Excretion of snot and swelling in the nose are very unpleasant symptoms. Most often they are caused by a cold. But it happens differently. Today's article will tell you about why nose swelling occurs without a runny nose. Causes of the disease and methods of treatment will be presented to your review.
Symptoms of swelling in the nose
How is swelling of the nasal mucosa without a cold? A person faced with such a problem cannot breathe normally. He loses his sense of smell, is not able to feel even sharp smells. With severe swelling of the mucous membrane, the patient does have to breathe through the mouth. All this is not only unpleasant, but also quite dangerous.
With a long stay in a similar state, the nasal mucous membranes dry out, become inflamed, cracks and erosion appear on them. Treating this problem is already more difficult than banal congestion. Therefore, if you have a swelling of the nose (without a runny nose), the causes should be established as soon as possible. A specialist can do this correctly.
The principle of development of puffiness
How does puffiness appear? When microbes and viruses enter the mucous surface, a protective response occurs. Hyperemia occurs on the inner surface of the nose, the vessels dilate, and reddening of the membranes is noted. In this case, the person feels swelling and difficulty breathing. In this way, the body tries to protect itself from the penetration of the infection deep into. Most often, at the same stage, the patient has an abundant secretion, simply snot.
But what does swelling of the nasal mucosa without a cold mean? If there is no liquid discharge, then several possible scenarios:
- There is no infection, and hyperemia has arisen due to an external stimulus.
- There is an infection, but the mucous secretions dry out very quickly.
- The swelling is so strong that a thick secretion cannot come out of the sinuses.
- There is contact with a solid object, which provokes irritation.
Consider what causes swelling of the nose without a runny nose and how to cope with it.
Physiological runny nose in newborns
Often babies of the first year of life suffer from swelling of the nasal mucosa. In this case, the symptoms are as follows: the baby sleeps with his mouth open, snores, swallows air during feeding and makes grunting sounds. Parents have a feeling that the baby’s nose is full of snot. But this is far from the case. On the contrary, the mucous membrane of the baby’s respiratory tract is very dry. This often happens in a warm room or with insufficient humidity. Thick mucus that remains in the upper respiratory tract after birth contributes to the appearance of crusts in the nose. There is nothing wrong with this state. But how to help the baby? What to do if there is swelling of the nasal mucosa in a child?
Treatment involves the organization of comfortable conditions of stay: air humidity more than 50%, temperature no more than 22 degrees, plenty of drink and spacious clothes. In addition, it is permissible to use preparations based on sea water, for example, Aquamaris, Otrivin More. They moisturize the surface of the nose, soften the crusts and, if necessary, remove pathogens.
Swelling of the nose during pregnancy
Expectant mothers also often face nasal congestion. This happens at different times. It is clinically confirmed that every second woman feels a swelling of the nose during pregnancy. It is caused by hormonal changes. During this period, progesterone predominates in the body. It has a relaxing effect on muscle tissue. The nasal mucosa is also subjected to the same effect. The vessels expand. The situation is aggravated by the fact that in future mothers the volume of circulating blood increases.
There are no specific drugs to correct this condition. Expectant mothers are not recommended to use drugs at all. Therefore, experts are allowed to use only saline solutions. They relieve swelling due to its composition. Salt attracts excess fluid, reducing its content in the nasal mucosa. If the congestion is so strong that the expectant mother is forced to breathe through her mouth, then the doctor may prescribe vasoconstrictor drugs. It is unacceptable to use them yourself.
Medical rhinitis, or How to get used to the drops
Why does a person have swelling of the nose without a cold? The reasons may lie in the misuse of vasoconstrictor drugs. As you know, they can be used no more than three days. Some manufacturers allow the use of drugs for up to 5 days. Only a few types of medications are allowed to be used for a week or even 10 days. All these restrictions are spelled out in the instructions. But not every consumer adheres to it.
