A Doctor’s Advice: Don’t Stop that Medicine

Don’t just stop a medicine when your symptoms worsen because you “think” it is not working. Ask your doctor about that first!

We see this all the time in chronic nose and sinus conditions. Here is the scenario: The doctor gives Sally a medicine to use daily. On the first follow-up, she is amazed how well she feels, so the doctor recommends continuing the medicine daily.

Upon the next visit, however, all the patient’s symptoms are back! Sally says that a few months ago, the symptoms were starting to get worse, so she stopped the medicine with the thinking that it just wasn’t working anymore. That’s when the symptoms really got worse! And now they are the same as they were before the initial visit!

What does a doctor do now?

The solution often is: Let’s start by restarting that daily medicine.

Instead of the medicine not working, the medicine may just not had been enough! Maybe it was the season or time of the year. Maybe Sally had an infection on top of everything. Maybe Sally just cleaned out her attic, and all the dust had made her symptoms worse!

So, don’t just stop that medicine. Ask your doctor for advice first. You may save yourself from a headache (sometimes, literally!).

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* Please note that "Sally" is fictitious and any similarities to real people are purely coincidental. 

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To see Dr. Thomas Higgins, a fellowship-trained Rhinologist (Sinus Specialist) , click below
or call (502) 894-8441.

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