What causes nasal congestion and how to treat it?
Get to know nasal congestion, its causes and treatment
Discover the causes of nasal congestion and the best treatments to relieve blocked airways.
When nasal and adjacent tissues and blood vessels become swollen with excess fluid, causing a “stuffy” feeling, which may or may not include a runny nose where discharge accompanies the difficulty in breathing. This is annoyance for older children and adults as well. It can be serious for children at night if it disturbs their sleep or for infants who might have a hard time feeding as keeping their mouth shut is not easy.1
Symptoms of nasal congestion
- Difficulty in breathing through the nose.
- The constriction in the nasal passages makes it harder to get mucus out of the nose, so it builds up.
- Feeling stuffed-up, referred to as stuffy nose.
- Nasal congestion may be accompanied by other cold symptoms like headache and runny nose.
- Tiredness due to lack of sleep.2
Causes of nasal congestion at night
- Being distracted during the day.
- Human anatomy and gravity as during the day mucus is constantly drained by gravity from the nose and sinuses, but when in a horizontal position, mucus can pool or back up.
- Changes in blood pressure when lying down as the blood flow increases in the upper part of the body including head and nasal passages.
- Pregnancy, due to increased blood flow.
- A turbinate, which is a structure along the sinus wall that produces mucus, becomes swollen in one nostril which blocks air flow on that side.
- Gastro-oesophogeal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition where stomach acid flows back into the oesophagus, which is the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach, this is known as reflux. This can happen at any time of the day, However, lying down hinders the effect of gravity which can lead to night time nasal congestion due to irritation of the nasal mucosa b the acid. It is believed that there is a definite link between GERD, chronic sinusitis and nasal congestion.3
Chronic nasal congestion causes
- Acute sinusitis
- Alcohol consumption
- Chronic sinusitis
- Churg-Strauss syndrome, a disorder marked blood vessel inflammation
- Common cold
- Decongestant nasal spray overuse
- Deviated nasal septum
- Dry air
- Enlarged adenoids
- Food specially spicy dishes
- Foreign body in the nose
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener’s granulomatosis)
- Hormonal changes
- Influenza (Flu)
- Some medications like the ones treating hypertension depression seizures, etc.
- Nasal polyps
- Non-allergic rhinitis
- Occupational asthma
- Pregnancy
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
- Sleep apnoea
- Stress
- Thryroid disorders
- Tobacco smoking4
Treatment For Nasal Congestion:
The best way to clear congestion depends largely on its cause. Some options include:
- Oral or topical antibiotics, if the cause is bacterial infection
- Corticosteroid nasal sprays
- Decongestants like Telfast D
- Mucus-thinning medications to help getting rid of the accumulated serum
- Immunotherapy
- Corrective surgery for nasal septum deviation
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Recommended Reading
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References
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/nasal-congestion/basics/definition/sym-20050644 Last visited on 14th July 2021
- https://www.medicinenet.com/nasal_congestion/symptoms.htm Last visited on 14th July 2021
- https://www.verywellhealth.com/why-do-i-get-congested-at-night-1192188 Last visited on 14th July 2021
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/nasal-congestion/basics/causes/sym-20050644 Last visited on 15th July 2021
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nasal-congestion#treatment Last visited on 15th July 2021
- Telfast-D Gulf. PIL. lost revised July 2021
- Naselfast 55 micrograms/dose. nasal spray suspension. UAE PIL. last revised November 2021
