Williamsburg Sun

• Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for sinusitis.

• Doctors warn that overuse of antibiotics can lead to the development of "antibiotic resistance," which can cause serious health complications.

• Patients looking for a long-term solution have treatment options such as balloon sinuplasty.  

Most patients, if they have a sinus infection has lasted longer than a few weeks, are prescribed antibiotics to treat it. But one local doctor warns that the overuse of antibiotics can lead to complications in the future, while surgery could be a better long-term solution. 

Dr. John Ditto of Richmond Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers believes that antibiotics aren't necessarily ideal when treating chronic sinusitis. 

"Recurrent sinus infections can produce chronic sinusitis, and you treat it with antibiotics and you can get some resistance. But what we found is, once you develop chronic sinusitis, it can become an inflammatory disorder, and you can't treat that with antibiotics, because antibiotics are only treated to kill microorganisms," Ditto told the Williamsburg Sun. "So to treat chronic sinusitis, I tell patients to think of your chronic sinusitis like rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis or lupus. You have an inflammatory disorder. That's why we have you on steroids, and that's why you improve. What we found is that treating with antibiotics only if you have a sinus infection is effective. But most chronic sinusitis, it needs to be managed with non-antibiotics. And it does decrease the resistance because you're not exposing those microorganisms to that drug."

About 90% of adults diagnosed with acute sinusitis are prescribed antibiotics as treatment, according to WebMD. Symptoms of a sinus infection can include nasal congestion, headaches, coughing, facial pain or discomfort and nasal drainage. 

Overusing antibiotics has been linked to changes in a patient's gut microbiota, which can create an increased risk for chronic diseases, according to the American Heart Association. The report noted that the overuse of antibiotics can also be a risk factor in premature death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that people who develop antibiotic resistance can have increased risk if they develop infections from medical procedures. 

Balloon sinuplasty is most often recommended for people with chronic sinusitis, after other treatments have failed. The procedure is fairly straightforward, and reported complications are minimal. According to Healthline, there’s no cutting and no removal of bones or tissue. After a balloon sinuplasty, many people are able to return to their regular activities within a day or two. Some people even drive themselves home after the procedure.

To learn more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.