Richmond Leader

• One third of antibiotic usage in humans is unnecessary.
• 90% of patients diagnosed with acute sinusitis are prescribed antibiotics.
• Minimally invasive sinus treatments can be a better option than the constant use of antibiotics, which can lead to antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotics are frequently utilized to treat sinusitis, however excessive usage may result in significant complications in the future. Dr. John Ditto of Richmond Breathe Free said antibiotics can't fully treat sinusitis in the end.

"Recurrent sinus infections can produce chronic sinusitis, and so, you treat it with antibiotics and yes, you can get some resistance," Dr. Ditto told Richmond Leader. "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. So, what we found is that treating with antibiotics only if you have a sinus infection is effective, but most chronic sinusitis needs to be managed with non-antibiotics. It does decrease the resistance because you're not exposing those microorganisms to that drug."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that up to one third of antibiotic usage in humans is deemed unnecessary or inappropriate, according to Mayo Clinic.

Of adults in the U.S. who are diagnosed with acute sinusitis, which is a sinus infection lasting less than four weeks, around 90% are prescribed antibiotics, according to Web MD. 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 (AHA). The report notes that overusing antibiotics could also be a risk factor in 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 CDC.

For patients dealing with sinusitis, there's minimally invasive treatment options available that can give them a better quality of life, without dealing with antibiotics. One of these treatment options is the balloon sinuplasty, which is a safe and minimally invasive procedure utilized by surgeons to address chronic sinusitis, according to Nuffield Health. During the process, doctors insert a guide wire equipped with a small balloon into the nostrils and navigate it to the area of blockage.