Cold, Flu, & Cough Health Center

Sinus Infection? Antibiotics No Help

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What's wrong with just giving patients antibiotics? Williamson and Lindbaek both note that bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotic drugs. And antibiotics that are not effective spur the growth of drug-resistant bugs.

Lindbaek says that more cautious prescribing policies among Norwegian doctors is one reason Norway has one-tenth as many important drug-resistant bacteria as does the U.S.

And Williamson says patients and doctors should think about the future.

"It is a green issue," he suggests. "Maybe we will get away with overusing antibiotics, but will our kids get away with it? We should use antibiotics wisely. It is a resource we don't want to use up."

Williamson and colleagues report their findings in the Dec. 5 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. An editorial by Lindbaek appears in the same issue.