How long does sinusitis have to be treated?
Because of the fact that we are dealing with an abscess which can not be adequately drained without doing a major surgical procedure, it often takes an extended period of time for the sinus infection to be completely treated by what we can call medical drainage. Some physicians often will only treat patients with sinus infections for a week or ten days and as a result patients are partially cured, but never get complete relief of symptoms. It is critical that treatment occur for a minimum of several weeks, and commonly patients may need to be treated for several months. Antifungal agents may need to be used for an even longer period of time. We commonly continue non- antibiotic treatment after stopping antibiotics. If patients don’t get better, it is important for them to be evaluated for surgery by an otolaryngologist.
