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Explaining Nasal Congestion Condition

Significant nasal stuffiness may interfere with sleep, cause snoring, and can be associated with episodes of not breathing during sleep (sleep apnea).

 

In children, stuffy nose from enlarged adenoids has caused chronic sleep apnea with insufficient oxygen levels and right-sided heart failure. The problem usually goes away after surgery to remove the adenoids and tonsils.

 

Blocked nose occurs when the membranes lining the nose become swollen from inflamed blood vessels. The air we breathe contains many impurities such as pollutants, chemical fumes, dust, pollens, mould spores, germs from others coughing and sneezing etc. Our nose acts as a filter. Anything that gets into our nose, which our body's immune defenses recognizes shouldn't be there, will cause a release of the body chemical "histamine".

 

The swelling stimulates the nasal membranes to produce excessive amounts of mucus. Mucus is produced in an attempt to "flush out" whatever it is our body wants to get rid of.

 

Many newborns will have a stuffy nose for several weeks. This can interfere with sleeping and feeding, but is harmless. This is virtually never a reason to page your doctor after hours.

 

At rest and during sleep, nasal breathing is the natural human state. If a situation exists whereby insufficient air is taken in by nasal breathing, mouth breathing takes over. When stuffy nose forces mouth breathing during sleep, greater negative pressure develops behind the uvula and soft palate. This negative pressure increases the vibration of these "noise-makers" during sleep, helping to create the sound we know as snoring.

 

 

Call your doctor if you or your child have any of the following:

A stuffy nose along with swelling of the forehead, eyes, side of the nose, or cheek.

 

• A stuffy nose along with blurred vision

 

• Increased throat pain, or white or yellow spots on the tonsils or other parts of the throat

 

• Coughing episodes that last longer than 10 days

 

• A cough that produces yellow-green or gray mucus

 

• A stuffy nose that lasts longer than 2 weeks and significantly interferes with your life

 

Your doctor may perform a physical examination, focusing on the upper respiratory system, ears, nose, and throat. Your doctor may ask questions, including:

 

• When did the stuffy nose begin? Is it always stuffy?

 

• What have you done to try to relieve the congestion? How well has it worked?

 

• What other symptoms do you have?

 

The following diagnostic tests may be done:

 

• Allergy skin tests (performed only by allergists)

 

• Blood tests (such as CBC or blood differential)

 

• Sputum culture and throat culture

 

• X-rays of the sinuses and chest x-ray

 

• Serum total IgE (the allergy-related immunoglobin)

 

An infant who is having trouble breathing because of nasal congestion is tough to watch. Too young to understand how to clear the nose by blowing, and unable to tell you just how he's feeling, it's a frustrating time for many new parents. Here are several common causes of infant nasal congestion, suggestions for dealing with them, and a solution that can help reduce the frequency of congestion.  

 

The common cold is well named because it does occur so frequently. One of the best ways to help your infant avoid congestion that comes with a cold is to take steps to prevent it. Keep hands, toys, crib railings as clean as possible.

 

Avoid, as best you can, close interaction with other children who are contagious (sneezing, coughing, runny noses) as your infant's immune system is not strong enough to fight off the germs. When colds happen, and they will, clear baby's nose with a nasal bulb syringe. This can provide instant relief for your baby in a non-invasive way. And relief for your baby means piece of mind for you.  

 

Some infants are more sensitive to airborne irritants than others. Dust, dust mites (which tend to congregate in the bedroom), and pollen can cause your baby's body to produce extra mucus to try to wash away the irritants that have been inhaled. The extra mucus leads to congestion which may also be accompanied by watering eyes, and coughing. Again the nose bulb syringe is a great first line of defense, but that is addressing the symptoms not the cause.  

 

Whether the cause of congestion stems from the common cold virus, or is caused by airborne particles in the air, the best way to reduce the congestion that results is to reduce the viruses and airborne particulates that cause them.  

 

A high efficiency particle arresting (or HEPA) air purifier is an effective way to clear the air of contaminants that are often at the root of infant nasal congestion.   By definition a HEPA air purifier will eliminate 99.97% of airborne pollutants as small as .3 microns. Household dust, dust mites, mold and mildews spores, pet dander, and pollen are all big enough to be trapped by a filter whose openings are .3 microns in size. This clears the air for your infant and greatly reduces the chances of nasal congestion.  

 

Viruses are often much smaller than .3 microns so it may seem that a purifier with a HEPA filter would not be effective. The good news is that viruses tend to attach to larger pollutants in order to travel from one host to another, and so by removing the bigger particles, you are also removing the viruses and well.  

Stuffy nose in an infant in the first few months of life can interfere with nursing and cause life-threatening breathing problems.

 

In older children and adolescents is usually just an annoyance, but can cause other difficulties. Blocked nose can interfere with the ears, hearing, and speech development.

Because a mucus nasal discharge often accompanies blocked nose may people believe the this is due to the thick mucus, but this is incorrect.  A stuffy nose is usually caused by a virus and typically goes away by itself within a week. Newborn infants must breathe through the nose.