can a deviated septum cause post nasal drip
There are many people who suffer from nasal congestion for no reason and without any allergies or sensitivities or without catching a cold. Even some people may suffer from nasal congestion continuously for several months.
In general, nasal congestion is not caused only by colds or allergies. Some other reasons are also involved in nasal congestion. In this article, we have provided explanations regarding the causes of nasal congestion.
When your body produces excess secretions and these secretions enter your throat instead of entering the nose, it means that something has blocked the flow of these secretions.
The reason for this problem can be a cold, allergies, side effects of drugs, nasal deviation or polyps. If nasal deviation or polyp is the main cause of this disorder, the treatment is nasal surgery, septoplasty or polyp surgery.
But if the problem originates from somewhere else, it can be treated by visiting an ear, nose and throat doctor and taking medicine. in this article we will discuss about:
nose deviation
In the front area of the nose, there is a blade that divides the nose into two equal parts, if this blade is crooked, it is called nasal deviation. Now, if the deviation of the internal nasal septum causes the nasal cavity to be blocked, breathing problems will arise for the person.
If the problems that arise can be treated with medicine, there is no need to perform nose surgery, otherwise, nose surgery should be performed to treat nasal deviation.
What is nasal septum deviation?
In addition to creating a beautiful structure in the appearance of the nose, the septum plays an important role. If one of your nasal cavities gets an infection, the nasal septum prevents it from spreading to another cavity.
The asymmetry of the nasal cavity is called nasal septum deviation. Deviation of the nasal septum may be hereditary and formed from infancy and bring problems to the person in adulthood. But in some cases, a blow to the nose, especially during infancy and childhood, causes a person's nose to deviate.
In some cases, nasal deviation or nasal septum causes problems in a person.
Deviation of the nasal septum causes nasal congestion and difficulty in breathing. Also, in some common cases, it has also caused sinuses around the eyes and forehead.
What factors cause nasal septum deviation?
The most important factors involved in this issue are developmental and hereditary issues, which means that the nasal septum grows asymmetrically on both sides of the nose during fetal development and causes nasal deviation.
In this case, it is possible that the deviation of the nose did not exist from the beginning, and with the passage of time and the growth of the baby and the age of the baby, this problem will gradually show itself.
Another important factor that causes nasal septum deviation is trauma. Sometimes these blows are inflicted on the nose during childhood or even at the time of birth of the baby and cause the deviation of the nasal septum.
Ways to diagnose nasal deviation
Diagnosis of this issue is often done with a very simple nose examination by an otolaryngologist using a speculum and a flashlight. Of course, in some situations where the diagnosis is not easily possible, the doctor uses an endoscope for this purpose. If a person only has a deviated nose, usually no other intervention is needed for diagnosis, but in some cases, the doctor uses methods such as CT scan to diagnose related problems and complications such as sinusitis.
What is the treatment for nasal deviation?
In most cases, there is no solution other than surgery to solve this problem. The most important risk that threatens the patient in this surgery is the effects of anesthesia, which in order to solve this case in many surgeries, surgeons perform the nose deviation operation with local anesthesia or simple anesthesia, and as a result, there is no special risk for the patient.
Another important issue in this operation is the age of the patient who is going to be operated on, if there is no acute problem that irritates the person, i.e. the person does not have severe breathing problems and only has a partial obstruction; Most doctors will not operate on him until he reaches the age of growth.
But if these problems are severe and threaten the appearance of the face or make the person suffer from pulmonary disorders, surgery is performed regardless of age.
After the nose deviation operation, the person should rest for one to two days and if the dressing pads are placed in the patient's nose to prevent bleeding; After almost two days, it is removed and the patient completely returns to his normal life.
What are the side effects of nasal deviation?
Among these complications, it is possible to mention the disturbance of the quality of the breathing air that enters through the nose and mouth, which have a great difference in terms of cleanliness and temperature, and this issue may cause many problems in the long term for the patient who has blocked airways.
It is respiratory, to create. For example, dry mouth and smell problems may become annoying for a person.
Sometimes the deviation of the nose may affect the opening of the person's sinuses and, for example, cause their blockage and make the patient prone to colds and chronic sinusitis. Also, sometimes the cause of some headaches is attributed to the deviation of the nose.
In these cases, the person after surgery And solving the problem of nasal deviation will not cause frequent headaches
What is the role of the nasal septum?
Deviation of the nose - in terms of function, the function of the nasal septum is only to separate the two parts of the nose from each other. One of the advantages of the two parts of the nose being separate is that diseases and germs cannot be easily transferred from one side to the other.
