upper respiratory

A few weeks ago I got a cold and it turned into a sinus infection.  I took a full round of antibiotics which cleared up the infection, but the mucus is almost as bad as it was before.  Mucus is dripping into my airways and I have a bad cough.  What else could i do to clear up this extra mucus.  Decongestants don't help because being "stopped up isnt the problem".  What could be causing this?  This seems to happpen to me about every other year.  I keep a cough for months and get bronchitus (bronchitis) pretty easily.

Thanks.

[National Jewish]

Sometimes, a "full round" of antibiotics is not enough to clear a sinus infection. It may take 3 to 4 weeks to completely get rid of a bad sinus infection. Also, in some cases, even when the infection part of the sinus infection is gone, the inflammation continues for weeks. This is usually treated with inhaled nasal steroids for a period of time.

[starion]

Dear Sue,
Please communicate with your doctor about the ongoing post-nasal drop or other drainage.  Sometimes it is necessary to try a longer course of antibiotics or a different medication to stop the post-nasal drip or other drainage problem.  It's really important to keep in touch with your doc so he/she can decide with you as to what should be done.  If you have allergies, sometimes those contribute to post-nasal drip and drainage problems and you might talk to your doctor about whether an allergist might be useful to consult for an evaluation.  Antihistimines are the medications which s-om-e-t-i-m-e-s help stop post-nasal drips and/or other allergy symptoms.  The ones a doctor can prescribe tend to have fewer side effects than many of the over-the-counter ones (at least in my personal experience with lifelong allergies).  Decongestants are generally for stuffy noses.
Hope this is helpful!
Aloha,
Stariion--thriving in HI