During infection and inflammation of the sinuses (sinusitis) it makes it difficult for us to breathe and it will bother your face and headache. If you have a sinus infection and you are worried that your discharge and cough will spread sinusitis to those around you, we recommend you read more in the following:
Sinus infection contagious while on antibiotics
Inflammation of the sinuses or sinusitis can be contagious, but not all sinusitis is contagious.
So sinus infections and inflammations can be relatively contagious. sinus infections, or rather sinusitis, are contagious, depends entirely on the cause.
what you will read next :
Causes of sinusitis
Factors that cause sinusitis include:
- Viruses:
Viruses are the most common cause of sinus infections. If the cause of your sinusitis is a viral sinus infection, you can spread the virus (and not the sinus infection itself) to those around you.
Antibiotics will not be needed to treat viral sinusitis
Most cold viruses can cause viral sinus infections
- Bacteria:
Occasionally, the sinus outlet (the sinus opening in the nasal wall) can be blocked by condensed secretions, in which bacteria begin to grow inside the sinus and can cause sinus infection or bacterial purulent sinusitis.
For example, if you suffer from nasal congestion or increased nasal secretions following allergies, cold viruses, nasal polyps, etc., the sinus outlet in your nasal wall may be blocked and a sinus infection may develop.
So if you have sinusitis that has not improved for more than ten days to two weeks and has gotten worse, you probably have purulent bacterial sinusitis. If a bacterium has infected your sinuses, it is contagious and you are a carrier.
Therefore, it is necessary to see a doctor to prescribe the appropriate antibiotic for you, with the completion of the course of antibiotic treatment, there will be no more sinus infection, so even with the improvement of symptoms, you should complete the prescribed course of antibiotics according to your doctor’s instructions.
- People with nasal polyps are more likely to develop sinusitis, so see your doctor if your sinusitis does not improve after two weeks.
- Types of allergies put you at a higher risk of developing sinusitis by stimulating the nasal mucosa and altering nasal and sinus secretions.
- Tobacco use, exposure to polluted air, and dry air can also trigger infection or inflammation of the sinuses.
How can a sinus infection be transmitted?
The causative agents of sinus infections, whether viruses or bacteria, can be transmitted through inhalation of common air, and by exposure to cough or sneezing. Sometimes there is an infectious agent on the surface and it is transmitted to your mouth by your hand that has touched these surfaces.
Even a simple handshake with a person with an infected hand can transmit the infectious agent to your hand, and if you put your infected hand in the mucous membranes of your nose, mouth and eyes, the cause of sinusitis will enter your body, so wash your hands and cough and sneeze. Therefore, washing hands and coughing and sneezing inside a handkerchief is necessary to reduce the transmission of sinus infections to others.
The final words
You do not necessarily get a viral infection when you catch a cold virus, and you do not need to take antibiotics for viral infections.
If your doctor has diagnosed your sinus infection with a bacterium and prescribed antibiotics, it can be contagious before the full course of treatment for your sinus infection, even if you are taking antibiotics. Bacterial sinuses are required.
If you have a sinus infection, you may not be able to figure out the underlying cause of your sinus infection yourself, so the wisest thing to do is to avoid direct contact with other people to prevent it from spreading to another person.
In any case, in prolonged sinusitis (more than ten to fourteen days); be sure to see a doctor to check and receive treatment.
Be aware that you can transmit the infectious agent for days before you experience symptoms of a sinus infection.