How Long Should It Take For A Z
- Asked
- 3 Apr 2013 by kathyhanson
- sinusitis, antibiotics
I take the last of the Z-Pak tomorrow. The doctor gave me an injection of antibiotic and steroid on Monday. Still can strongly smell the infection. It is making me extremely nauseated. The sinus headache is horrible. Also using the normal saline nose spray. I can’t decide if it is too soon to call doctor or if I should finish the antibiotics and wait a couple of days. I’m also doing my Hizentra infusion today. Maybe the boost for my immune system will help. Any thoughts?
meyati
sounds horrible-I think that Z paks are getting weaker. Are you having any nasal discharge, and if you are what color is it- If it’s sort of dark or greenish, you’re still with a bad infection. Z-Paks usually work for about a week after you take the last one. Considering the smell. I’d go back to the doctor anyway, but he might tell you it is too soon. Be sure to tell him about nasal discharge and smell. I had one, where everything smelled and tasted sort of like fish. It took several doses of antibiotics to get rid of that.
+1kathyhansonmeyatiendlessPred+1
Treating Sinus Infections: Dont Rush To Antibiotics
Millions of people are prescribed antibiotics each year for sinus infections, a frequent complication of the common cold, hay fever, and other respiratory allergies. In fact, 15 to 21 percent of all antibiotic prescriptions for adults in outpatient care are for treating sinus infections. Unfortunately, most of those people dont need the drugs. Heres why:
The drugs usually dont help.
Sinus infections can be painful. People with the condition usually have a stuffy nose combined with yellow, green, or gray nasal discharge plus pain or pressure around the eyes, cheeks, forehead, or teeth that worsens when they bend over. But sinus infections almost always stem from a viral infection, not a bacterial oneand antibiotics dont work against viruses. Even when bacteria are the cause, the infections often clear up on their own in a week or so. And antibiotics dont help ease allergies, either.
They can pose risks.
About one in four people who take antibiotics have side effects, such as stomach problems, dizziness, or rashes. Those problems clear up soon after stopping the drugs, but in rare cases antibiotics can cause severe allergic reactions. Overuse of antibiotics also promotes the growth of bacteria that cant be controlled easily with drugs. That makes you more vulnerable to antibiotic-resistant infections and undermines the good that antibiotics can do for others.
So when are antibiotics necessary?
How should you treat sinus infections?
Do I Need An Antibiotic
The teams at Pew, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Utah and elsewhere chose ear infections, sore throats and sinus infections because they generate 44 million antibiotic prescriptions a year.
Its only appropriate sometimes to prescribe antibiotics for these conditions. Strep throat is easily treated with antibiotics, and if a child with a middle ear infection has pus oozing out, a pediatrician will usually give an antibiotic. Sinus infections that linger may be helped with antibiotics.
But more sore throats and ear infections are caused by viruses, and an antibiotic will do nothing to help the patient. Sinus infections can sometimes involve bacteria but often are caused by viruses or fungi.
When an antibiotic is called for, it should be a basic one usually amoxicillin, the Pew team said. Thats not what people usually get, however.
The most commonly prescribed non-first-line antibiotics for sinus infections, middle ear infections and pharyngitis were macrolides , a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics frequently prescribed in outpatient settings, the Pew team wrote in their report.
However, macrolides are not recommended for sinus or middle ear infections and are recommended for pharyngitis only for patients with an allergy to the penicillin class of antibiotics.
Why would doctors prescribe the wrong drug?
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What Are The Most Common Antibiotics Used For Sinusitis
Amoxicillin remains the drug of choice for acute, uncomplicated bacterial sinusitis. Amoxicillin is most effective when given frequently enough to sustain adequate levels in the infected tissue. While often prescribed twice daily, it is even more effective if taken in 3 or 4 divided doses. Amoxicillin is typically prescribed for 7-10 days at a time. While it is critical to finish the entire 10 day course of antibiotics when treating strep throat, there is evidence that shorter courses of treatment may be sufficient for most cases of sinusitis. Amoxicillin is closely related to the parent compound penicillin and should not be prescribed in patients who are penicillin allergic.
Cephalosporins and Augmentin are considered broad-spectrum antibiotics because they have enhanced effectiveness against a wider range of bacteria, including those that are resistant to ordinary penicillin or amoxicillin. If the patient does not improve within the first week on amoxicillin, a change to Augmentin or to a cephalosporin such as Ceftin, Cefzil, Omnicef, or Suprax is reasonable. Although these drugs have a similar mechanism of action to penicillin, they generally can be taken in adequate doses once or twice daily. These medications should be used with extreme caution in patients with a history of penicillin allergy, as cross-reaction may occur.
