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Suggest Medication For Sinus Infection

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Posted on Fri, 22 Jan 2016
Question: Hi- i think i have a sinus infection. Since it's the holiday- most walk-in clinics are closed-- do i just take over the counter day & night time cold ? flu? tablets? my temp is 97.7
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (26 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
OTC should be enough

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

a sinus infection causes headache, nasal congestion and a runny nose and usually follows a common cold. Sometimes it may even cause fever. If you don't have any headache then this is probably just a common cold. The common cold is treated only for the symptoms. You can take paracetamol (acetaminophen) for the malaise, antihistamines and decongestants for the nasal symptoms and drink enough fluid.

If you do have headache then it can indeed be a sinus infection. If the headache is severe or you've got fever (you don't for the time being...) or other local symptoms (like orbital swelling) then you should probably need antibiotics. Otherwise the aforementioned measures should suffice. Nasal rinsing may remove the secretions and facilitate recovery.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Happy New Year!
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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Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3817 Questions

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Suggest Medication For Sinus Infection

Brief Answer: OTC should be enough Detailed Answer: Hello, a sinus infection causes headache, nasal congestion and a runny nose and usually follows a common cold. Sometimes it may even cause fever. If you don't have any headache then this is probably just a common cold. The common cold is treated only for the symptoms. You can take paracetamol (acetaminophen) for the malaise, antihistamines and decongestants for the nasal symptoms and drink enough fluid. If you do have headache then it can indeed be a sinus infection. If the headache is severe or you've got fever (you don't for the time being...) or other local symptoms (like orbital swelling) then you should probably need antibiotics. Otherwise the aforementioned measures should suffice. Nasal rinsing may remove the secretions and facilitate recovery. I hope you find my comments helpful! You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information. Happy New Year!