Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
January 15, 2012 at 12:34pm
I was fascinated by Peter's homage to Zithromax, because I have a sinus infection too. I could probably get myself some of this Zithromax stuff, but I want to be responsible and do my part to diminish the frivolous use of antibiotics. Also, who wants to deal with antibiotic side-effects if the medicine isn't going to do any good?
You won't get much good conversation out of me until this problem is solved, so let's think this one through together. Are there any sure symptoms of a bacterial as opposed to a viral infection?
Don't tell me to go to my doctor--I'm in Istanbul, the doctor will dose me up with antibiotics, no matter what symptoms I have. It's up to me to be responsible here.
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Comments:
Oct '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
"Don't tell me to go to my doctor--I'm in Istanbul, the doctor will dose me up with antibiotics, no matter what symptoms I have. It's up to me to be responsible here."
Many, perhaps most, prescribe antibiotics even for viral infections "just in case".
We seem to have lost interest in our natural illness treatment - our immune system. So it is now lazy and unable to fight even the most trivial challenges to it. Hence, the people who anti-biotic up at every sniffle are forever having sniffles and worse.
For myself and my wife, who is a quadriplegic from childhood polio, we do not use any medications, period. We even avoid anti-bacterial soaps and such.
This year I had my first minor cold in perhaps at least 10 years, and no other illnesses of any kind.
Linda has the same record, although when a transfer to a shower chair caused her both legs to be broken, she did take Motrin for a week until the swelling went down, and then we had the doctor set and cast the fractures, one of which totally severed the fibula and the tibia.
Drugs merely cloud the mind.
Aug '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
I've thought that way in the past.
The problem is, if it IS bacterial, your immune system probably won't be able to fight it on its own. A bacterial infection can linger, and make you miserable, for a long, long, long time.
If it's a virus, the body will kill it within 72 hours. If it's a bacteria, it feels like the body has rented it a room in your sinuses and is providing room service.
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
Please keep the debate up--my curiosity isn't just academic.
Dec '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
I was plagued by sinus infections in the winter for many years. They got so bad that at night stuff would ooze out of my tear ducts and crust my eyes shut. Many trips to the doctor. Many expensive antibiotics. I finally put a humidifier in my bedroom and started to use a sinus wash with a saline solution. The infection cleared up and I have kept up this routine in the winter and have not had one since. Some saline recipes from the internet are:
Place 1 cup of boiled tap water or distilled water into a clean glass jar.
Mar '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
I've heard from my doctor and my wife's that azithromycin is not particularly effective against sinus infections. Then again, we've taken it so often in the past, our bacteria may have grown immune to it.
Apr '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
If you do a little research on the web, you'll find some studies that suggest antibiotics don't really help clear up sinus infections. I'm a fan of antibiotics and skeptical of holistic medicine, but I've found a neti pot to be helpful with sinus infections.
Aug '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
The Middle East and North Africa are rife with pharmacies that sell Zithromax and tens of other antibiotics OTC. In Saudi Arabia barely trained "pharmacists" really pushed the heavy antibiotics - probably because the margins were good. I happened to be caught in a maelstrom of periodic bacterial infections resulting from a root canal gone wrong. It was horrible because I'd really needed the killer bacteria at first but soon it became a true dependency -- when I would finish a course the infection would gradually return which then led to more antigiotics.
So there is more than one way freely dispensed antibiotics can be abused. Ultimately the bacteria spread into my heart, causing life-threatening congestive heart failure. I survived, but no thanks to the cavalier attitude about these important but tricky medications.
Caveat emptor. And thank God for the internet.
Jul '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
I too am a fan of the sinus rinse method (neti pot). Though I tend to use a stronger concentration than mentioned by david and also suggest using filtered or distilled water that has been boiled since most tap or well waters have contaminates.
Edited on January 15, 2012 at 3:22pmI normally give a cold / flu / sinus issue two weeks before seeking a doctor for help.
