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Suggest Treatment For Acute Sinusitis
Question: severe sinus headache (about 5 days)
face hurts, head hurts, pressure around eyeballs
no appetite-vomited when I tried to eat peas-vomited when I tried to eat an apple
not vomited in last day or two but still no appetite (have a horrible taste in my mouth that I can't rid of
very dizzy-can't walk very far at all (used to walking 3-5km a day)
No confident in health care options where I am at (west Africa)so looking for info
face hurts, head hurts, pressure around eyeballs
no appetite-vomited when I tried to eat peas-vomited when I tried to eat an apple
not vomited in last day or two but still no appetite (have a horrible taste in my mouth that I can't rid of
very dizzy-can't walk very far at all (used to walking 3-5km a day)
No confident in health care options where I am at (west Africa)so looking for info
Brief Answer:
Acute Sinusitis.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for your query.
1. From your description, this appears to be an acute sinusitis.
2. Routine treatment with a broad spectrum antibiotic (such as amoxicillin + clavulanic acid 625 mg twice a day for 5 days), anti-allergic (such as cetirizine 10 mg or fexofenadine 120 mg once a day for 5 days), an anti-inflammatory medication (such as paracetamol and ibuprofen thrice a day for 5 days), steam inhalation and OTC nasal decongestant drops will settle the symptoms in 48-72 hours. Anti-vomiting and anti-acidity medication may be added.
3. If the symptoms persist beyond 2-3 days, get examined by a doctor and get routine blood tests done.
4. The vomiting, lack of appetite and odd taste may be due to a Post Nasal Drip (PND). Dizziness or imbalance is common in sinusitis. Get the ears examined as well.
5. Other investigations (such as X-rays, Scans, ear tests) can be avoided at present.
I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.
Regards.
Acute Sinusitis.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for your query.
1. From your description, this appears to be an acute sinusitis.
2. Routine treatment with a broad spectrum antibiotic (such as amoxicillin + clavulanic acid 625 mg twice a day for 5 days), anti-allergic (such as cetirizine 10 mg or fexofenadine 120 mg once a day for 5 days), an anti-inflammatory medication (such as paracetamol and ibuprofen thrice a day for 5 days), steam inhalation and OTC nasal decongestant drops will settle the symptoms in 48-72 hours. Anti-vomiting and anti-acidity medication may be added.
3. If the symptoms persist beyond 2-3 days, get examined by a doctor and get routine blood tests done.
4. The vomiting, lack of appetite and odd taste may be due to a Post Nasal Drip (PND). Dizziness or imbalance is common in sinusitis. Get the ears examined as well.
5. Other investigations (such as X-rays, Scans, ear tests) can be avoided at present.
I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Priyanka G Raj
Hello Dr Bhatti,
Thank you for the reply. Some things I did not mention in the initial question:
-nausea has gone away for the most part
-urine has been dark in color; do feel rather dehydrated
-tried using a syringe to spray a saline solution into each nostril (half a teaspoon salt/half a teaspoon baking soda to a cup of previously boiled water) Didn't get much mucous discharge. Is it worth trying again? (The strange thing is, when I block each nostril and trying breathing through the other, the seem to be rather open-is this normal with sinusitis?)
-I can't find OCT nasal saline solution anywhere; I was worried about using nasal decongestion drops because I've read about "rebound effect" How long should I use the drops before that becomes a concern?
-after steam inhalation, what is better as a compress, hot compress or compress
Thanks
Thank you for the reply. Some things I did not mention in the initial question:
-nausea has gone away for the most part
-urine has been dark in color; do feel rather dehydrated
-tried using a syringe to spray a saline solution into each nostril (half a teaspoon salt/half a teaspoon baking soda to a cup of previously boiled water) Didn't get much mucous discharge. Is it worth trying again? (The strange thing is, when I block each nostril and trying breathing through the other, the seem to be rather open-is this normal with sinusitis?)
-I can't find OCT nasal saline solution anywhere; I was worried about using nasal decongestion drops because I've read about "rebound effect" How long should I use the drops before that becomes a concern?
-after steam inhalation, what is better as a compress, hot compress or compress
Thanks
Brief Answer:
Avoid using OTC nasal decongestant drops for more than 2 weeks.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for writing back.
1. Avoid using OTC nasal decongestant drops for more than 2 weeks consecutively. This prevents Rhinitis Medicamentosa. Occasional use is fine.
2. Try 0.9% saline solution which is easily available. You can use up to 3% saline solution for nasal washes. Avoid household salt as it contains whitening and anti caking agents.
3. It is common for symptoms to vary in sinusitis.
4. A hot compress will be better.
I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.
Regards.
Avoid using OTC nasal decongestant drops for more than 2 weeks.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for writing back.
1. Avoid using OTC nasal decongestant drops for more than 2 weeks consecutively. This prevents Rhinitis Medicamentosa. Occasional use is fine.
2. Try 0.9% saline solution which is easily available. You can use up to 3% saline solution for nasal washes. Avoid household salt as it contains whitening and anti caking agents.
3. It is common for symptoms to vary in sinusitis.
4. A hot compress will be better.
I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.
Regards.
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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