Pediatricians: Hold Off On Antibiotics For Sinus Infections

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has new guidelines to diagnose and treat bacterial sinus infections.

Many infections develop after a cold, with symptoms including a cough, green or yellow nasal discharge and sometimes fever.

Doctors previously prescribed antibiotics for all children diagnosed with a bacterial sinus infection that lasted 7 to 10 days.

According to Alanna Levin of the AAP, pediatricians can wait another three days on top of that.

"Pediatricians can actually wait and observe children for 72 hours even if they think the child has a sinus infection to see if the child can fight it on their own," Levin said.

Pediatricians hope the new guidelines will cut down on the antibiotics children take.

But some parents say it's a long time to wait to get your child healthy again.