East Hillsborough News

• Many sinusitis patients are prescribed antibiotics, but their overuse can lead to health risks or the development of antibiotic resistance.
• Antibiotic resistance can increase risks for patients who develop infections after other medical procedures.
• Patients with chronic sinusitis have alternative treatment options, such as balloon sinuplasty.

Dr. Mariah Pate of Tampa Bay Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said people who suffer from chronic sinusitis and try to treat it with antibiotics could find that, over time, the antibiotics become less effective, so she recommends a more permanent solution to avoid antibiotic resistance and improve the patient's quality of life.

"Antibiotic resistance is becoming a huge issue," Pate told East Hillsborough News. "We have many different antibiotics, which are really helpful for the treatment of sinusitis and other bacterial infections. But over the years with overuse, we are seeing more and more antibiotic resistance. There's some bacteria out there now that we really can't treat with anything, and that's incredibly scary. We are so privileged to have such great medicine. But if you think back to before antibiotics were around, people were dying of infections left and right because they couldn't be treated."

Of adults in the U.S. who are diagnosed with acute sinusitis -- a sinus infection lasting less than four weeks -- about 90% are prescribed antibiotics, according to WebMD. Chronic sinusitis is a sinus infection that lasts for more than 12 weeks. Symptoms of sinus infections can include nasal congestion, headaches, coughing, facial pain or discomfort and nasal drainage.

Overusing antibiotics has been linked to changes in the patient's gut microbiota, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to the American Heart Association. The report notes that overusing antibiotics could also be a risk factor for premature death.

People who develop resistance to antibiotics can face increased risk if they experience infections related to other medical procedures, such as joint replacements, organ transplants and diabetes treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Our job as clinicians is to be as judicious as possible with antibiotics, because the more we use them, the more resistant they'll be, and the more likely we are to have an issue where antibiotics won't work anymore," Pate said. "That's the reason it's important to treat these chronic conditions in other ways other than with antibiotics."

An alternative treatment for chronic sinusitis sufferers is balloon sinuplasty, which is typically recommended after other treatments for their condition have been ineffective. Balloon sinuplasty is fairly straightforward, and reported complications are minimal. There’s no cutting involved and no removal of bone or tissue, according to Healthline.

If you'd like more information on the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.