Nasal Congestion: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention

When something irritates the tissues lining the inside of your nose, nasal congestion results. Inflammation, swelling, and mucus production are all triggered by the discomfort, making it difficult to breathe through your nose. If left untreated, nasal congestion can result in middle ear infections, sinusitis, or nasal polyps.

Nasal congestion occurs when blood vessels and mucous membranes in the sinuses and nasal passageways enlarge. While moderate congestion often clears on its own.

A feeling of fullness in the nose or face is known as nasal congestion, sometimes known as a stuffy nose. Additionally, there may be fluid leaking or streaming down the back of the throat or out of the nose.

A common term for nasal congestion is rhinorrhea or rhinitis. However, the terms are not the same. A thin, generally clear fluid is discharged from the nose in cases of rhinorrhea. Irritation and swelling inside the nose are symptoms of rhinitis.

What is nasal congestion?

When something irritates the tissues lining the inside of your nose, nasal congestion results. Inflammation, swelling, and mucus production are all triggered by the discomfort, making it difficult to breathe through your nose. Most nasal congestion goes away in a few days, but if it lasts for more than a week, it can be an indication of an infection. If left untreated, nasal congestion can result in middle ear infections, sinusitis, or nasal polyps.

What physical effects can nasal congestion have?

 If you have a stuffy or congested nose:

• Have trouble breathing through your nose.
• Have a runny nose, or mucous coming out of your nose.
• You are unable to breathe through your nose, so begin breathing through your mouth. This is breathing through the mouth.
• Nasal congestion in babies can make it difficult for them to nurse or take from a bottle.
• Nose congestion can occasionally be the initial indication that your body is fighting off a bacterial or viral infection. On rare occasions, a polyp or tumor in your nose could cause you to feel congested.

What symptoms accompany nasal congestion?

Additional symptoms that nasal congestion may produce include:

• Sneezing.
• Cough.
• Headache.

What can trigger congestion in the nose?

In short, a lot of things may trigger nasal congestion. This is because your nose serves as your body's first line of defense against external threats. The air that your nose breathes in may contain allergies, particulates, and dirt. A swarm of hairs and cilia, which are microscopic hair-like structures, line the inside of your nose, capturing and directing outside particles into your nostrils. By blowing your nose or sneezing, you are forcing invaders out of your body. Your nose's cilia and hair may not always be able to capture intruders. The tissue that lines the inside of your nose swells and gets inflamed following that.

Your immune system then takes over, flooding your nose with mucus that is meant to flush out intruders. Your problem worsens when mucus and swollen nasal tissues combine to block your nose.




Also Read: Common Cold: Symptoms, Cause & Treatment

Which are the most common causes of stuffy noses?

Nasal congestion is frequently associated with illnesses like rhinitis. There are two types of rhinitis:

1.  Nonallergic rhinitis 
2.  Allergic rhinitis 

Sometimes known as hay fever.

1. Rhinitis caused by allergies:

Your body's response to allergens is known as allergic rhinitis or hay fever. Allergens are microscopic airborne particles. Typical allergies consist of:

• Pollen: Spring, summer, and fall blooms on trees and other plants release pollen, which can get into your nose and cause an allergic reaction.
• Dust mites: These little creatures can survive in carpets, furniture, and beds, even in the cleanest of spaces.
• Mold: Spores released by mold have the potential to trigger allergic responses.
• Pet dander: The dander from furry pets can cause severe allergies in certain people.

2. Nonallergic rhinitis:

Nasal congestion and nonallergic rhinitis are caused by inflammation-induced buildup of fluid in the nasal tissues, which causes the tissues to enlarge. You can be experiencing inflammation as a result of a viral infection or exposure to certain stimuli. Potential triggers include:

• Environmental: Several things can irritate the nasal passages, including stress, spicy food, smoke, and paint fumes.
• Medication: If you use some drugs for pain relief or high blood pressure, you may get nasal congestion.
• Hormonal: Changes in hormones, such as puberty or pregnancy, can cause congestion in the nasal.
• Nasal congestion can be caused by infections: the common cold or sinus infections (sinusitis).
• Larger adenoids: The glands known as adenoids are situated just behind your nose tube. They aid in the entrapment of bacteria. Adenoids can occasionally enlarge and cause nasal congestion.

