Can sinusitis go away on its own? Or, once I have it will I always have it?

Question

The doctor told me I have sinusitis. She told me to take the prescribed medication to get rid of it. My friend has been dealing with sinusitis on and off for 10 years. My friend told me that once I have it, it never fully goes away. But, my doctor made it sound like it DOES go away. I asked my cousin, who's been a RN for a couple years, and she said that the doctor is correct, sinusitis can go away for good and may never return. But, my friend is very presistent that once I have it, it'll never fully go away. She says she's done lengthy research on sinusitis. Who's right?

Answer 1

it depends on the person and how healthy they are.

Answer 2

Does Chronic Sinusitis Go Away

Answer 3

In my experience, your friend is right. I had sinusitis that would go away with antibiotics, but then when I'd finished taking them, it would be back after a month or so.

My theory is that the infection goes away with the antibiotic use, but the trigger that's causing the sinusitis is probably still there. It may be in your environment. For me, it depended on where I lived. Some places would cause me to suffer horribly with it. Then when I moved, I would be "cured." It doesn't even depend on the climate. I've lived in two different countries with similar climates, and the one would cause the sinusitis and the other wouldn't.

Answer 4

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RE:
Can sinusitis go away on its own? Or, once I have it will I always have it?
The doctor told me I have sinusitis. She told me to take the prescribed medication to get rid of it. My friend has been dealing with sinusitis on and off for 10 years. My friend told me that once I have it, it never fully goes away. But, my doctor made it sound like it DOES go away. I asked my...

Answer 5

Bodily infection happens all the time. Over the course of my life I've gotten them from time to time--it's no big deal. This past Christmas I got a sinus infection ("sinusitus") after contracting the flu. It did go away on its own, but it was very uncomfortable because of the congestion and swelling.

You may need to take medication if it develops badly, but otherwise it is something that will go away on its own. My sinuses healed completely in a few days after the swelling stopped, which persisted for a few days too.

Answer 6

Chronic sinusitis is one of the most commonly diagnosed chronic illnesses in the United States, affecting 30 million to 40 million Americans each year.

Chronic sinusitis begins with an inflammation of the mucous membranes in your sinuses — the air-filled passages around your nose and throat. The inflammation causes fluid buildup eventually plugging the sinus cavity and preventing normal mucus drainage.

Chronic sinusitis can be a miserable condition that significantly impairs your quality of life. If you have chronic sinusitis, you may have difficulty breathing through the nose, experience frequent headaches and tenderness in the face or aching behind the eyes. You may also have frequent yellow or greenish discharge from your nose or drainage down the back of your throat.

Chronic sinusitis can be caused by infections of the upper respiratory tract — the nose, pharynx, sinuses and throat — but there are noninfectious triggers too. Allergies are a common cause, and anatomical problems such as a deviated nasal septum can bring on chronic sinusitis. Other suspected causes include mold or fungi in the sinuses.

Most cases of sinusitis are acute, meaning they resolve in less than four weeks. However, when the condition recurs or endures longer than 12 consecutive weeks, you've developed a case of chronic sinusitiscases that continue to resist treatment or medication, endoscopic sinus surgery may be an option. For this procedure, the doctor uses an endoscope, a thin, flexible tube with an attached light, to explore your sinus passages. Then, depending on the source of obstruction, the doctor may use various tools to remove tissue or shave away a bone or polyp that's causing nasal blockage. Enlarging a narrow sinus opening may also be an option to promote drainage.

Another treatment method that may become more common is balloon rhinoplasty which helps open the sinuses by inserting and then inflating a balloon inside the sinus cavities. The procedure is less invasive than is sinus surgery. HoweveYour sinuses are the air-filled hollow cavities around your nose and nasal passages. When these passages become inflamed, fluid may accumulate and interfere with normal drainage of mucus in the sinuses. This condition is known as acute sinusitis.

The result? You may have trouble breathing through your nose. When you lean forward, throbbing pains may move across your face. You may have a headache, fever or nagging cough, and you feel your eyes and facial tissue swell up.

It's an uncomfortable condition. The common cold virus is the most frequent cause, although other triggers include bacteria or allergies. Most colds resolve with time, but nearly 2 percent develop into acute sinusitis. Almost 40 million Americans experience sinusitis each year, at an annual health care cost of nearly $6 billion.

Treatment of acute sinusitis depends on the cause, and therapies can range from antibiotics for bacterial cases to oral corticosteroids for acute inflammation.

Untreated acute sinusitis can lead to more-serious infections or become a chronic condition. However, most cases are short-lived. When symptoms last less than four weeks, the sinusitis is considered acute. Many cases of sinusitis will subside without the need for antibiotics. Self-care techniques may speed along recovery.

If your doctor suspects you have a bacterial infection, he or she may prescribe a course of antibiotics such as amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox), doxycycline (Doryx, Monodox) or the combination drug trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra). If the infection doesn't subside or if the sinusitis is recurrent, a different antibiotic may be warranted.

Your doctor may also recommend other treatment methods, depending on the underlying cause of the sinusitis. These include:

Treating an underlying allergic condition that contributes to sinusitis
Using prescription decongestants, nasal corticosteroid spray or oral corticosteroid pills to relieve stuffiness
Taking over-the-counter decongestants or pain relievers
Spraying a saline solution in your nose several times a day
r, it's relatively new and long-term results are still unclear.

Answer 7

well there antibiotics that treat sinusitis and you feel better after awhile like after a week of treatment but it does tend to come back like re-occur so I that it what your friend means by it never really goes away. Doctors can give a prescription for it but you cant be on it forever, its not a serious terminal illness so all you gotta do is go in every time you have it for more antibiotics-it is weird how it feels that it never really goes away and before getting it or before knowing what it was it seems like you never had it before..

Answer 8

I guess it depends on the person.

For me, I've been battling against my sinuses, asthma, and allergies since I was born. I'm 19 now and Im JUST getting to having a tonsilectomy, and surgery on my abnoids. I've done everything else in the book and nothing seems to work for me. Where as I know some people, who pop a pill for a few days and they're cured.

Answer 9

The doctor and the RN. Your friend may have allergies or just bad sinuses.

Answer 10

I have had it multiple times and a good antibiotic makes it go away - always make sure to take your antibiotic until it is finished or else it won't cure you completely. I think that if you have sinuses that are prone to infections that sinusitus is more common. Good luck

Answer 11

First off is your friend a Dr. probably not cause if he was,you would be suing him for medical malpractice because he obviously doesn't know what the he** he is talking about.He may have allergies that will never go away but what you have will, take the medication your Dr perscribed and you will be better.