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The Nose: Beautiful From the Outside, But May Not Be So Inside!

The nose is one of the most prominent facial features that contribute to the way we look. They say a man blessed with an aquiline nose is an epitome of beauty. Similarly, the nose is perhaps one of the most important deciding criteria for a woman’s facial appeal along with her lips and of course her eyes. In short, the nose is important.

Yet, there may be things going very wrong within the nasal cavity that no one knows about except for the owner of the nose, who may be facing a host of breathing problems including snoring, repeated sinus infections, allergies, bleeding and even sleep apnea, one of the more serious types of sleep disorders, just because there are some problems within his or her nose, not visible to others but can only be experienced by the sufferer. .

Apart from adding to beauty, the functional aspect of the nose is more important. It is a breathing apparatus and anything going wrong inside affects our breathing, a condition that has a direct impact on our lives! There could be several things that could go wrong inside the nose, but one of the common conditions that causes difficulty in breathing is deviated septum.

If you are looking for more information on what deviated septum is, what happens when you have it and how you can treat conditions resulting from deviated septum, then you have come to the best site on the internet. DeviatedSeptumSurgery.org is one of the few sites that provides most authentic, unbiased and extensive information about deviated septum and everything associated with it.

What is a Deviated Septum?

There is a thin line of separation dividing the nostril in two halves. This thin bifurcating line, covered by mucous membrane is called the septum. While this is supposed to be right in the center of the nostrils, dividing it into two equal halves, things are not this perfect always. The dividing line is usually inclined more on one side, thereby dividing the nostrils into two unequal halves. This condition is called the deviated septum.

Interestingly, millions of people not just in this country, but across the world go around with deviated septum without even knowing that they have it. This is because the incline is not major and the two nostrils are functioning properly; that is, they are not causing any obstacle in breathing. However, when the incline of the septum is significant, it causes major obstructions in the nostril that is narrower than the other.

Such an obstruction can cause serious obstacle in breathing resulting in a host of breathing and sleeping disorders.

Read more about deviated septum in: What is a Deviated Septum?

Deviated Septum: Symptoms

Is it possible to know that you have deviated septum? If you are aware of the deviated septum symptoms, it helps, as then you can seek treatment sooner and not wait till the situation gets worse. Repeated sneezing, facial pain, nose bleeds or drips, difficulty in breathing, snoring, recurrent sinus infections and of course, sleep apnea are some of the identifiable symptoms of deviated septum.

Read more about this in Deviated Septum Symptoms

Deviated Septum: Effects

How does a deviated septum affect life?

While the lucky millions go about life unhindered by deviated septum, there is more number of people who suffer its consequences.

For example, deviated septum is one of the most common causes for habitual snoring, which if left untreated can cause sleep apnea, a more serious health condition associated with several cardiac problems, many of which are fatal. Deviated septum causes the individual to breathe through the mouth since the nose is almost non-functional as far as breathing is concerned, because of the obstruction. During sleeping the uvula and soft palate tissues get relaxed and may even collapse and vibrate. The noise of this vibration is called snoring, when ignored gradually turns into sleep apnea.

The other common fall out of deviated septum is repeated sinus infections. This happens when the septal obstruction prevents sinus drainage, resulting in the sinus fluids accumulating within the sinus cavities. This soon turns into a breeding ground for sinusitis bacteria and the victim suffers from repeated sinus infections.

Read more in

Deviated Septum Cause: Why Do I Suffer From This Condition?

Deviated Septum: Treatment Options

The best news that you can have about deviated septum is that the condition is curable and there are many treatment options, including numerous non-surgical treatment options for bringing relief and regularize breathing (including changes in diet, supplements, medication, and essential oils, as well as alternative options such as Buteyko breathing exercises, as well as surgery.

The surgery of choice is septolasty that aims to reposition the septum and correct any anomaly in its placement within the nasal cavity. The other, though slightly traditional surgical approach is called Submucous resection or SMR, that usually removes any bone or cartilage that may appear displaced. There is also rhinoplasty (which combines deviated septum surgery with a “nose job”), turbinate reduction, and balloon sinuplasty.

However, septoplasty is more common and is done with either local or general anesthesia, after an endoscope examination of the nasal cavity. Septoplasty is typically done by an ENT specialist and has potential complications, so you should consider the pros and cons before committing to this procedure (although keep in mind that septoplasty is a relatively common procedure with a good success rate). You may also consider dual septoplasty-turbinate reduction surgery, or septoplasty-rhinoplasty surgery.

What Kind of Septum Surgery Results Can I Expect?

The risks and complications arising out of deviated septum surgery are comparable to any kind of nasal surgery, though the pain, discomfort and occasional bleeding at the site of surgery remain within manageable limits and can be controlled with post-surgical medications.