As Goes a Bent Nose, So Goes the Septum…
Ah, the human nose. What a wonder of nature, even though the nose is subject to nasal blockages.
But some have no need for a nose because they are not breathing through it… and that means something is wrong. Nature designed the nose – not the mouth — to deliver air to the lungs. Lab experiments and testing long ago proved that one’s lung function improves as air comes via the nose.
But, lucky for us (the nasal surgeon and his patients) a nasal blockage can be ascribed to a small number of bugbears, including:
- Nasal blockages from a previous injury. When the nose is damaged, the internal support structures inside the nose can cave in, become crooked and impede airflow. Or, commonly in young people, a recent injury to the septum blocks proper breathing. A broken nose that heals in the broken position also blocks airflow. (See Dr. Kotler’s broken nose timetable.)
(Learn more about septoplasty to restore good breathing.)
- Another problem: nasal allergy, most particularly when an untreated broken nose is present. Nasal linings are often very sensitive to airborne allergens like ragweed pollen, mowed grass, trees or indoor mold. Results? Nasal blockages due to a swollen nose lining. Two structures inside the nose, the turbinates,are unusually sensitive and can swell to almost twice their normal size. (Ironic, given the turbinates’ function is filtering and humidifing your air, not acting as nasal blockages.)
(Read more about Turbinate surgery.)
- But not all is dismal. Modern surgical correction and a few simple medications can restore healthy breathing. Nose surgeons consider returning patients’ healthy breathing as one of the most rewarding acts in surgery. That reward is doubled when a surgeon returns a patient’s breathing, plus an attractive nose that fits the face and flatters the profile. A septorhinoplasty takes care of the nose’s function (healthy breathing) on the inside while improving the nose’s outside appearance via rhinoplasty.
(Learn more about septorhinoplasty)
Yet another benefit: with healthy breathing comes a restored sense of smell. Why? When air can’t enter the nose, smell receptors very high up in the nasal passages can’t work so that patient smells nothing.
Most people think taste is only involved with the tongue. Not so, actually. The human tongue senses only bitter, salt and sweet. An actual aroma is created when air enters the nose and triggers olfactory nerves which then carry smell sensations to the brain.
That’s why food tastes, well, blah, given a cold. Not enough air is taking the healthiest route to the lungs.
The post Nasal Blockages: Nose Job? Septoplasty? appeared first on Robert Kotler M.D..
