Any Moms Who've Had a Sinus Infection

You usually have to be on antibiotics for about 10 days. and it takes a week to really clear up. But that is just in my experience... I get regular infections whenever the season changes.

Dear C.,
Yes, those can drag out even a few days past the
antibiotics. I had one a few years ago.It was about 10 days
before I started feeling like my old self again.

Good Health to You!
C. S.

I just got over mine...it lasted for almost 10 days!!!! Although I didn't start antibiotics until this past Sunday, so I waited too long. I thought it was just a cold. Hang in there!

Are you rinsing your sinuses? If not, get a baby bulb (or a Netty Pot), and make some warm/hot water with salt. Tap water is fine, and table salt is fine. 1/4 teaspoon in 4-6 oz of water. Test temp and saltiness before totally going for it.

Take water up into the bulb, plug one nostril and with your head upright or slightly tilted forward over the sink, squeeze the contents of the bulb up your nose while sniffing in. Let all of that stuff come out. Use up all of the water. Do it 4 times a day. It only takes a few minutes, and you will feel cleansed! Remember to have a nice towel handy as your nose will run when you tip your head back and forth.

My doctor told me about this when I was having a rash of sinus infections that wouldn't clear with antibiotics. I was so miserable! I am still prone to the infections, but I never use antibiotics. I only rinse with salt water, and poof! It is gone in a few days. You are essentially making your sinuses inhospitable to the bacteria that have taken up shop in there.

Good luck!

I get sinus infections all the time. Depending upon how bad the infection is, it can take me up to a week until I'm feeling 100%. However, I usually start feeling some improvement in about 24-48 hours after starting my antibiotics. If you're not feeling any improvement (meaning not as crappy) then I would call the doctor because this course of antibiotics might not be working for you. Let the doc know and he can change your prescription to something stronger. Also...my doc usually gave me a 10-day course of meds. Even though you're feeling better after 5-7 days make sure you finish all the meds according to directions. Although you feel better it doesn't mean the infection is completely gone. I've stopped early and had it come back meaner than before and more resistant to treatment. Warm baths and steam vaporizers help me too. Hang in there and hope you're feeling better soon.

Im a dad but ive had plenty of sinus infections thruout my life. I am a singer working full time and the Neti Pot changed my life. It is really not gross at all. You may want to use a little less saline at first so it isnt stingy salty. I use it every day, not just when I have simptoms.

Steam is great too!

I also recently changed to a high fiber no sugar diet (due to early stage diabetes) and my mucusness has really diminished.

My husband suffered from sinus infections for 15 years. They were chronic and he spent almost the entire time on antibiotics, had specialists running bizarre tests and even had the surgery. NO relief. Finally I got him to try a NETI POT. He had a migraine for 3 days and couldn't take it any more. He went into the bathroom, used the Neti Pot and came out 5 minutes later with no headache & no sinus pressure. He's been using this now for about 3 years & not one infection or antibiotic since. I've recommended this to many people-all have had the same results. He says it feels a bit odd but well worth it once you get the hang of it. It's about $15 at Henry's Market and you use it with sea salt. Good Luck & Feel Better.

It usually takes at least two weeks for a sinus infection to run its course, even with medication.

I just got over the worst sinus infection ever!!! I went to the doctor on Wednesday of last week for it and he prescribed Cefdinir 300mg (generic for Omnicef), 2 tablets (taken at once) a day for 7 days. I picked up the prescription the following day, on Thurday and it took the full 7 days for it to finally clear up. My other sinus infections have usually cleared up with antibiotics within about 3 to 5 days but this one was special (and I say that with all the sarcasm in my heart).

They gave me a zPack and sudafed, within 24hours I was feeling soooo good. I depends on the type of antibiotics you're taking as to how quickly it kicks in.

Okay, it sounds pretty gross, but try a "Netti Pot" every day when you shower. It flushes out the icky stuff from your sinuses with a saline solution. I used to have HORRIBLE sinus infections, with headaches that made me cry if I even moved my head, & took a lot of antiboitics...but since I got over the "gross" factor, I've not had one...it's been about 6 months now. I guess Oprah did a show about them, too. I didn't see the show, but my bro has been doing it for a couple of years, it it has helped him a lot. It helps people with allegeries, too.

Hi C.! Sorry for the pain. I have had many sinus infections (ugh). Usually within a day or two, you should start to feel some better (not a lot mind you, but some). If you don't by the 4th day, go back in. You might be immune to the antibiotics they gave you and you need a different one. It happens more often than you might think. My son got pneumonia at age 1 because the doctor gave him an antibiotic that I had told him didn't seem to work, he gave me more of it, and it still didn't work. Once the pneumonia was there, he believed! It is more widely known today (10 years later). Also, recently I was given a NeilMed NASAFLO Neti Pot. You pour salt solution through your nasal passages - I thought I would hate it. Once I finally tried it, it helped a lot!!! Feel better & God Bless You!

It will probably take a good week and you might still have after effects for two weeks.

i had it not to long ago. I was also on antibiotics and had to take 2 pills a day for 10 days i'm not sure when it cleared but by the time i was done with the meds i was good. Hope the same goes 4 u.

