ANATOMIC CAUSES OF A NON-ALLERGIC STUFFY NOSE
If you or your children have a chronically stuffy nose, you may have one of the five disorders listed below. All are correctable using modern surgical procedures.
Deviated Nasal Septum
The wall that divides the inside of our nose into right and left sides is called the nasal septum (septum means a partition). If this wall is crooked, i.e., if it encroaches on one side of the nose or the other, it is called a deviated (off course) septum. If the septum deviates too much, it can actually block the flow of air through one side of the nose. On rare occasions, it can deviate in both directions, causing symptoms of stuffiness on both sides of the nose.
Cleft Palate
The palate is the roof of your mouth. When it does not develop properly, it leaves a large opening in the roof of the mouth. This causes the nose and the mouth to connect abnormally, and results in many different problems for someone so affected.
Choanal Atresia (Bilateral)
The term choanal (funnel) refers to the shape of each side of the nose from the outside toward the throat. The term atresia (no hole) refers to the lack of an opening at the end of this funnel. Someone with bilateral choanal atresia has no opening into the throat for either of the nasal passageways, and no air can pass through the nose to the lungs. Choanal Atresia is a life-threatening situation for an infant.
Pharyngeal Stenosis
This is a very uncommon disorder in which the pharynx, located at the back of the nose and the top of the throat, is abnormally narrowed. Just as in a pinched pipe, such narrowing does not permit normal flow of air or fluid through the nose.
Benign Tumors
There are a variety of abnormal but not cancerous (benign) growths that can occur in the nasal passageways. These may block the flow of air through the nose on the side in which they occur. Nasal Polyps, balloon like swellings of the lining of the nose, are the most common of these.
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