Same-day illness
Sinus infections
We diagnose and treat sinus infections, usually the same day you call. Most sinus infections are viral and improve without antibiotics — part of the visit is working out which kind you have, so you get treatment that actually helps rather than a prescription that does not.
Come in if you have
- Facial pain or pressure around the eyes, cheeks or forehead
- Blocked nose and thick discharge lasting more than about ten days
- Symptoms that started to improve and then got clearly worse
- Fever alongside sinus pain
- Tooth pain in the upper jaw with no dental cause
What happens at your visit
- We ask how long it has gone on and how it has changed — the timeline is the single most useful clue.
- We examine your nose, throat, ears and the sinus areas.
- We explain whether this looks viral or bacterial and why.
- You leave with a plan for symptom relief, and antibiotics only if they are genuinely indicated.
Viral or bacterial — it changes everything
Almost all sinus infections start as viral, and viral ones do not respond to antibiotics at all. That is not us being stingy with prescriptions; it is that antibiotics genuinely will not help, while still giving you the side effects.
The useful distinction is usually the timeline, not how bad you feel:
- Improving within about ten days — almost certainly viral
- Ten days or more with no improvement — more likely bacterial
- Getting better, then clearly worse again — a common bacterial pattern
- High fever with severe facial pain from the outset — worth being seen promptly
What we can do
Even when antibiotics are not the answer, there is a lot that helps. Saline rinsing is genuinely effective and most people either have not tried it or are doing it wrong. We will show you.
We can also address the things that keep sinuses inflamed in the first place — allergies being the most common — so this becomes less of a recurring problem.
If you get these repeatedly
Several sinus infections a year usually means something underlying: allergies, structural narrowing, or reflux. Treating each episode separately misses the point. Come in between infections and we will work out the cause.
Get seen urgently for
Swelling or redness around the eye, changes to your vision, a severe headache unlike your usual, confusion, or a stiff neck. Those are uncommon but serious.
Common questions
- Why will you not just give me antibiotics?
- Because most sinus infections are viral, and antibiotics do nothing for those — they will not shorten it, and they carry side effects and contribute to resistance. If yours looks bacterial we will prescribe them. If it does not, we will tell you what will actually help.
- How long should this last?
- Viral sinus infections typically peak around days three to five and improve over a week to ten days. What concerns us is symptoms lasting beyond ten days without improvement, or getting clearly worse after starting to get better.
- What actually helps in the meantime?
- Saline rinses genuinely help and are underused. Steam, fluids, rest, and appropriate pain relief also help. We will go through what is suitable for you.
- When should I worry?
- Severe headache, swelling or redness around the eye, vision changes, confusion, or a stiff neck all need urgent attention — call us straight away or go to the ER if we are closed.
This page explains how we care for this condition at our office. It is general information, not medical advice for your specific situation — please talk to us about your own care.
Ready to get this looked at?
Call us or send a request and we will get you in — often the same or next day.