Stuffy Nose? Is it Allergies? Nasal Polyps? Or Turbinate Hypertrophy?

 

Do you feel like you have a chronically stuffy nose? 

No matter how often I blow my nose, use an antihistamine, or use my corticosteroid nose spray, nothing helps.  

I have been feeling like a stuffy little 2 year old toddler for a while, and set an appointment with my allergist. 

I had heard about nasal polyps, and wondered if I had polyps in my nose that were making it hard to breathe. I noticed:

• I breathe through my mouth 
• My nose is always stuffed up
• I was snoring at night (so my husband says...) 

What are nasal polyps? 

Nasal polyps are painless growths in the sinuses or inside the nose. They aren't cancer, just harmless growths. But, they can block the nose and make it hard to breath.  

You can use medicine to shrink the polyps or you may need surgery to remove them. 

What did my allergist say? 

As part of the exam, she looked in my nose with her nasal endoscope and said, "Oh wow! You have HUGE turbinates! Do you have an ENT you can visit?"

Of course, there's always something wrong with this defective body of mine. 

So, I ignored it. 

Later, I was watching an on-demand session from the annual conference of American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI). I watched a session where an ENT was showing what turbinates are and what happens when if they are HUGE (the medical term is "turbinate hypertrophy"). 

Hmm. Maybe I should follow up with my ENT.   

What are turbinates? 

Turbinates are small, curved bony structures in your nose covered by mucus membranes and soft tissue. Their job is to humidify, warm, and filter the air you breathe. 

But, they can swell and cause turbinate hypertrophy.  (HUGE turbinates!) You can see that in the image above from Penn Medicine.  Can you see how the turbinate on the right side is blocking the nose? 

No wonder we have a stuffy nose, breathe through our mouth and snore.  

Like nasal polyps, if you have tried other treatments and they don't help, you may need surgery to reduce the size of the turbinates. 

It can be hard to tell the difference between nasal polyps or turbinate hypertrophy because the symptoms are similar. An allergist or ENT can help. My ENT agreed with my allergist that my turbinates were indeed HUGE. 

And, since I already take a daily antihistamine and use a corticosteroid nose spray, and my turbinates are still HUGE, I get to have surgery. 

I'm not looking forward to this.

Has anyone else had turbinate surgery? 

If you are having a chronic stuffy nose, sinus infections, snoring, sleep apnea, etc, talk to your doctor. 

And good luck with allergy season! 

Hugs, 

Andrea