Hi C.,

You need to tell your doctor and get a different antibiotic if you really have a sinus infection. May people equate allergies for sinusitis and all the antibiotics in the world won't cure an allergy. My company makes an OTC allergy product that is identical to Claritin, but our is only $9.99 for a 30 day supply. Call me at ###-###-####, I would love to share it with you.
Good Luck ~ F.

It takes anywhere from a week to two. I get them very frequently and am actually going o be getting surgery soon. YAY...lol. Anyhow keep up on those antibiotics but als oget some saline spray and a humidifier to help you out a little bit. I also have eucalyptus oil which I put on the floor of the shower when I am taking a shower so that the steam and vapor helps clear it up to. Just hang in there..it will be gone in a few. If it does recur within a month or so..have your doc look inot allergies cause my sinus issues are connected to my allergies and when my allergies go crazy on come the sinus infections. Good luck!

Hi C., I recently had a sinus infection along with a cold. It lasted 3 weeks. I was in so much pain. Pain where it was causing pain in my jaw. I finally called my doctor to see if I could get advice over the phone with my nurse, so that I didn't have to go in and pay my deductible. So the nurse ended up telling me to use saline drops to moisten the nasal passage, and use a decongestant. My husband had this over the counter sinus medication...Tylenol Sinus with decongestant. Little white pills. Oh my goodness....sinus pain was gone in one day, I had little bit of cold issues after that, but that was expected. I wished I knew this 3 weeks earlier, but now I know what to use from now on. I hope this helps. I am a mother of 3, working at a car dealership 80 hours a week, so you can see why I needed to find a remedy.

Just got over one, but also had strep throat along with it. I was flat on my back and slept for 72 hours....talk about feeling lousy....I'm sorry you're sick....I had to respond because mine was just so FRESH!!!! My "cure" was going to the doc and getting a heavy-duty injection of antibiotic that actually took the place of TEN DAYS of antibiotic pills....I started feeling better after 3 days, not really very good until about 5-6 days...almost a whole week later. Please take care...and I feel your pain!!!!! ;-)

All of my sinus infections started to feel better 3 or 4 days after starting the antibiotic. It depends on how bad the infection is and the strength of the antibiotic. Give it a chance to work (at least a week) and if you don't see any improvement, call your doctor and talk to him about it. Just remember, even if you feel better tomorrow, use the antibiotic until it is gone unless otherwise directed by your physician.

My husband and I both occasionally get sinus infections and they are annoying but you just have to let them run their course. We have both been advised that antibiotics will not help them, so I think it's a waste of time and your immunity defenses to take antibiotics for this. The best thing I have found for some relief is the sinupot it is just a simple plastic pot that comes with a saline powder solution that you dissolve in warm water. You pour it into one nostril and it comes out the other. It is a bit uncomfortable but you get used to it after a couple times. It offers immediate relief I was so amazed that I had never tried it before and that more people don't know about it. Best of all, you can use it as many times in a day as you want to.

This happened to me recently. I went to my regular doctor, he gave me antibiotics. Did nothing. A month later, I went to an ENT (at my husband's insistence). I was just starting to use the NETI pot (highly recommended, buy the NETI recommended pharmaceutical grade salt) and it helped a little, but did not solve the problem. The ENT gave me a much stronger antibiotic and within the first day, I felt relief. It's been clear for over a month. I saw him yesterday for a follow up and he did say I need to keep up with the NETI pot (or something similar) like flossing for care for myself. Fine.
Just finish this dose and see how you do. Take acidiphilus (healthy bacteria) to replenish what the antibiotics kill off in your gut. Otherwise you'll end up with a vaginal bacterial infection (like I did the first time I didn't do this with the first antibiotic round).

me my husband get sinus infections a few times a year i think the zpak antibiotic works the best, also if you get the generic claritin that they sale at sams club you get 300 pills for $13 and take 2 every morning that does wonders from not getting them as often and not as bad, we both take the pills, also a nasal decongest pill helps

Hi C.,

Generally, sinus infections can take a minimum of two weeks to clear up, sometimes longer depending on how bad your case is. Zythromax is the best antibiotic for it, especially for quicker relief. However, no matter what antibiotic you're on, make sure you take the entire dose as indicated, or else those nasty sinus infections can tend to linger. Sometimes a second dose of antibiotics is required. If it doesn't fully go away, you'll be likely to get it again soon.

Hi, I sympathize completely with your discomfort - and the best remedy that I have come across for sinus problems is a natural one. It's called a netty pot and you can even buy them at CVS - you use salt water to drain your sinuses and although it sounds weird it's not uncomfortable and gives instant relief, try it!

I have just finished up 10 days of anitbiotics for a sinus infect. I was really stuffy and draining lots of junk for the first week on the anitbiotics. My illness started 2 1/2 weeks ago and the only lingering part now is that my upper teeth hurt when I run. That is the swollen sinuses pushing on the nerve endings. I happened to have a dentist appt. just the other day and asked about it, she said it was totally normal. I suspect you should start feeling better in the next day, if not perhaps your anitbiotic is not working. Hang in there!

