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Article: REALITY CHECK.(Life and Arts)
- Article from:
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- Article date:
- January 14, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE CLAIM:
Antibiotics will beat a sinus infection.
THE FACTS:
Sinus infections are all too familiar in this season. For most people, they start with a throbbing headache, swell into a fever and result in the inevitable arrival of thick nasal secretions.
For years, doctors have prescribed what seemed like simple cures: an antibiotic like amoxicillin or a steroid nasal spray. They may be the standard medications, but perhaps they are not as effective as once thought. Several studies have examined their effects and found that they are no better at shortening a sinus infection than no medication at all.
The latest study, ...