, bacteria, bacterial infections, common cold, health, medical, medicine, overprescribe, prescriptions, sinusitis, symptoms, viral infections, viruses
Something must be wrong with me–I love to see people squirm. Not just anybody, mind you, but mostly people who have lied, cheated, or acted hypocritically in one way or another. And I especially love to see it in people, or groups, that act arrogantly. C’mon, you know you love it too. We all get a sense of satisfaction when the chickens come home to roost, and these people have to squirm and lie some more to rationalize themselves. Pure comedy.

Take, for instance, the latest study to be published in the medical journal, The Lancet, which has reported that doctors routinely overprescribe antibiotics for viral infections. You don’t say? Really? Wow. Seems like that same idea was reported right here in this blog back in October. According to the study, 80% of sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses) cases in the U.S. are prescribed antibiotics despite the fact that the majority are due to the common cold virus. And just like I said in my October post: Antibiotics don’t do diddly against viruses–they’re meant exclusively to fight bacterial infections.

OK, here’s the good part: The study’s authors then attempt to explain the inordinate amount of antibiotics prescriptions by stating that when the patient has had the symptoms for a long time, doctors assume it’s due to a bacterial infection….(Pause…silence)

Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha….what a joke. Do any of you buy that baloney? Let me tell you the real deal (and this information comes straight from a medical doctor who taught me in chiropractic college): Doctors prescribes medications at nearly every doctor’s visit regardless of the situation because, and I quote, “the patient expects it”. That’s the truth in a nutshell: Doctors prescribe antibiotics full well knowing they’re useless against viral infections, precisely because the patient expects something, not because it’s the right thing to do, but because they know the patient wants it and will go somewhere else to get it. In other words, there ain’t much of a market for non-prescribing M.D.s, period.

The only reason this study has come out at all is because of the explosion of antibiotic resistant bacteria that have penetrated our world, otherwise, trust me, the practice would continue. Antibiotic resistant bacteria is a growing and severely dangerous phenomenon. There is no longer time to play around, so now the medical community is asking how. But, unfortunately, you’ll never get to the truth by hiding it, or in the case of these authors’ conclusions, by asking the wrong questions.

I’m going to end this by being as fair as I can to my medical brothers and sisters–it’s not totally their fault. Overprescribing antibiotics really is a consequence of what the public wants, and demands–like most things–and people really do yearn for a magic bullet. But what makes the medical clinician at least equally responsible is that they know better. It may be true that a medical business which doesn’t prescribe medicines will soon have to close its doors; however, it may be time to start pushing a more health-responsible agenda, which would be to teach patients that their bodies have everything necessary to fight the common cold virus, and that antibiotics are unnecessary, and useless, in these cases. Still–I just love to see them squirm.

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