Why is my nose stuffed up all the time

Persistent violation of nasal breathing may be a manifestation of chronic inflammation, an allergic reaction, or neurovegetative disorders. Edema of soft tissues in the nasal cavity can cause stagnation of mucous secretions in the paranasal sinuses, which is fraught with the development of bacterial rhinitis, sinusitis, ethmoiditis, frontal sinusitis, etc.

What to do if it doesn't work? A prolonged course of inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract may indicate the development of serious diseases. If the discomfort does not go away after 2 weeks, you need to seek help from a doctor. Only according to the results of a rhinoscopy examination, the otolaryngologist will be able to determine the cause of the inflammation and determine the appropriate treatment regimen.

In today's publication, the most likely causes of persistent nasal breathing disorders, as well as methods of medical and hardware treatment of respiratory diseases, will be considered.

Possible reasons

Prolonged nasal congestion is an abnormal condition that in most cases indicates development. Provocateurs of pathological reactions are often allergens, infectious agents and neurovegetative disorders. It is impossible to ignore the manifestations of the disease, since inflammatory processes in the mucous membranes can cause more serious complications.

Late treatment of nasal congestion entails the development of sinusitis, atrophic rhinitis and polypous sinusitis.

If the violation of nasal breathing lasts longer than 2-3 weeks, there may be several reasons for this:

  • bad habits (smoking);
  • tumors in the nose (cyst, nasal polyp);
  • deformation of the nasal septum;
  • persistent decrease in immunity;
  • chronic respiratory disease;
  • congenital obstruction of the nasal passages;
  • work in a hazardous industry.

To find out the true cause of rhinorrhea or nasal congestion, you need to do an examination by an otolaryngologist. According to the condition of the nasopharyngeal mucosa, the accompanying clinical manifestations and the result of bakposev, the doctor will be able to determine the type of disease and develop an optimal treatment strategy.

Treatment Methods

If your nasal congestion does not go away for a long time, most likely the reason for this was a sluggish inflammation in the respiratory tract. Adverse reactions in the respiratory system can be triggered either by microbes or irritants (allergens). Treatment of chronic rhinitis involves:

  • elimination of foci of inflammation;
  • elimination of other sluggish diseases;
  • drug and hardware therapy;
  • strengthening the body's immune defenses.

Comprehensive treatment of respiratory diseases can only be compiled by a doctor based on the results of microbiological, rhinoscopy and endoscopic examination.

To cure a chronic disease, you will need to undergo antibacterial or desensitizing (antiallergic) therapy. It is possible to prevent relapses of inflammation in case of strengthening general and local immunity. For this, the patient can be prescribed immunostimulants, herbal adaptogens (toning substances) or vitamin-mineral complexes.

Features of pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy is a non-invasive method of treating ENT diseases, which involves the use of drugs. If the patient has a stuffy nose for a long time, the doctor will prescribe him medications of symptomatic and etiotropic action. The drugs of the first group will help ease nasal breathing and eliminate the manifestations of the disease, and the second - to destroy the infection or stop allergic reactions in the respiratory tract.

Antibiotics

Prolonged rhinitis most often indicates the bacterial nature of inflammation in the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses. Pathogenic microflora can be represented by staphylococci, Haemophilus influenzae, meningococci, etc. Bacteria can be killed by taking systemic antibiotics. First-line drugs include penicillins, but they can cause allergic reactions in patients. If necessary, they are replaced by cephalosporins or macrolides.

If nasal congestion continues for 2 months or more, patients are usually prescribed:

Overdoses of antimicrobial agents can cause dysbacteriosis and a decrease in general immunity, which is fraught with the development of fungal flora in the foci of inflammation.

If you take antibiotics in courses of 7-10 days, the symptoms of inflammation of the nasal cavity will pass within two to three weeks.

However, experts warn that premature withdrawal of medications can cause re-inflammation of the respiratory tract and the development of more serious diseases.

Antihistamines

If a high concentration of IgE immunoglobulins is detected in the blood serum, the patient is diagnosed with allergic rhinitis. Inadequate and untimely treatment of pathology leads to chronic inflammation of the nasopharyngeal mucosa and, as a result,. Treatment of allergic rhinitis is carried out in several directions at once:

  • identification and elimination of a causally significant allergen;
  • relief of an allergic reaction;
  • acceleration of recovery processes in the affected tissues.

Pollinosis (allergic rhinoconjunctivitis) in an adult is exacerbated only during periods of flowering of wind-pollinated plants. But with inadequate treatment of the disease, the patient may experience cross-allergic reactions. In this case, food, household chemicals, house dust, etc. can provoke inflammation in the respiratory tract.

If nasal congestion does not go away due to the development of hay fever, the patient is prescribed the following drugs:

  • systemic antihistamines - "Pipolfen", "Erius", "Rivtagil";
  • glucocorticosteroid drugs - "Budesonide", "Beclomethasone", "Mometasone furoate";
  • mast cell stabilizers - Ifiral, Primalan, Kromosol.

With the correct preparation of the treatment regimen, the symptoms of rhinitis disappear within a week. To prevent the re-development of hay fever, doctors recommend using barrier preparations such as Nazaval, Prevalin, etc. during flowering periods of plants.

