For those people who are experiencing a hard time in breathing — even if they are not suffering from cold, probably, they have a deviated septum. What is a deviated septum and what are its causes by the way? Well, this is a condition wherein the nasal septum or the cartilage and bone that serves as a division of the nasal cavity of the nose in halves is basically crooked. This is the reason that causes the affected person to hardly breath.
In fact, it is estimated that 80% of the total population have a misaligned nasal septum. It’s just that those who have severe imbalance mostly require treatment due to breathing issues. The causes of this are trauma or injury accidentally implicated to your nose but there are people who are born with a deviated septum already.
Most of the breathing passages imbalance have no symptoms at all, persons who have this doesn’t even notice it at all. However, some may feel and be aware of these symptoms and signs:
The Top 5 Symptoms of a Deviated Septum
1. Nosebleeds
The cartilage of septum may become dry due to deviated septum. This will increase the risk of nosebleeds.
2. Difficulty of breathing
one of your nostril or in some cases both of them where being obstructed due to this nasal disorder. This obstruction is actually the main reason of tough breathing through the nostrils. This may even become worse when the affected person has a cold or allergies that may trigger their nasal passages to swell and eventually will narrow.
3. Snoring or Noisy breathing when sleeping
This mostly occur and can be noticed in young children or infants affected with deviated septum. This mostly happens especially when the intranasal tissues are swelling.
4. Facial Pain
impact of severe deviated septum may include facial pain. Because of the swelling of the nasal wall due to this nasal disorder, chances are it will cause the face of the affected person to feel pain. Usually, the pain is felt on the side that is being affected.
5. Preference for sleeping position
Since deviated septum narrows the breathing nasal passages, some affected person prefer to have a particular side while sleeping. They do this to optimize their breathing at night. This is mostly done by those people who are affected by deviated septum on only one side of their nose.
6. Nasal cycle
When you are suffering from cold or nasal allergies and there is an obstruction on the nasal passages of your nose, it is normal for it to alternate during breathing. That’s what the nasal cycle is. This is a normal occurrence if you are ill, but without cold and other nasal disorders, having a nasal cycle is unusual. It is seemingly an indication of a nasal obstruction which is probably the deviated septum.
Other signs aside from the above mentioned signs and symptoms include: Headaches, nasal congestion, repetitive sneezing, sleep apnea and sinus infections. To treat the deviated septum is now made easier because of the innovation and technological advancement in the field of medicine and medical industry. The possible treatment may vary depending on the severity of the problem. Among them are the following: decongestants, antihistamines, nasal steroid sprays and surgery.