Another advantage of separating the space inside the nose into two smaller parts is that if this space is larger than one, the air may rotate when entering the nose and cause problems for breathing. With the narrowing of the air inlet space into a chamber, if the suction pressure of the air is constant, the speed increases and the possibility of creating an air vortex is reduced.
In short, it can be said that the nasal septum is responsible for regulating the air entering the nose. Among the other effects of having a nasal septum, it is possible to mention keeping the shape of the nose.
In people whose nasal septum has been broken due to impact, it can be easily observed that due to the injury of this organ, the nose has lost its shape and has drooped, and it has a so-called bruised state.
There are other parts in the nasal septum, including parts that cause severe headaches when irritated and are sometimes the cause of migraines.
It runs from the back of the nose to the throat.
When a runny nose occurs. Mucus seems to build up in the throat overnight, leading to congestion and congestion first thing in the morning.
Viral diseases such as measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, mononucleosis or croup may also cause phlegm in the throat. Stimulants such as cigarette smoke, polluted air, traffic or chemical fumes may also cause excessive secretion of mucus and cause it to settle in the throat wall.
Phlegm in the throat also causes bad breath because it contains proteins in which anaerobic bacteria grow.
The mucous material that comes with the infection takes 4 to 6 weeks to completely disappear, but in some people it may take several months.
This may lead to bacterial overgrowth, and a bacterial infection may follow a viral infection.
Polyps are non-cancerous swollen glands that appear inside the nasal cavities and sinuses. In addition to causing congestion and runny nose, they also play a role in directing fluids from the back of the nose to the pharynx and produce phlegm.
To shrink these polyps, nasal sprays or steroid drops made for this problem can be used.
In some cases, when no treatment works and the polyps are very large, we may need surgery to remove the polyps.
There have been many cases of polyps coming back after surgery, so nasal sprays can be used to prevent polyps from coming back.
The cause of polyps is still unknown. Most chronic inflammations in the nasal cavities lead to swelling of the inner lining of the nostrils.
These swellings become heavy under the influence of the earth's gravity and fall and eventually become polyps.
Polyps usually occur in both nostrils and over time, they increase in size and block the nose.
You may have heard the name nasal polyps many times. Various surgeries can be performed for this respiratory disease The most common symptoms of this disease are breathing disorders, snoring and runny nose.
Nasal polyps are non-cancerous lumps that are usually painless and may be caused by inflammation caused by asthma, nose and throat infections (fungal or bacterial), or allergies. These lumps can grow inside the nasal cavities or inside the sinuses, and if they grow, they can make breathing difficult or impossible.
Nasal polyp usually reproduces in the form of grape seeds and involves both nasal cavities, but it can also appear singly. You can talk to an ear, throat and nose specialist.
These lumps have different sizes and if they are abnormally large, they can be seen from inside the nose or throat.
And even in some cases, this disease may be mistaken for sinusitis, but it can be a cause of exacerbation or sinusitis with current respiratory obstruction.
Nasal congestion due to nasal polyps
Another reason for nasal congestion is nasal polyps. Painless extra tissues that grow in the walls of the sinuses and in the opening of the nasal cavity are called nasal polyps.
These tissues are non-cancerous and are in the form of water droplets and cause blockage of people's airways. Nasal polyps reduce the sense of smell and taste and nasal congestion.
People who have asthma, sinusitis, or allergies are more likely to have nasal polyps.
The causes of nasal congestion are divided into two groups:
A) Physiological reasons:
such as colds, allergies, pregnancy, sinusitis, etc. In this case, secretions or mucosal inflammation cause occasional blockages. The treatment of this type of cramps is medical and surgery has no place.
B) Anatomical reasons:
In this case, the nose has a structural problem and the patient has some degree of permanent congestion. The most important causes of anatomical nasal obstruction are:
1) Nasal septum deviation is the most common structural stenosis. Sometimes a small amount of deviation causes tightness and complaints of the patient, but sometimes, despite the large deviation, the person has no problem.
In most people, there is some degree of blade deviation, but it is necessary to correct it only when the person has a problem. Minor deviations should also be corrected in rhinoplasty because breathing may become difficult by making the nose smaller or narrower.
2) The size of the turbinates:
the turbinate or tentacle is a fleshy appendage on the side wall of the nose that plays an important role in function, but sometimes being too large causes obstruction.
The turbine can be reduced or partially removed using a cautery, radio frequency or laser. Of course, you should be careful when removing it, because removing it too much will cause dryness and severe discomfort in the nose.
3) Narrowing of the valve:
the angle between the middle blade and the side wall is called the nasal valve. This area is narrow and is normally around 15 to 17 degrees. Even narrowing it by 2 to 3 degrees can cause tightness. In surgery, great care should be taken so that this area is not narrow and if it is narrow, it is corrected, using grafts in this area is useful.
