Sinus infection and antibiotic worry

[Nighttime pacer]

Hi all
Has anyone got any advice about sinus infections?

I've had a cough for a few weeks and went to my asthma specialist and he told me to up my medication which I did and it seemed to help a little.

I then got a sinus infection and it seemed to be making the cough worse.

I've seen an ent specialist and he's prescribed a nasal steroid and an antibiotic azithromycin.
I'm a bit worried as I've been taking the antibiotic 2 days and am blowing out dark yellow stuff when I blow my nose (sorry for boing so gross).

He's told me to take azithromycin for a week at 500mg then another week at 250mg though the leaflet with it says to just take it for 3 days.
I worried that the antibiotics won't make me better and that taking them for 2 weeks may make me feel even more ill.

I've read that sinus infections usually go on their own anyway but can take a while.

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks for reading,
Nighttime pacer

[StephA]

Most respiratory infections, including sinus infections are viral, meaning they don't need antibiotics. Most doctor's are quick to jump the gun and do prescribe them, which is why they are way overprescribed. I'm NOT telling you not to take them, but my doctor said she does not prescribe them for about 95% of patients she sees with sinus infections. Also it is a myth that if your phlegm/snot is green or yellow then you need antibiotics. That's a common misconception. Perhaps you should seek another opinion from a doctor.

[AntsyVee]

I've had sinus infections all the time. I say take the antibiotics. The tricky thing with sinuses is that the initial infection can be caused by a virus. But once you have all the fluids in there, secondary bacterial infections can start by bacteria being trapped in there. You have nothing to lose with taking the antibiotics. Your doctor obviously thought it was in your best interest to prescribe them, or else s/he wouldn't have.

[swajj]

As someone who has had severe sinus infection my advice is to do steam inhalation 4 times a day. Getting all that yellow stuff out is good. And you'll get a lot more of it out with steam inhalation.

[ChildOfTheKing]

I've had sinus infection & what you're describing is pretty normal for them. As someone else said inhale steam, also drink plenty of fluids to try to thin out the mucus. I'd take the antibiotics, couldn't hurt.