GPs should not prescribe antibiotics for sinusitis, health watchdogs have urged.
Nice has announced new guidance that stresses most sinus infections will resolve without need for the drugs, which are slowly becoming ineffective.
Patients should instead ‘take it easy’ and dose up on paracetamol to combat their unpleasant symptoms, the advice states.
The recommendations, devised alongside Public Health England (PHE), also warn that there is little evidence oral congestants offer any relief.
It comes after Government data showed doctors were wrongly prescribing antibiotics to treat the viral infections, which is fueling drug-resistant superbugs.
It is estimated that antibiotic resistance will kill 10 million people each year by 2050, unless scientific breakthroughs are made immediately.
