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What is it about ?
The nose warms, humidifies and filters the air we breathe. The nose protects itself thus against the drying effect of the air which passes through it.
When we breathe, the air does not pass in equal quantities through both nostrils. One nostril is more open than the other. This is completely normal. Throughout the day and night, this alternates: the left nostril is more open, then, a few hours later (on average 3 hours), the right nostril is more open.
If you have a stuffy nose, you cannot take (inhale) enough air through your nose. In this case, you breathe more through your mouth, resulting in dry mouth.
When you have a stuffy nose, it can be difficult to fall asleep or go through the night without waking up.
Causes
A blocked nose can have several causes:
- A inflammation nasal mucosa (an allergy or hay fever, for example) ;
- A infection nasal mucosa (a common cold or a sinusitis, for example) ;
- A mechanical cause (a deviation of the nasal septum, for example).
How to recognize it?
Inflammations
An allergy or other inflammation can cause your nasal lining to swell and produce phlegm. Which can clog your nose.
Inflammation of the nasal mucosa of allergic origin
Allergic inflammations of the nasal mucosa are frequent. You may suffer from:
- Sneezing, often in bursts;
- Runny nose ;
- Itchy eyes or tears.
Often these symptoms have been present for a long time or come back regularly.
Do your complaints appear mostly in dry, sunny weather and only during grass or tree pollen season? It is probably a hay fever.
Sometimes the symptoms are not clearly related to the seasons, but they can start when you vacuum, when you make the bed (house dust allergy), or when you are in contact with animals. People with these types of symptoms also haveasthma.
Simple inflammation of the nasal mucosa
If you have simple inflammation of the nasal lining, you also have a stuffy nose and phlegm, but you usually don’t have eye problems. Often, the sinuses are a little inflamed and you feel pain and a feeling of pressure in your jaws. You can also have a loss of sense of smell.
Symptoms sometimes appear when you are exposed to certain factors such as:
- Certain smells;
- Dust ;
- Cigarette smoke;
- A change in temperature.
In this case, it is a question ofhyperreactivity nasal mucosa and respiratory tract.
Drug-induced inflammation of the nasal mucosa
You may have a stuffy nose because you use decongestant sprays or drops (vasoconstrictors) for a long time. In this case, it is an inflammation of the nasal mucosa of drug origin.
Infections
In case of infection, the nasal mucosa becomes infected with a virus or bacteria. Which causes a stuffy nose.
Common cold
If you have a simple cold, you may not only have a stuffy nose, but also:
- Runny nose :
- A slight increase in temperature;
- Of the cough ;
- Sore throat ;
- Headache ;
- A feeling of general ill-being.
Usually you will be back on your feet after a week.
Sinusitis
Sometimes the sinuses are also inflamed (sinusitis). In this case, you have the following symptoms:
- Watery or purulent mucus in the nose and throat;
- Feeling of pressure or pain in the affected sinus (forehead Where upper jaw), which increases when you lean forward;
- Sometimes a feeling of discomfort accompanied by fever.
These conditions can become chronicles.
Occasionally, the mucous membrane has abnormalities, for example if you smoke or if you have taken a radiotherapy. You are then more susceptible to infections.
Mechanical causes
You may also have a stuffy nose that shouldn’t be there. Some examples :
- Polyps ;
- Vegetations;
- Deviations of the nasal septum;
- Tumors ;
- Foreign body.
Polyps of the nose
Nasal polyps are mild swellings of the nasal lining. They usually appear on both sides. As a result, you breathe through your mouth and often snore loudly.
The polyps are common in people who haveasthma.
Stuffy nose on one side
A blocked nose on one side is seen in the following cases:
- A deviation of the nasal septum;
- Of congenital origin;
- Caused by trauma;
- a foreign body in the nose ;
- Especially in children and people with intellectual disabilities;
- Which is accompanied by purulent discharge and which does not smell good.
- Nasal tumors;
- Sometimes accompanied by a discharge containing blood.
How is the diagnosis made?
Discussion
The doctor asks:
- What are your symptoms ;
- How long have you been sick;
- What are the factors that trigger stuffy nose.
He can thus get an idea of the possible causes.
Exam
The doctor may also examine your nose using a special device (nasal speculum). This review is especially useful:
- In the elderly;
- When your symptoms are present on only one side of the nose;
- When the treatment does not give the expected results.
The doctor can perform a blood test or skin allergy tests (prick-tests) if he thinks of an inflammation of the nasal mucosa of allergic origin.
Imaging exams are rarely needed. If the doctor still wishes to use imaging to determine the extent of the condition, and therefore the rest of the treatment, a CT scan is the best choice.
What can you do ?
You have a allergy ? Avoid the things or situations that trigger the symptoms.
- Do not adopt an animal to which you are allergic.
You have a dust mite allergy ? Maintain your home with care:
- Prevent dust from entering your bedroom.
- Regularly clean the floor with water.
- Avoid wardrobes, boxes, suitcases, picture frames, photos, etc. in the bedroom.
What can your pharmacist do?
The pharmacist may advise you to use saline (physiological serum) or nasal drops or spray to relieve your symptoms. This is sufficient in most cases. He will explain to you how to use it correctly.
Decongestant nasal drops or sprays (vasocontrictors)
These drugs to put in the nose deflate the lining of your nose. They do not change the duration of the illness, nor the healing process. They just decrease your symptoms temporarily.
If you are using these medicines, use them as little time as possible : maximum 5 days and, preferably, only at night. If you use them for longer, they often result in what is called a rebound effect. This means that when the medicine stops working, the lining swells even more than before. You therefore continue to use the nasal drops or spray and find it even more difficult to do without them.
Nasal spray with cortisone
A cortisone nasal spray can also help. He relieves a stuffy nose and improves your sense of smell. You can use it longer. Ask the doctor for advice first. If you have a doctor’s prescription, your cortisone nasal spray will also be reimbursed.
This product only works after a maximum of 3 to 10 days. We must therefore hold on and continue the treatment.
Antihistamine
Are your symptoms caused by an allergy? In this case, the pharmacist may give you a nasal spray or a medicine to take by mouth that contains an anti-allergic medicine (antihistamine). This type of medication helps to calm allergic symptoms.
Antihistamines given through the nose (through the nose) relieve symptoms in the nose (sneezing, itching, runny nose, stuffy nose), but have no effect on the eyes.
What can your doctor do?
Treatment depends on the cause of the stuffy nose.
- In case of’allergy, the doctor may prescribe an anti-allergic medicine (antihistamine) or a cortisone nasal spray.
- In case of’infection, antibiotics are rarely needed.
- Intervention may be performed to correct deviations of the nasal septum or to remove the nasal polyps or adenoids.
Want to know more?
- Nasal vasoconstrictors (decongestants) – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information
- Nasal corticosteroids – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information
- Nasal antihistamines – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information
- Oral antihistamines – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information
Sources
-
Foreign clinical practice guide ‘Nasal congestion’ (2000), updated on 01.03.2017 and adapted to the Belgian context on 27.12.2019 – ebpracticenet
- Zelfzorgadvies in de apotheek, Praktijkgids 2. S. Cornwell, V. Foulon. Publisher Acco. 2018 edition.
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