Doctors are over-prescribing antibiotics to treat sinus infections according to a new study.

Rhinosinusitis, an inflammation of the nasal passages and sinus cavities, is a common illness that can be either bacterial or viral.

Because it's hard for doctors to tell which form a patient has, they turn to antibiotics 80% of the time.

But Swiss researchers found antibiotics offer only little relief for the symptoms, and contribute to the rising problem of resistance to these medicines.

However, they note children and adults with a weakened immune system should-- be given antibiotics.

In other medical news…

The popularity of genetic testing is on the rise, but understanding what the test results mean is vital.

Typically, patients visit a genetic counselor to help them decipher the results.

However, more people are turning to the internet to interpret their results, leading researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center to find other methods of counseling.

They have launched a clinical trial to see if genetic counseling by telephone is as effective as face to face meetings.