4) Polyp and tumor:
A polyp is a lesion that is caused by mucosal swelling and is common and usually accompanied by sinus involvement. The treatment is endoscopic nasal surgery.
Ear, nose and throat specialists undergo long and special training courses to treat internal and external problems of the nose and are generally familiar with these issues.
Correct identification and accurate treatment of these defects guarantee comfortable breathing after rhinoplasty surgery.
Causes of nasal polyps:
- Chronic sinus infections
- Asthma
- Allergy to airborne fungi
- Cystic fibrosis: one of the most common genetic disorders in which the secretions of the lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, and reproductive system become thick and sticky, and the amount of salt in the secretions of the sweat glands also increases.
- Allergy to some chemical drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen
- Genetic factors
- Specific function in the immune system
- Churg-Strauss syndrome: autoimmune reaction in medium and small vessels
- Allergic rhinitis: inflammation of the nasal mucosa
- Symptoms of nasal polyps:
- Chronic headache
- Constant nasal congestion
- Impaired sense of smell
- Nasal discharge
- Accumulation of phlegm at the back of the throat
- Frequent infections
- Your voice is nasal
- Snoring while sleeping
- Decreased sense of taste
- runny nose
- Sneeze
- Phlegm behind the nose
- which is usually caused by sinusitis, is a painful issue. Inside the nose, throat, respiratory tract, stomach and intestines, there are internal glands that produce about 1 to 2 liters of sputum or mucus daily. Mucus is a thick, moist substance that moistens these parts of the body and traps and destroys foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses, before these microbial agents can enter the body and cause disease.
Normally, you don't notice this nasal discharge because it mixes with the saliva in your mouth and goes down the throat without bothering you and is swallowed gradually and successively throughout the day.
You will notice it only when your body produces more phlegm than usual or the throat phlegm is thicker than usual. Excess nasal discharge comes out in the form of a runny nose. When nasal secretions and phlegm fall into the throat from the back of the nose, it is called phlegm behind the nose or throat phlegm.
How are secretions from the back of the pharynx produced and what is their mechanism?
Nasal mucosa and sinuses naturally have secretions that clean the upper respiratory tract. In other words, the cilia in these areas clean all foreign objects, air pollution and toxic substances from the mucus with their secretions.
The direction of movement of these cilia is towards the posterior nostrils, so secretions are expelled from there in the form of swallowing.
Now, if for any reason there is a disturbance in the movement of the cilia or their secretions are not of the right quality, the person will feel phlegm in the back of the throat.
Among the causes of this condition, we can mention nasal inflammations, allergies, sinusitis, infections and other diseases that disrupt the function of the nose.
In addition to these, people who live in dry areas like Tehran may naturally experience an increase in secretions from the nose and back of the throat, which is caused by the dryness of the breathing air.
If this dryness is accompanied by an infection such as a cold, it is natural that the secretions intensify.
In general, the increase in the secretions at the back of the pharynx has different degrees; For example, some people suffer from it all day long and others only when they sleep.
Some secretions also have a seasonal pattern and increase only in the cold season.
In any case, there are different causes for each of these cases, most of which originate from inside the nose.
Is nasal deviation related to increased throat phlegm?
Nasal deviation by itself cannot cause an increase in nasal secretions and phlegm, but it is the basis of sinusitis and sinusitis causes an increase in these secretions, therefore, such an idea that nasal discharge and phlegm can be removed with nasal deviation surgery is completely wrong and this operation directly has no effect on It does not improve nasal secretions.
What could be the cause of dry nose and decreased secretions at the back of the throat?
Nasal and pharyngeal secretions may decrease for several reasons. In the old days, when nasal surgery was not very common, intranasal infections occurred more often. These infections also caused a decrease in nasal secretions or atrophic rhinitis.
Of course, this disease was more common in areas that had a low level of health.
Today, even though the number of nose surgeries has increased, if the surgeon does not use the proper technique and the natural components inside the nose are removed, the person may still experience a secondary feeling of dry nose and decreased pharyngeal secretions.
There are many people who suffer from nasal congestion for no reason and without any allergies or sensitivities or without catching a cold.
Even some people may suffer from nasal congestion continuously for several months. In general, nasal congestion is not caused only by colds or allergies.
Some other reasons are also involved in nasal congestion.
Summary
Many people suffer from diseases such as post nasal drip for many years of their lives, and these people should basically find the source of their disease, according to the above article, it can be said that many patients consider their nasal polyps to be the cause of their disease.
As it was said, this polyp can be removed with surgeries and methods, so by reading this article, you can get the answer to the question, can a deviated septum cause post nasal drip.