Do You Know These Five Symptoms of a Deviated Septum?

Symptoms of a deviated septum: Have you ever encountered breathing difficulty or congestion without knowing the cause? If yes, then it could be due to a deviated septum. However, in some individuals breathing difficulties and congestion are not always associated with a deviated septum. Usually, people with deviated septum experience a variety of symptoms that don’t allow them to breathe properly and lead a quality life.

Deviated septum: Nose has a nasal septum – a bone and cartilage that separate nasal cavity. When this nasal septum becomes off centre, then the condition is known as a deviated septum. Those who suffer from deviated septum may have breathing difficulties and nasal congestion and quite often suffer from sleeping issues – which over a period of time may lead to life-threatening sleep apnoea.

The most common or frequent symptoms of a deviated septum include:

Breathing difficulty: The common symptom in people who have deviated symptom is breathing difficulty because a deviated or misaligned septum cause hindrance in the smooth passage of air through the nostrils into the lungs. The person suffering from this condition, therefore, finds it difficult to breathe and experiences breathing problems especially when he or she has an allergy or cold.

Frequent Nosebleeds: People with a deviated septum may suffer from frequent nosebleeds owing to the fact that misaligned or deviated septum creates an unstable flow of air inside the nostril. The turbulence created due to such an abnormal activity makes the septum dry – which results in nosebleeds.

Regular Sinus Infections or Colds: The abnormal curvature of the septum blocks the air and eventually results in clogging of the airway. The person who has this problem may have breathing difficulty due to blocked sinuses. When sinuses get blocked, microbes grow and multiply and cause infections – bacterial growth disrupts the normal flow of air inside the sinuses. Flourishing microbes are responsible for recurrent and persistent sinusitis. When infection persists and prolong, it may lead to chronic sinusitis. For bacterial sinusitis, the best cure is intensive antibiotic therapy. Therefore, ENT doctors prescribe sinus medication to treat bacterial or chronic sinusitis.

Deviated septum surgery becomes necessary to remove a physical obstruction which is contributing to sinusitis and making it worse by every passing day.

Facial Pain & Headache: Those who suffer from deviated septum often find pressure in their face associated with pain and heaviness in their head as if the head is heavily loaded or clogged up. And therefore, the headache becomes a frequent problem. One cause of it could be the nasal septum’s contact with the outside of the nose.

Sleeping Difficulties: This is often the biggest trouble experienced by many of those who have deviated  septum. All the above problems together contribute to this issue and the one who has a congested nose, breathing difficulty, headache and facial pain finds it difficult to sleep.

Bottom Line

To sum it up, it is a fact that no nose is flawless as there is a possibility of slight curvature in the nose. If someone has a severely curved nose, then deviated septum surgery or septoplasty may become indispensable. The best ENT surgeon will select an appropriate surgical procedure by considering the unique requirement of the patient and their condition. If your deviated septum is giving you sleepless nights, and making you anxious, nervous and irritable during the day, then you should consider meeting an ENT specialist and get your nose examined by the doctor.

Read more: Septoplasty – The Gold Standard Treatment for a Deviated Septum