When many individuals become sick, they visit their doctors in hopes of receiving a prescription antibiotic. Unfortunately, antibiotics are only designed to treat bacterial infections, leaving those with a virus (such as the common cold) to battle against the sickness on their own.

Researchers at St. Louis, Missouri’s Washington University School of Medicine recently discovered another shortcoming of antibiotics. According to their study, antibiotics for sinus infections are ineffective.

The irony is that, as of now, approximately 20% of all antibiotics prescriptions are written with the intent of accomplishing exactly that, representing a potentially enormous waste of health care dollars.

No Difference on Day 3, Little Difference on Day 7

The study involved 166 subjects with uncomplicated acute rhinosinusitis, also known as a sinus infection. Half of the subjects received amoxicillin, a common antibiotic prescribed to treat sinus infections, while the other half received a placebo. Both groups were given a 10-day course of treatment, as is standard for most sinus infection antibiotics.

By Day 3 of treatment, sinus infection symptoms had improved equally for both groups, with no additional benefits realized by those in the amoxicillin group. By Day 7 of treatment, the results were skewed slightly in favor of the amoxicillin group, with a few additional individuals reporting relief from their symptoms. However, the difference was so slight that the researchers concluded that most individuals would not benefit from an antibiotic when experiencing a sinus infection.

The researchers were largely unconcerned with the results on Day 10, since most sinus infections tend to clear up on their own after about 10 days regardless of treatment.

The Danger of Unnecessary Antibiotics for Sinus Infections

At this point, you may be wondering: “If antibiotics alleviate sinus infection symptoms slightly faster, if only for certain patients, what’s the harm in taking them?” The answer is that, when you take an antibiotic, your body quickly builds a resistance to it. As such, doctors only tend to prescribe antibiotics when they feel that they’ll significantly improve a patient’s course of treatment.

In other words, if antibiotics were prescribed every time they’d provide even a minimal benefit, the same antibiotics would be woefully ineffective when they’re actually needed for more serious illnesses.

Limitations of the Study

Joe Piccirillo, one of the lead researchers behind the study, admitted that the Washington School of Medicine study had some specific limitations.

First, he said that sinus infections are diagnosed based on the reporting of symptoms by patients, not by scientific laboratory tests. These symptoms usually include coughing, facial pain or pressure and nose and throat congestion, which may also be associated with the common cold and other illnesses. As such, it’s possible that some of the participants had an illness other than a sinus infection.

Next, Piccirillo said that subjects were allowed to use certain over-the-counter drugs to treat some of their symptoms, including nasal congestion, cough, fever and pain. It’s possible, then, that some of the participants’ symptom reports were influenced by the effects of these medications.

Finally, Piccirillo noted that none of the individuals included in the study had symtoms of a serious sinus infection, which may require an alternative course of treatment.

Antibiotics for Sinus Infections: The Bottom Line

If you have a sinus infection, treating it with an antibiotic will be ineffective and potentially detrimental to your long-term health, since your body will develop a resistance to the antibiotic and be unresponsive to it when it’s needed for a more serious illness.

Sinus infections usually clear up on their own in 10 days, and their symptoms can usually be treated with over-the-counter cold medications. If your symptoms last for more than 10 days, or if you consider them particularly serious, it’s advisable to contact a medical professional.

The full text of the study indicating the ineffectiveness of antibiotics in treating sinus infections can be found in the Journal of the American Medical Association.