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Are Antibiotics for Allergy Sinus Infections the Right Treatment? |
 Sinus problems that are the result of allergies feel a lot like a cold, the flu or other health problems caused by a bug or infection. In the case of a sinus problem that is brought on by a virus or bacteria, antibiotics are often the perfect solution. The antibiotics attack the invading "bug" and disrupt it's ability to thrive in the host. The host in this case is you or a member of your family who is suffering. There is no question about the value of antibiotics in this kind of diagnosis.
An allergy related sinus problem has many of the same symptoms as symptoms of illness. The important difference is that the suffering you are going through from an allergy sinus attack are not coming from an invading life form. An allergy is the result of a malfunction of the immune system which causes your own body to attack something that for many people is harmless or even beneficial. So your sinus allergy problem could be the result of an allergy to pollen, to dust or mold or even a symptom of a food allergy that happens to evidence itself in the sinuses.
So are antibiotics for an allergy sinus problem the wrong prescription? For the most part, the best "cure" for an allergy sinus attack are medications like Benadryl that reduce the impact on the sinuses until the allergy symptoms pass. But if the allergy sinus problem develops into a full sinus infection, then things have changed and antibiotics may have a vital role to play in your recovery.
An allergy sinus infection happens when your sinuses fill up and become clogged due to the allergy problem you are experiencing. If the body cannot successfully clear up the problem, the accumulation of mucus in the sinuses can become infected which takes your allergy problem and turns it into a genuine illness. When an infection takes place, bacteria or some other invading bug begins to thrive on that "stuff" that fills up your sinuses and an infection takes over. The best way to beat that infection is to stop the bacteria that are living in there and allow your body to go through the normal recovery process.
The other problem that happens inside you when an allergy sinus attack occurs is that your immune system fails to perform to full capacity because the allergy problem is calling the shots. That means when an invading bacteria moves in to infect your sinuses, the immune system is not as efficient at stopping the infection. That is the reason that so many allergy sinus problems progress to a sinus infection so easily. That is also the reason why your doctor will prescribe antibiotics for an allergy sinus episode. It is the right prescription and your doctor does know what he is doing.
Once the sinus infection is brought under control by the antibiotics, that is the time to go back to the doctor and talk about some preventive steps you can take to stop the cycle of an allergy sinus attack turning into a sinus infection. The best type of attack is to get the allergy itself under control. In many cases, that means finding out specifically what you are allergic to and then doing whatever it takes to avoid being exposed to that allergen. If you know the allergen, you are ahead of the game. If not, allergy testing may be in order. But if those tests can help you eliminate the discomfort and pain of allergy related sinus infections, it is worth the investment of time and money to get that allergy problem under control.
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