How to Beat IBS

Get Your Free eBook

How to Beat IBS & Never Worry About Digestive Problems Again!

Antibiotics and Surgery May Not Cure Sinusitis


Published date: July 24, 2012 | Modified date:
by Dr Stephen Wangen

Many people with sinus infection complain that after having taken multiple courses of antibiotics or even following surgery, in the end they feel the same as they did before their treatment. Their sinusitis problem returns with a vengeance. What is the problem? Aren’t they getting the right antibiotic?

The answer is that in these people, the antibiotics are only treating the bacterial infection that is secondary to the inflammation clogging their sinuses. Therefore antibiotics don’t get at the real cause of the problem. The same can be said for surgery. Surgery may scrape out the sinuses or open up a bigger hole for them to drain, but these treatments only address secondary problems resulting from the inflammation. Therefore the original sinus problem remains.

The inflammation that is causing the sinus pain requires a trigger. The real question is, “What is causing the inflammation?” Anything that triggers the immune system can be that trigger, because the immune system is what causes inflammation and mucous production. Bacteria, which are treated with antibiotics, are only one cause of inflammation.

One of the most likely causes of chronic sinus infection or nasal congestion is a food allergy. Food allergies constantly trigger the immune system, therefore the inflammation never permanently goes away. This can result in a persistent runny nose, or recurrent sinus infections due to the moist and poorly draining/inflamed environment that is maintained in the sinuses.