I have had one for about 4 days and it has been crappy still with the antibiotics...I think cause it has morphed into a head cold ugh. After the antibiotics are done it should start to clear up because the usual timeline is about a week...I have been taking just straight tylenol if I need it not like nyquil because it slows milk supply I found out! Feel better!

My husband used to get frequent sinus problems & infections... what he does, and what many doctors themselves do, is doing a nasal flush/rinse of the nose. It is also called nasal irrigation etc.

You can do it anytime, even if you are on medication.
I highly recommend it.

Here's some links for info.:
http://www.achooallergy.com/cold-and-allergies.asp
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&a...
http://www.google.com/search?q=nasal+flushing&ie=utf-...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&a...

It REALLY helps, and you don't have to rely on antibiotics. The thing with a sinus infection is, the doctor can't really see IN your sinus nasal cavity...so they just assume it's a sinus infection per your nasal discharge and symptoms a person seems to have....then, hoping the antibiotic will clear it up.

AND sinus infections can recur or linger for a long long time if the area is still full of bacteria....

I would really try the nasal flushing or nasal "douching" as it is called. My 5 year old daughter even did it a few times when she was sick, and it really helped. My husband does it as for "maintenance" to keep his sinuses clear. It also helps a great deal in preventing colds.

Good luck and take care,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

Hello C.,

I had a very bad sinus infection last year. My doctor put me on antibiotics as well. The antibiotics didn't seem to do the trick. I went to the health food store and got some special herbal teas that helped more than anything. The person that runs the health food store can help you out. Anytime I have felt one coming on, I start drinking the herbal teas for about a week and it seems to nip it in the bud.

Get a neti pot. It looks like a little Alladin's lamp. You can get it at WHole Foods, on line, or at some health food stores. You flush out your sinuses, and the infection, with saline. Do it on a regular basis for prevention. In lieu of that, you can get Simply Saline at any drug store and do the same thing. Tip your head back and pour the saline up your nostril, tip your head towards the other side and blow out through the other nostril. The neti pot will have instructions. Regular use will keep you infection free. It changed my life. I used to get bronchitis on a regular basis. That developed into asthma over the years. Once I discovered this trick, everything cleared up. Steaming with a towel over boiling water does the same thing, but believe me the neti pot is much easier to deal with. If you have an infection I would use the neti pot a couple of times a day.

I had one a few months ago. yeah...crappy is a good word for it. I had about 4 days of real crappy. Then it seemed the drugs finally kicked in and I was back to feeling like myself within 2 or 3 days after that. In all it took about a week or so to pass. the best thing I can recommend is to get as much rest as you can (ha-ha-ha...if that's possible). that's what helped me. I called in sick for 2 days and took over the couch. hang in there. it should be over soon.

Give it at least a week after you start the antibiotics. Be sure to take ALL the antibiotics, even after you start feeling better, otherwise it will just come back - they're nasty little bugs!

Hi C.: You poor thing...I've had a few real bad sinus infections, and I know...you must feel miserable. I can understand you wanting to hurry this thing along,having a 3 year old to care for.Mine got so bad, I could actually feel and hear it breaking up.I could actually hear a cracking noise. Yipes! This may sound extreme,C. but The only thing that really helped me is I took a large pot from the kitchen,filled it with hot water and dropped in some vicks vapor-rub,and put a towel over my head and the pot and breathed in some of the vapors from that,then I took a wash cloth,with (clean hot water,)and held it on my face ,around my nose and forehead. I just kept putting those hot cloths on my forehead, and I could feel it breaking up,and releaving the tention it was causing.I was desperate, and wanted some relief,and it did the trick. Let me know, if you try it and if it helped you. Hope your feelin better soon hun.

I hate to tell you this but some times it takes 2to 3 months to clear it up.Just make sure you do as the DR. say. it went to my eye once .M.

Just dip your nose in warm salt water, breath it into your sinus as though you had just jumped into a pool and got water up your nose. Do it until you can't stand it anymore. Two or three nights before bed, and during the day if you can take it. Amazing results for sinus infections. I used to suffer with them for weeks. Oprah did something on this. Some people use a special little ceramic "teapot" for this. I just recommend a teacup, and imagination that you're jumping into a beautiful pool of lovely water at the beach at some exotic locale. Good Luck.

C.,

Most infections will clear up in 3-4 days with antibiotics. If you've been on them for that long and you don't feel better, I'd call your doctor and ask for a different antibiotic. Whatever you have is likely not responding to whatever they gave you.

T.

I suffer from these occasionally as well so I was really interested in the responses. My last infection lasted about a week on the antibiotics. I saw the Netti Pot at Henry's a couple weeks ago and was intrigued but didn't get it. I'm glad to see so many positive responses about it.

Yuck...have had several. The nasal saline spray works well if you do it consistently and using a humidifier in your house daily will help overall indoor conditions. Also, a vaporizer helps break up congestion too...helps with the kids also! Hope this helps!