NASAL BLOCKAGE

Condition and symptoms

The sensation of a blocked nose is often referred to as nasal obstruction, a stuffy nose or nasal congestion. The severity of nasal obstruction varies between patients. Some might find mild nasal blockage quite troublesome, whereas others with quite severe nasal obstruction might find it does not have a significant impact on their daily activities. Mrs Bentley will take this into account when developing a plan for your treatment.

Nasal obstruction can be caused by a problem with the shape of the inside of the nose or due to swelling of the nasal lining or “rhinitis”.

Problems with the shape of the inside of the nose can be due to a deviation of the nasal septum. This requires surgery to straighten to restore normal nasal flow. Occasionally other structures such as the adenoids can be enlarged (although unusual in adulthood) and lead to nasal obstruction. To help clarify the cause of your symptoms Mrs Bentley will examine your nose using an endoscope (a narrow telescope with a camera) under local anaesthetic spray. This is not painful although some people describe it as slightly uncomfortable.

Treatment

If the swelling of the nasal lining (rhinitis) is diagnosed it may be swollen as a result of allergy, viral infection, bacterial infection or overuse of nasal decongestants. It is essential that these over the counter nasal decongestants are stopped after 7 days of use as they can cause significant problems. Depending on the cause of the rhinitis Mrs Bentley will create a specific treatment plan for you.