Additional resources:
How Long To Take It
Take your azithromycin for the duration prescribed by your provider.
Usually, this is between 3-10 days. Make sure to take the medication on time and complete the full treatment course before discontinuing the drugeven if youve begun to feel better.
Starting and quitting the drug before the specified day can cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics.
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Wait Remind Me What Z
A Z-Pack is literally just azithromycin, a standard antibiotic introduced in 1992, formulated in a package of six pills, which are taken over five days.
That short time commitment was a huge part of their appeal. Other antibiotics may require multiple doses a day for 10 or 14 days at a time, Tara Vijayan, M.D., assistant clinical professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, tells SELF. The Z-Pack was a nice defined course and relatively short, she says. It made people feel like they can do this they can complete their course and theyll be done with it.
Plus, the ones I took were usually hot pink and came in a blister pack rather than a bottlefactors that mattered a lot to a sick and miserable 8-year-old me. They were cheap, easy, cute, and they had a little marketing zing, Neha Vyas, M.D., a family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, tells SELF.
And, Dr. Vyas says, theyre indicated for a bunch of different health issues , which made them an appealing option when the first-line treatments werent available. For instance, before azithromycin, if you had a penicillin allergy and needed an antibiotic for a case of strep throat, your only option was likely a cephalosporin antibiotic, which still has some cross-reactivity with penicillin allergies, Dr. Vyas explains. So, if there were any worries about allergies, a Z-Pack was an obvious, nearly all-purpose choice.
Question: Can Seniors Take A Z Pack
Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of azithromycin in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have heart rhythm problems which may require caution in patients receiving azithromycin.
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What Are The Stages Of A Sinus Infection
Types
- Acute sinusitis usually starts with cold-like symptoms such as a runny, stuffy nose and facial pain. It may start suddenly and last 2 to 4 weeks.
- Subacute sinusitus usually lasts 4 to 12 weeks.
- Chronic sinusitus symptoms last 12 weeks or longer.
- Recurrent sinusitis happens several times a year.
Should I Take A Z Pack For A Cold
There is no reason to take a Z pack to treat a cold. The common cold is a viral infection, most often a rhinovirus. Viruses are not susceptible to antibiotics such as the Z pack.
Specific antivirals may target and kill viruses, but the Z pack is not one of them. Taking the Z pack will not help with a cold in any way.
The common cold usually lasts a few days, and the body can deal with it without outside help.
So, in general, there is not much that a person needs to do when fighting a cold, as the body will do the most work.
However, there are some things a person can do to help support the body, including:
- drinking extra water
- getting plenty of rest
- avoiding too much activity
If symptoms become uncomfortable or interfere with daily life, over-the-counter drugs may help treat symptoms until the body can get rid itself of the underlying infection.
Some drugs, such as acetaminophen , target symptoms individually, which helps reduce fever and pain. Other drugs, such as cough syrups, may contain different medicines to treat many symptoms at once.
Always follow the instructions on the label and avoid using these drugs in children. Some drugs have childrens versions available, and anyone who is uncertain should talk to their pediatrician before dosing their child.
The common cold tends to go away on its own, as the body deals with the underlying viral infection. There are still steps a person can take to help prevent the cold or prevent the spread of the cold.
These include:
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Is It Safe To Take Z
Z-Packs are also safe to take alongside numerous other medications. Z-Packs for strep throat, pneumonia, bronchitis, and more. Z-Packs are typically prescribed for convenience it contains the exact number of tablets youd need for certain infections and health conditions, at the right strength. Here are four examples:
So What Happened To Z
To be clear, nothing really happened to Z-Packs specifically, Dr. Vyas says. Theyre still around and still frequently prescribed to treat a few specific conditions. But lots of things happened around Z-Packs over the last several years that made doctors realize that their prescribing practices werent quite right.
In fact, in many ways, the rise and fall of the Z-Pack is simply a reflection of the way our understanding of antibiotics as a whole has developed in the past decade. We now know so much more about which antibiotics are best used for which illnesses, how the overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance, and the what the optimal time course is for various antibiotics. All of this resulted in Z-Packs becoming a bit less unique and less suited for some common illnesses.
The first big factor in the waning of Z-Pack popularity was that our developing understanding of antibiotic resistance made doctors wary about handing out Z-Packs so frequently for seemingly every minor health issue that might have a bacterial cause. They were being given out like candy, Dr. Vyas says.
