subject: Is Your Nose a Sinusitis Nose? [print this page] Is sinusitis a daily thing for you? Do you ever think that it might be your nose? It may sound silly, but your nose may be a sinusitis nose! Some noses are just prone to the condition and can lead to your daily sinus woes. But how do you know? Let's find out!
The Nose Connection
This is the first thing you should know. There is a connection between your nose and your sinuses. The normal procedure is that the air you breathe will pass through the nose and into the sinuses through passages that connect them. In the sinuses, the air gets filtered for any contaminants and unwanted materials. The same passages used to get the air in are used to get the contaminants out eventually.
Deviated Nasal Septum
This condition is the most common nose related problem to your sinus woes. Everyone has a nasal septum. It is the structure in between your two nostrils and nasal passages that divides your nose in two. What most don't know is that this structure is very movable. If you've ever experienced some kind of blow or impact to your nose, chances are you already have some deviation.
This doesn't necessarily mean that your nose is prone to problems or complications. In fact, it is said that almost 80% of the population actually have some kind of deviation; most are just so small, people don't notice it.
There is a percentage however that can develop greater deviations that start to physically clog the passages from the nose to the sinus cavities. This is where the problems start.
Clogged Drains
When the clogs occur, mucus can get trapped inside the passages and the sinus cavities, leading to inflammation or infection. To check if this may be your problem, try to breathe in deeply. Try to monitor how the air passes through your nose and into your lungs. If you start to feel your nose favor one side over the other, you may have the condition. You should detect this even if you have no signs of other infections or colds.
Causes
Trauma or impact to the nose can cause the deviations. Sometimes the deviations are congenital, meaning you got them when you were born. A rare case called Marfan syndrome results from trauma during child birth, causing a deviated nasal septum.
Septoplasty
The quick solution to your deviated septum may be a surgery called septoplasty. It is a relatively easy procedure that should relieve you of your nasal problems for good. However, it is still surgery. This is why it is imperative that you get a proper diagnosis before you commit to any treatment. Some surgeons will try to push for the operation immediately. Get a second opinion from an ENT or Ear Nose Throat doctor. Even if it is a relatively easy, septoplasty is still surgery and it won't come cheap.
Other Nose Problems
There are some other nose related problems that you may want to check for. Nasal polyps and enlarged adenoids can also lead to similar clogging problems. Consult your ENT to be sure. Your regular doctor may not have the training or the equipment to diagnose and handle these cases.
