So what is a runny nose? In medicine, this condition is indicated by the beautiful word "rhinitis." The mucous membranes of the nasal sinuses become inflamed and swollen, which causes the familiar symptoms of nasal congestion, clear or greenish discharge, and itching in the nose and palate. In addition, you may get a feeling that the ear was blocked in the common cold. Let's see together why this happens and how to recover as quickly as possible.
What to do if your ear is blocked?Even the most remote from medicine people know that ears, throat and nose are an interconnected system. This is indicated by the slang name of the specialist in this area of the disease: ear gorlonos. Therefore, it is natural that if one of these organs becomes ill, after it, through the chain of infection, it passes to the other two. For example, otitis media can often occur from a harmless runny nose. In order to answer the question “what to do if the ear is blocked in case of a runny nose”, we will examine in more detail the structure of the auditory system.
Auditory system
Its beginning is the external auditory canal, passing into the auditory canal. The passage ends with an eardrum, which is a thin membrane. On the other side of the eardrum is the middle ear, that is, the space that fills the air. One point is very important here: for the normal functioning of the auditory system, it is necessary that the pressure inside the middle ear and the pressure inside the auditory canal are equal to each other. Otherwise, the person begins to hear worse, suffers from tinnitus, etc. Pressure levels are balanced using the Eustachian tube - it connects the person’s auditory cavity with the throat. Inside this pipe, air circulates freely in both directions, due to which the pressure normalizes. If the pipe passability worsens (for example, it becomes clogged), then a pressure drop will occur on both sides of the eardrum.
Feel like a stuffy
ear with a runny nose
? The reason may be precisely in the
Eustachian tube: a runny nose provokes its narrowing or even complete blockage. Hence the feeling of congestion. Therefore, in order to normalize the condition of the ear system, it is first necessary to get rid of the common cold.
Get rid of congestion
So, what is the first thing to do if your ear gets stuffy with a runny nose? There are several quick ways to solve the problem. First of all, buy in the pharmacy special
drops for the nose, which cause
vasoconstriction. Of course, they cannot be considered a full-fledged medicine, since they do not cure a runny nose, but only remove its symptoms. But in order to remove the swelling from the Eustachian tube, such drops are simply necessary. In addition, their use reduces the risk of developing an inflammatory process in the ear.
Another effective remedy is specialized ear drops. They are sold over-the-counter and quickly relieve a feeling of congestion. If you trust folk methods, then you can independently prepare
an alcohol compress. To do this, dilute the alcohol with water and moisten a gauze bandage with it. Put it on the auricle so that the ear is on the outside. Cover your ears with cling film and a layer of cotton wool. Compress is done at night.
If none of these methods help, consult your otolaryngologist (ENT) - it is possible that you have sinusitis.