Constant nasal congestion causes difficulty breathing and sleeping: causes and treatments

Nasal turbinate hypertrophy is a condition in which the nasal turbinate is abnormally enlarged, obstructing the patient's nasal breathing. As we know, the nasal turbinate is an anatomical structure located on the side of the nose. The nasal turbinate is made up of the nasal concha bone, covered above by the mucosa. The nasal turbinate has a rich blood vessel system, so it has the function of warming and humidifying the inhaled air, while preventing dust from entering the respiratory tract, helping the gas exchange in the lungs to take place more smoothly.

Nasal turbinate hypertrophy greatly affects the patient's daily life.

For some reason, enlarged nasal turbinates will have a common symptom of constant nasal congestion, making it difficult for the patient to breathe even when sitting or lying down.

– The patient will experience nasal congestion and runny nose continuously.

– Signs of recurrent sinusitis

– Nasal turbinate hypertrophy causes snoring

– May have unusual nosebleeds

– The patient's sense of smell is affected.

Image of normal nasal turbinates and hypertrophied nasal turbinates.

If the disease is not treated early and properly, nasal turbinate hypertrophy will lead to complications such as: sinus disease turns into acute or chronic. Nasal congestion causes a lack of oxygen to the brain, making the patient easily dizzy, nauseous, memory loss, etc. In addition, long-term nasal turbinate hypertrophy can completely cause loss of smell function.

Causes of nasal turbinate hypertrophy

There are many diseases that lead to nasal turbinate hypertrophy, including nasal allergies or abnormalities in the structure of the nasal concha or overuse of nasal drops (vasoconstrictors) that can lead to swelling and inflammation of the nasal turbinate, which over time will cause nasal turbinate hypertrophy, with a common clinical manifestation being continuous nasal congestion.

Common causes of nasal turbinates enlargement are:

– People with allergies:For people with allergies, especially allergic rhinitis, when exposed to external agents such as dust, smoke, animal hair, pollen... the nose becomes irritated, creating its own protective barrier, causing the nasal turbinates to enlarge.

– Patients with deviated nasal septum:In some cases, a deviated septum due to a congenital defect or nasal trauma (sports, active games, play or traffic accidents) causes the nasal turbinate to enlarge compensatoryly on the side with the deviated nasal septum.

When there are signs of nasal congestion or abnormalities, go to a medical facility for examination and treatment.

Treatment of nasal turbinate hypertrophy

Depending on each specific case, doctors will prescribe appropriate treatment for nasal turbinate hypertrophy. The methods that can be used are:

– Medical treatment:Doctors will prescribe patients with anti-inflammatory drugs and immunotherapy to improve allergic symptoms in patients with hypertrophy. This method is simple and effective and to shorten the treatment time, patients can also use nasal steroid sprays.

– Surgical treatmentmay be indicated when the patient has hypertrophy of the nasal turbinate, medical treatment fails or medical methods cannot be applied... then doctors will consider surgical indications to help reduce the size of the nasal turbinate. Some commonly used techniques include removing part of the nasal bone structure, shrinking the nasal turbinate tissue, laser burning the turbinate, burning and reducing the turbinate with DNR, Coblator... Thanks to that, the patient's nasal congestion is also significantly reduced.

For effective treatment, patients should not self-medicate or take medication. This can make the condition worse. All methods must follow the doctor's instructions.

In short:Nasal turbinate hypertrophy is not a life-threatening disease but it will directly affect health, cause a lot of discomfort and reduce the quality of life. If you are subjective and ignore treatment, the disease can easily lead to many complications, so when there are signs of ear, nose and throat problems, you need to go to a reputable medical facility for complete treatment. Do not self-treat or treat according to advice because it can cause the disease to progress and endanger your health.

Especially those at high risk of nasal turbinate hypertrophy such as: Regularly working in polluted environments, daily exposure to chemicals. Having a history of respiratory tract infections including: acute rhinitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, adenoiditis, deviated septum... need early treatment.