Your nose is an important part of your respiratory system and the organ that provides your sense of smell, filters debris, keeps harmful microbes out, moistens the air you breathe, and affects your sense of taste. It consists of your septum (the bone and cartilage that separates into two nostrils), hair, cilia, the nasal cavity, sinuses, and other parts vital to normal function.
A deviated septum is one of the most common problems people have with their nose, affecting up to 80% of people for a variety of different reasons. Often, people have it and it doesn’t affect their lives at all, so when does it become a problem that needs to be treated? Let’s find out by exploring the basics of the condition, what problems it can create, and when treatment is necessary.
If you live in the Kissimmee or Orlando, Florida, area and you’re dealing with this or other nasal conditions, Drs. Wade Han, Elvira Livigni De Armas, and their Florida Ear Nose Throat & Facial Plastic Surgery Center staff can help.
Like the rest of your face, your septum is a symmetrical part of your nose, meaning it is evenly shaped on both sides and sits in the center. If it is deviated, it’s displaced in some way on one side more than the other, resulting in one nasal passage being smaller. This can be something you’re born with, or it can happen due to a nose injury, changes as you age, or swelling and irritation causing obstruction that leads to deviation.
While a deviated septum may make your nose look uneven, it often doesn’t present with symptoms. However, if it does, you may also experience nosebleeds, troubling breathing through one nostril, facial pain, breathing noisily as you sleep, and preferring sleeping on one side over the other.
Even if it doesn’t affect you now, this condition can worsen over time and lead to other problems, including:
If any of the issues listed above become a regular problem, you should get medical help. The treatment options will vary depending on the specific issues in your nasal cavity, but common methods for managing it include decongestants, antihistamines, nasal strips, and nasal sprays. If these methods don’t improve the problem or structural issues are causing the deviation, a surgery known as a septoplasty can be done to reconstruct the shape of the nasal cavity to reduce symptoms and improve breathing.
Many people have this problem and don’t even realize it, but if you’re showing signs of a deviated septum and it’s affecting breathing and other functions, make an appointment with Drs. Han, Livigni De Armas, and Florida Ear Nose Throat & Facial Plastic Surgery Center today.