During the use of vasoconstrictor compositions, an effect on the mucous membrane occurs. The vessels in it narrow, due to which hyperemia and puffiness disappear. Breathing after such a simple manipulation is restored within a few minutes. If you disregard the recommendations of the doctor and the advice of the instruction, then the mucous membrane and blood vessels will quickly become accustomed to such “pushing” drops. As a result, a person cannot breathe normally without them. Often these patients are called "naphthyzine addicts." Getting rid of such a problem is quite difficult. The longer you use the medications, the more you need them, drops begin to help less and less: first, the drugs work for 6 hours, then 4 and so on. It comes to the fact that breathing with their help is not facilitated at all. To correct this pathology, doctors prescribe corticosteroids ("Tafen", "Nazonex"). The regular use of saline solutions is also prescribed. Persons with naphthyzine addiction are contraindicated in vasoconstrictors.
Rhinopharyngitis or coryza
A person can feel stuffy without a runny nose due to posterior rhinitis. Often children face this problem. Parents note that at first the baby sneezed, after which he had a nose, but there were no snot as such. At the same time, characteristic squelching is heard during breathing.
If the doctor examines the patient with such complaints, then rhinoscopy of the nose will show posterior rhinitis. Your doctor may call it rhinopharyngitis or nasopharygitis. With this pathology, the nasal mucosa becomes inflamed, but the outflow of secretion does not go outside, but inside. In this case, a red "blooming" throat is often noted. The problem can be complicated by bronchitis or pneumonia, as mucus enters the larynx and lower respiratory tract. Treatment of nasopharyngitis involves the use of vasoconstrictor drops for three days (if this is not contraindicated), treatment of the nose with anti-inflammatory compounds (Pinosol, Chlorophyllipt), and the use of immunomodulators (Grippferon, Cycloferon). If the attachment of a bacterial rhinitis is proved, then antimicrobial compounds are prescribed (mainly based on amoxicillin).
Neoplasms or the presence of a foreign body
Congestion and respiratory failure may be symptoms of a person having a cyst in his sinus. This is a very unpleasant pathology, since the neoplasm is gradually growing and can completely block the lumen for the passage of oxygen. The treatment of this disease is carried out surgically. Pre-performed rhinoscopy of the nose. After the procedure, the doctor prescribes anti-inflammatory and antihistamines, antibiotics for topical use may be recommended.
If a polyp or cyst is not found during the examination, a foreign body may be present in the sinus of the nose. This problem is often encountered by children. During the game, kids can put a bead, a small ball or a toy in their nose. In this case, the mucous surface in contact with a solid object is irritated, edema occurs. In this situation, you can not delay. Know that you cannot solve the problem yourself. Be sure to consult a specialist to remove a foreign object from the nose.
Injury
Severe swelling of the nose without snot discharge occurs when tissue damage. If you had a nose injury, the field of which you noticed difficulty breathing, then most likely there is damage. This does not have to be a fracture. Even a crack in the nose or damage to the septum is manifested by such symptoms. Outwardly, it looks like this: a person has difficulty, and then breathing through the nostrils ceases altogether, the mucous membrane is irritated and has a red tint, there is a discharge of blood from the nose, the skin on the face in this area turned red and even became cyanotic.
The surgeon and otorhinolaryngologist are involved in the treatment of nasal trauma . Doctors conduct an examination, after which they issue their verdict. In some situations, the nasal administration of tampons and the application of a bandage for an indefinite time are required.
Home diagnostic methods: what can you do yourself?
Can I remove the swelling of the sinuses at home? It all depends on the cause of the development of pathology. Define it with maximum certainty. Use this method only if you are not used to vasoconstrictive drops:
- Enter drugs to relieve swelling in each nostril (follow the dose indicated in the instructions).
- Lie on the side where there is a stuffy nose.
- After 5 minutes, turn to the other side.
If congestion has moved in the other direction, then we are talking about rhinopharyngitis, curvature of the nasal septum, copious accumulation of thick secretions (sinusitis, sinusitis). When swelling persists in place, it is a matter of the presence of a foreign object, cyst, or nose injury.
Summarize
From the article you could find out why and how nose swelling occurs. If you suddenly encounter such a problem, then it is better to consult a specialist than to guess on coffee grounds. The doctor is likely to make the right diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment for you. Free breathing!