May '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
David Schlosser: I was plagued by sinus infections... I finally put a humidifier in my bedroom and started to use a sinus wash with a saline solution... Some saline recipes from the internet are:
Place 1 cup of boiled tap water or distilled water into a clean glass jar....
I don't know anything about the effectiveness of this, but do not use tap water, only boiled or sterilized water, to avoid potential deadly infections.
Jun '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
Ditto on the saline wash...gently rinsing the sinuses has worked for me. Several doctors have told me that the sinuses aren't the easiest part of the body to deliver medicine to, so the wash physically reduces the "work" left for the antibiotics.
Aug '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
This many people suffering ? Perhaps we can band together and buy health insurance on the cheap ( well...somewhere in there ). Can Rob ask for a waiver ? Can we claim organization costs as a deduction ? Should we have the first meeting in Seychelles ?
Aug '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
I tried the Neti pot, but it just seemed to spread the bacteria from one side of my head to the other, making things worse.
I fully concede that I may have been doing it wrong.
May '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
My wife always has me gargle with salt water. Can't tell if it works, but it quiets her down.
Aug '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
After dealing with multiple sinus infections and round after round of antibiotics, I went to see an ENT doctor thinking that surgery was probably in my future. After a cat scan, I was told there was no sinus infection. Seriously? I'm sitting in your office, barely able to breathe and I have no infection? Apparently I have a seasonal allergies (mostly change of seasons). He gave me a nasal spray, sent me home, the "infection" disappeared and hasn't been back since. That was over ten years ago.
The point here is that what appears as one thing (because it presents itself similarly) could actually be something else. Take care and I hope you feel better soon.
Oct '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
I was once prescribed antibiotics for deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in my shoulder. I probably would have suffered a pulmonary embolism if it weren't for the internet.
Aug '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
Is that half the battle?
Jun '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
Most cases of sinusitis are what I would classify as colds. Two large meta-analyses of the effect of antibiotics on sinusitis (one by the Cochrane Group, the other in Lancet) showed little or no benefit of antibiotics. Some would consider colored drainage to be an indication for antibiotics, but this had no predictive value. I will prescribe antibiotics if the patient has a "toxic" or ill appearance, e.g. high fever. Even then, I'm not at all sure that they are helpful except in a small minority of cases.
Jun '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
If you want to make sure your nasal rinse is safe and you don't want to mix your own, you could buy something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Saline-Adult-Original-3-Ounce/dp/B000RDN3IQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1326642188&sr=8-8
May '10
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
As a perennial sinus pain sufferer, I've found using loratadine/pseudoephredine on a regular basis, i.e., Claritin D, Alavert D, takes care of the majority of my sinus ailments.
On occasion, a nasal wash will significantly address the sinus pressure.
For alleviation of symptoms, heat and more heat- grits (probably not on hand in Instanbul), hot coffee, hot tea, hot showers and, in particular, a hot soup with really hot peppers such as Hot and Sour. Ya know, apply some HEAT.
If there is still sinus pain after the above and a fever for more than a couple of days, then I consider seeing a doc. That's happened about three times in the last fifteen years and with the subsequent use of antibiotics, the problems cleared up.
Edited on January 15, 2012 at 4:57pmFeb '11
Re: Sunday Morning Debate: Viral or Bacterial?
We need to know what are your symptoms before we can make a reasonable decision as to whether you are having upper respiratory symptoms caused by bacterial or viral organisms. As you know, only the former will respond to antibiotics although there is treatment we can offer, in either case, which will assist you to feel better. Please describe exactly what you are experiencing and for how long you have had these symptoms. A comment about your overall state of health under normal conditions would be helpful, as well. We might take a different approach with a person who is normally reasonably young and healthy - given the same symptoms - as compared to one who is chronically ill with one or more debilitating illnesses
Wife of Snowbird, MSN, FNP
Edited on January 15, 2012 at 5:54pm