Nasal Inflammation
- Millions of people are affected by sinus conditions including sinus infection and sinus inflammation.
You may have more than one type of nasal inflammation. For instance, you could have nasal allergies complicated by a non allergic nasal inflammation, nasal polyps, or a nose deformity such as a deviated septum. Allergies and asthma can also contribute to sinus inflammation. Only your doctor can accurately diagnose what's causing your nasal symptoms.
Whether it's large or small, button-like or beak-like, your nose is important to your health. It filters the air you breathe, removing dust, germs and irritants. It warms and moistens the air to keep your lungs and tubes that lead to them from drying out. Your nose also contains the nerve cells that help your sense of smell. When there is a problem with your nose, your whole body can suffer. For example, the stuffy nose of the common cold can make it hard for you to breathe, sleep or get comfortable, or possibly make a lung infection worse.
Many people think that a nose gets congested or stuffy from too much thick mucus. However, in most cases, the nose becomes congested when the tissues lining it become swollen. The swelling is due to inflamed blood vessels.
Sinusitis refers to inflammation of the sinuses that occurs with a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection.
Many problems besides the common cold can affect the nose. They include:
- Deviated septum - a shifting of the wall that divides the nasal cavity into halves
- Nasal polyps - soft growths that develop on the lining of your nose or sinuses
- Nosebleeds
- Rhinitis - inflammation of the nose and sinuses sometimes caused by allergies. The main symptom is a runny nose
For those that want to try natural herbal and conventional remedies that go directly to the source to help loosen congestion as well as trying to remove the source of the inflammation which is often a viral or bacterial infection. Whether trying herbal remedies which can work with your immune system to help neutralize infection, and while not curing nasal inflammation, they can make you feel better more quickly.
Nasal discharge is any mucus-like material that comes out of the nose
Nasal discharge is common, but rarely serious. Drainage from swollen or infected sinuses may be thick or discolored.
Excess mucus may run down the back of your throat (postnasal drip) or cause a chronic coughing condition which is normally worse at night. A sore throat may also result from too much mucus drainage.
The mucus drainage may plug up the eustachian tube between the nose and the ear, causing an ear infection and pain. The mucus drip may also plug the sinus passages, causing sinus infection and pain.
The nasal telescope is an optical instrument for examining the nose. This examination is known as diagnostic nasal endoscopy. Because the telescope is so slender, it may be passed easily through the nostril to examine the nasal passages and the sinuses. In some nasal telescopes, the view is straight ahead from the tip of the instrument; in other telescopes, the view is at an angle from the tip of the telescope.
These 'angled' telescopes can be used to see around corners. The standard nasal examination is quite limited; however, nasal endoscopy provides a concise exam of both the nasal cavity and sinuses. Also, nasal telescopes are also used during surgical procedures in the office and in the Operating Room.
Newborn infants must breathe through the nose. Nasal congestion in an infant's first few months of life can interfere with nursing, and in rare cases can cause serious breathing problems. Nasal congestion in older children and adolescents is usually just an annoyance, but it can cause other difficulties.
Nasal congestion can interfere with the ears, hearing, and speech development. Significant congestion may interfere with sleep. Click-here for Health Tip-of-the-Day.
When nasal stuffiness is just on one side, the child may have inserted something into the nose.