Antibiotics

In some cases of sinusitis, but certainly not all, the underlying cause will be a bacterial infection. Such an infection can be difficult to treat because the bacteria thrive in the warm, moist, dark sinus cavities. These infections usually respond to antibiotic treatment, but you may need to continue treatment for one to three weeks or longer.

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The choice of antibiotic depends on several factors, such as drug allergies, what antibiotics you have used in the past, and your symptoms. If antibiotics aren't working, your healthcare provider may collect mucus from your nose and send it to the laboratory for culture to confirm the presence of bacteria. This test can also help in the selection of the proper antibiotic to fight the infection.

If you are given antibiotics to treat a bacterial infection, it is very important to finish taking all of your medicine as prescribed, even if you feel better before your medicine runs out. This is because stopping your antibiotics before they're finished can lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria, or "superbugs". Drug-resistant bacteria are very difficult to treat.