Nasal preparations

Persistent rhinitis and nasal congestion are recommended to be treated with topical preparations. Depending on the cause of the nasal breathing disorder, the doctor may prescribe nasal vasoconstrictor, moisturizing, antimicrobial and antiallergic agents. With their help, you can alleviate the course of the disease and restore normal patency in the nasal canals.

As a rule, from stuffy nose, patients are prescribed the following types of drops:

  • vasoconstrictor - "Tizin", "Nazivin", "Knoxprey";
  • immunostimulating - "Poludan", "Immunal", "IRS-19";
  • antiseptic - Miramistin, Octenisept, Collargol;
  • hormonal - "Aldecin", "Nasonex", "Baconase";
  • antihistamines - "Allergodil", "Sanorin Analergin", "Kromheksal";

Although nasal agents are practically not absorbed into the systemic circulation, only a specialist can choose the right drug for women during pregnancy.

Mucolytic agents

If the nose is stuffy and there is no mucous discharge, mucolytic drugs are included in the treatment regimen. They contribute to the liquefaction of the muconasal secretion and its removal from the respiratory tract. The evacuation of pathological secretions from the nasal cavity prevents the development of inflammation in the paranasal sinuses.

In cases where nasal congestion does not go away for a long time, patients are prescribed the following mucolytic drugs:

Before treating the nose with thinning drugs, you should consult with your doctor. Some of the above drugs increase the secretory activity of glands in the nasopharyngeal mucosa. Therefore, the irrational use of drugs can cause the development of drug-induced rhinitis.

Physiotherapy procedures

You can restore normal nasal breathing with the help of physiotherapy procedures. In the case of chronic inflammation of the nasopharynx, two types of therapeutic measures are usually resorted to - debridement of the nasal cavity and inhalations. Washing helps to wash out mucus and pathological flora from the nasal cavity, and inhalations help to eliminate inflammatory processes directly in the lesions.

Inhalation with a nebulizer

In the treatment of a chronic disease caused by bacteria, it is recommended to use not steam, but aerosol inhalations. They do not contribute to an increase in temperature in the nasal cavity, which could provoke the spread of infection in the respiratory tract. To restore normal nasal breathing, anti-inflammatory, mucolytic and immunostimulating drugs are usually used:

  • "Tonsilgon N";
  • "Derinat";
  • "Interferon";
  • "Acetylcysteine";
  • Rotokan.

The desired therapeutic effect can be achieved in the case of regular inhalation. To eliminate the manifestations of the disease, it is recommended to perform the procedure 4 times a day for 7-10 days.

Washing the nasopharynx

When nasal congestion lasts two weeks or more, it is recommended to debride the nasal cavity with isotonic solutions. During washing, the pathological secret and more than 70% of pathogens are eliminated from the respiratory tract. Preparations based on sea salt strengthen the walls of blood vessels in soft tissues and accelerate their recovery, thereby normalizing the patency of the nasal passages.

You can eliminate chronic inflammation in the nasopharynx with the help of such isotonic solutions:

  • "Sterofundin";
  • "Sodium chloride";
  • "Ringer's solution";
  • "Aqua Maris Strong";
  • Morenasal.

To reduce the severity of allergic reactions in the respiratory tract, it is recommended to rinse the nose with the drug "Doctor Thais Allergol".

Isotonic solutions are absolutely safe, therefore they can be used to treat rhinorrhea, sinusitis and other pathologies of the nasopharynx in children from 3 years of age. So that inflammation in the airways does not develop a second time, it is recommended to flush for several days after the elimination of the main symptoms of the disease.

Hardware treatment

An important place in the treatment of sluggish inflammation in the nasopharynx is occupied by hardware treatment. Electromagnetic, ultrasonic and laser exposure promotes tissue regeneration in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. To eliminate the manifestations of a chronic disease, it is advisable to resort to the following hardware procedures:

  • endonasal electrophoresis - the introduction of medicinal solutions into the tissues of the nasopharynx in the form of ions under the influence of direct current;
  • endonasal phonophoresis - the introduction of local antibiotics and antiseptics into the nasal cavity using ultrasound;
  • UHF therapy is the effect on the foci of chronic inflammation with an electromagnetic field, which promotes the regeneration of affected tissues.

The above procedures can significantly increase the concentration of medicinal substances in the respiratory tract. The drugs introduced into the foci of inflammation are practically not absorbed into the bloodstream, therefore they do not create a burden on the kidneys or liver. Electrophoresis and phonophoresis are widely used in otolaryngological practice in the treatment of bacterial rhinitis, sinusitis, sphenoiditis and others.

Conclusion

Obstruction of the nasal passages and congestion is a sign of inflammation of the mucous membranes in the upper respiratory tract. If the symptoms of the disease do not go away within two to three weeks, either a bacterial infection or an allergy is most likely the cause of the inflammation. Late treatment of sluggish inflammation in the nasopharynx is fraught with the development of serious complications - sinusitis, meningitis, paratonsillar abscess, etc.

Treatment of nasal congestion consists in the use of physiotherapy procedures (nose lavage, inhalations), drugs (antibiotics, glucocorticosteroids, vasoconstrictors, antiseptics) and hardware procedures (phonophoresis, UHF therapy, electrophoresis). Comprehensive and well-designed therapy allows you to eliminate foci of chronic inflammation in the airways and restore tissue integrity. To prevent the recurrence of the disease, it is recommended to take vitamins, herbal adaptogens and immunomodulating agents.