 Diagnosis:

 To identify nasal congestion, medical professionals evaluate your symptoms and examine your throat, ears, and nose. To rule out further possible causes, they could perform additional testing, like:

Throat culture: The test looks for specific bacteria in your throat. Using a long cotton swab, the providers take a sample from the back of your throat for this test.

Computed tomography (CT) scan: To check for nasal obstructions, your doctor might prescribe a CT scan.

Nasal endoscopy: Your doctor may examine the inside of your nose with a specialized camera.

Treatment:

How do medical professionals handle nasal congestion?

Practitioners treat nasal congestion according to its particular cause. An example of allergic rhinitis is when someone has nasal congestion due to a cat allergy. Your condition might improve if you stay away from cats and take medication to control your symptoms.

If your congestion is a type of nonallergic rhinitis, you may be able to control the symptoms and discover the cause of your congestion by taking medicine. The following are some drugs or other therapies that doctors might suggest:

Nonallergic rhinitis treatments:

Saline spray or rinse: Using a saline solution as a spray or rinse helps to remove mucus and moisturize the inside of your nose.

Antihistamines: medications that lessen the immune system's response that your body has to foreign substances like allergens.

Nasal sprays containing corticosteroids: these medications reduce inflammation.

Spray ipratropium bromide: This product may be useful for treating runny noses.

How to treat allergic rhinitis:

To relieve inflamed nasal tissues, people with allergic rhinitis may take corticosteroids or antihistamines. Here are some other remedies for allergic rhinitis-related congestion:

Decongestant nasal sprays: This treatment could help with stuffy nose relief. Decongestant nasal sprays should not be used for longer than three days. If you use them for more than three days, your nasal congestion can get worse.

Anticholinergic nasal sprays: This treatment has the potential to reduce nasal mucus.

Prevention:

Nasal congestion can be caused by many reasons. Although you are unable to prevent the illness from happening, you can reduce how frequently it occurs:

• Find out more about seasonal allergies from a healthcare provider if specific seasons cause you to feel congested. They'll support symptom relief, allergen avoidance strategies, and probable allergen identification.
• Protect against viruses that cause infections such as the flu and the common cold.
• Hands should be constantly cleaned with soap and water.
• Regularly washing linens in hot water with detergent and closing windows and doors during peak mold and pollen seasons—spring and fall, in particular—will help prevent mold growth.
• Using box springs, mattresses, comforters, and pillows with dust mite covers; routinely vacuuming; avoiding close contact with people who are ill.

How may a congested nose be cleared?

Here are some methods for relieving nasal congestion:

• Drink lots of water and other clear fluids. Drinking fluids thins mucus and reduces congestion.
• To clear mucus, use a saline nasal spray or wash.
• To clear the passageways in your nose, stick adhesive strips to it.
• Use humidifiers to add moisture to the air in your house or place of workplace.
• To find an over-the-counter drug that relieves nasal congestion, ask your healthcare professional. Make sure they are aware of every medication you take so they can prescribe drugs that won't interact with what you already take.
• Use a nasal bulb syringe to remove mucus from your baby's nose if it prevents them from nursing or taking a bottle due to nasal congestion.

References:

• American Academy of Otolaryngology. Rhinitis. (https://www.enthealth.org/conditions/rhinitis/) Accessed 7/1/2022.

• Merck Manuals. Rhinitis – Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders (https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/ear,-nose,-and-throat-disorders/nose-and-sinus-disorders/rhinitis?query=stuffy%2520nose). Accessed 7/1/2022.

• Nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. Merck Manual Professional Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/ear-nose-and-throat-disorders/approach-to-the-patient-with-nasal-and-pharyngeal-symptoms/nasal-congestion-and-rhinorrhea. Accessed Oct. 31, 2022.

• Naclerio RM, Bachert C, Baraniuk JN. Pathophysiology of nasal congestion. Int J Gen Med. 2010 Apr 8;3:47-57. Accessed 7/1/2022.