When bacteria are resistant to a medication, doctors need to use a different antibiotic to treat the infection. Thats concerning because we have a limited number of antibiotic options available. And the ones we can use against antibiotic-resistant strains can cause serious side effects or arent necessarily the best options to use .
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When Is It Appropriate To Prescribe A Z
While your Z-pak wont work on viruses, such as colds, the flu or runny noses and even some bacterial infections, including most cases of bronchitis, many sinus infections and some ear infections, it does play a role in treating certain bacterial infections.
It is still used today to treat atypical bacterial pneumonia, chlamydia and/or gonococcal infections and is commonly used for Mycobacterium avium complex prophylaxis in HIV patients with CD4 counts below 50, Dr. Kobic said.
How To Treat A Sinus Infection Without Antibiotics
Before you consider antibiotics, a sinus infection can be treated without leaving at home. Some of the home remedies to treat a sinus infection without antibiotics include:
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When To See A Doctor
If you have worrying signs of an infection, its best to see your primary care physician before beginning antibiotic treatment using azithromycin.
Many common infections are actually viral, and will resolve on their own without antibiotics.
Azithromycin is not the right treatment for all types of bacterial infections.
Your provider can determine if antibiotics are needed at all, which antibiotics are safe and effective for your infection, and what dosage will work best.
If you have already begun using azithromycin and are not seeing improvement in your symptoms or are getting worse, speak to your healthcare provider.
What Are The Best Antibiotics For Sinus Infection Do Doctors Prescribe For You
There are many antibiotics that your doctor or physician may prescribe to help treat your sinus infection. Some of these may even be familiar to you.
These antibiotics are effective in treating sinus infection, however, these drugs do carry side effects. You should only be taken according to what your doctor or physician has prescribed. Always follow their instructions to achieve the best results.
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Who Cannot Take Z Pack
Who should not take ZITHROMAX? diarrhea from an infection with Clostridium difficile bacteria. low amount of magnesium in the blood. low amount of potassium in the blood. myasthenia gravis, a skeletal muscle disorder. hearing loss. torsades de pointes, a type of abnormal heart rhythm. slow heartbeat.
Can You Take Azithromycin With Bp Meds
If you have to prescribe a macrolide antibiotic to someone on a calcium channel blocker, it makes sense to give azithromycin. As for other classes of blood pressure drugs like ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers they do not seem to be susceptible to the effects of the two antibiotics, according to Juurlink.
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How To Take Azithromycin
Use Azithromycin exactly as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your doctor. Do not use in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
Follow all directions on your prescription label and read all medication guides or instruction sheets. Use the medicine exactly as directed.
Azithromycin oral is taken by mouth. Azithromycin injection is given as an infusion into a vein, usually for 2 days before you switch to azithromycin oral. A healthcare provider will give you this injection.
You may take azithromycin oral with or without food.
Shake the oral suspension before you measure a dose. Use the dosing syringe provided, or use a medicine dose-measuring device .
Use this medicine for the full prescribed length of time, even if your symptoms quickly improve. Skipping doses can increase your risk of infection that is resistant to medication. Azithromycin will not treat a viral infection such as the flu or a common cold.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Throw away any unused liquid medicine after 10 days.
Take the medicine as soon as you can, but skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next dose. Do not take two doses at one time.
When Antibiotics Dont Work
Some patients suffer from recurring sinus infections. If your sinus infection does not improve within five to seven days after you finish the whole course of antibiotics, or if you experience another sinus infection within a few weeks, you may be referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist for treatment.
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Are There Alternatives To The Z
The medications clarithromycin or are sometimes used as alternatives to the Z-Pak, according to Chirag Shah, MD, board-certified emergency medicine physician and co-founder of Push Health. However, these alternatives will not always work to treat the infection for which the Z-Pak was prescribed in the first place, and consultation with ones medical provider is recommended before changing medications.
Z Pack For Sinus Infection Not Working Still Congested
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What Antibiotics Kill Covid
- There are no antibiotics that kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus which causes COVID-19.
- Antibiotics work on bacteria to kill or slow their growth.
- COVID-19 is caused by a virus so you need an antiviral medicine to slow the virus’s development.
Click here for information on COVID-19: Treatments and Vaccines
Get A Z Pack For Sinus Infection Online
Not sure how to tell the difference between bacterial and viral sinus infection? Need a prescription for antibiotics? EverydayDr partners with award-winning telehealth provider, PlushCare, to provide top-tier medical assistance. You can book same-day appointments to see a doctor remotely, get diagnosed, and get prescriptions filled.
To book an appointment, go to the PlushCare booking flow here. Consult with a doctor in-person or via telemedicine today to a Z-pack for sinus infection.
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