Acute Sinusitis

Risk Factors

Hay fever or other allergic conditions, nasal passage abnormalities, regular exposure to pollutants ie cigarette smoke

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Bromelain (Sulphydryl Proteolytic Enzyme, Ananas Comosus):

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Available evidence supports claims that Bromelain helps to treat sinusitis, but more study is needed as there have been some mixed results.)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Pelargonium Sidosides [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]:

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Available evidence shows that pelargonium sidoides may be able to shorten the duration and lessen the severity of congestion that occurs during sinusitis)

Grade of Evidence: Low level of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References:

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19382496

2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18005909

3. http://www.medicinetoday.com.au/2014/august/article/pelargonium-sidoides-root-extract-bronchitis-and-sinusitis

4. http://www.drugs.com/npp/pelargonium.html

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12807337

Public Discussion