Medications do not help with acute symptoms of the nose and sinuses

If bothersome symptoms of nose and sinuses physicians often prescribe antibiotics and nasal spray with anti-inflammatory medication. But these medications do not help, the symptoms usually go anyway within about ten to fourteen days. Roderick writes that GPs in training Venekamp in his thesis.

Venekamp analyzed which general practitioners between 2000 and 2009 medications prescribed to patients with acute symptoms of the nose and sinuses . Nearly sixty percent of the cases shows that antibiotics, even though the complaints of not faster. About thirty percent of the patients' nasal spray with anti-inflammatory medication (intranasal corticosteroids). That percentage has doubled over the past decade. The effectiveness of such a nasal spray is not clear.

No effect 

Venekamp therefore compared in a clinical trial of 185 patients with acute nasal and bijholteklachten derived from 54 general practices in New Zealand. Half received a week of prednisone tablets, the control group received a placebo . In addition, each participant advised paracetamol and nasal drops. After a week the symptoms were the same in both groups to have declined.The patients have no benefit from prednisone.

Symptoms fight 

"The best treatment consists of symptom management: an adequate dose of paracetamol for headaches and nasal drops slijmontzwellende" explains Venekamp. "But many patients experience unpleasant symptoms and doctors want the patient help of these complaints. Perhaps that explains the many antibiotic prescriptions and recently the intranasal corticosteroids. Many doctors mistakenly think that patients wantantibiotics or other medications like. "

In conversation

Venekamp thinks that doctors need to go further in discussion with patients. "It is important to explain to patients that the symptoms in the vast majority of cases within ten to fourteen days pass, and that medicines not help to speed up the complaints to come."