Medication Therapy: Prescription drugs and remedies

Medication Therapy: Symptom management with antibiotics, decongestants, steroids, and sinus irrigation

The first line of therapy for patients with chronic or recurrent sinusitis is medical management. A primary care physician will typically use antibiotics, or antibiotics in combination with other medications, to help alleviate the symptoms of sinusitis:

• Antibiotics to combat sinus infection
• Decongestants to reduce swelling of the lining of the sinus (mucosal swelling)
• Nasal and systemic steroids to reduce chronic inflammation
• Mucolytics to help reduce thickened nasal secretions
• Irrigation to clean out sinuses

Recurrent sinusitis sufferers may need to resort to four or five or more rounds of medication based sinus treatments annually to reduce the impact of sinusitis symptoms.

Medication therapy: Sinusitis remedies and routines of self-medication

In addition, use of over-the-counter drugs and treatments such as a neti pot or a decongestant can become part of an elaborate set of routines for sinusitis sufferers aimed at gaining control over symptoms. Others avoid activities, such as spending too much time outside during the spring or fall, that they feel "contribute" to an outbreak of sinusitis. Between self-management and prescribed sinus treatments, the struggle to minimize the impact of sinusitis symptoms can have a significant negative effect on day-to-day quality of life.

Options beyond medication for recurring or persisting sinus infection sufferers

In the past, individuals who suffered from persistent chronic sinusitis turned to functional endoscopic surgery for a treatment option that went beyond symptom management. Recurrent and chronic sinusitis sufferers now have a new option to explore—balloon sinus dilation, a minimally invasive, office-based procedure designed to reshape sinus anatomy and restore drainage.