Imagine sending off a parking ticket to the wrong car. It would be a waste of time and resources, right? Well, it turns out that prescribing antibiotics to children with sinus infections when they’re not actually necessary is a lot like trying to fix someone else’s car! A recent study suggests that testing nasal swabs from children with suspected sinus infections for three common bacteria could help doctors identify which kids would benefit from antibiotics and which ones wouldn’t. Researchers found that only half of the kids diagnosed with sinusitis actually saw improvement with antibiotics, meaning that the other half could have been spared unnecessary medication. By analyzing the bacterial composition of the nasal swabs, doctors could have a better idea of whether antibiotics would be helpful or not. This could greatly reduce antibiotic overuse and prevent potential side effects. So next time your child has a sinus infection, make sure you talk to their doctor about the benefits of nasal swab testing before jumping to antibiotics!
