Allergies are very common in the city of Los Angeles. With our sunny skies and warm temperatures, many trees, weeds, and plants bloom year-round. This means more sinus congestion, runny noses, and post-nasal drip.

Anyone with seasonal allergies can tell you how irritating it is, but those with allergies to foods and pets also suffer. One of the inexpensive ways to give yourself allergy relief is to avoid the substances you’re allergic to entirely. However, you can’t always count on this, especially if you suffer severe allergic reactions.

Luckily, you can visit an allergy doctor in Los Angeles to undergo sublingual immunotherapy for allergy relief. Sublingual immunotherapy, also known as SLIT, builds your immunity to allergens instead of treating your symptoms. This way, you can have extended relief that isn’t time-consuming or expensive.

If you choose to undergo SLIT, you will first visit an ENT doctor in Los Angeles to find what you’re allergic to. Then, the ENT doctor creates a special blend of allergens that you will be slowly and repeatedly exposed to.

Similar to allergy shots, allergy drops should be administered multiple times a week to build your immune system. However, allergy drops can be done at home, saving you the time and effort to get of getting to the doctor’s office in Los Angeles traffic.

Another upside to allergy drops is that patients don’t have to deal with painful injections, making them perfect for kids. You simply put the allergy drops under your tongue, hold them there for a few seconds, and then swallow. The dose is small enough not to trigger an allergic reaction, but enough to start building your immunity against your allergens.

Allergy drops are quickly gaining popularity over allergy shots, and Los Angeles ENT offices are trying to keep up with the demand. One of the best places to start eliminating your allergies is at Westside Head & Neck. Our ENT specialists are skilled at diagnosing and treating allergies.

If you have an allergy to pollen, pet dander, shrimp, dairy, nuts, or anything else, you can start overcoming this allergy by getting prescribed allergy drops in Los Angeles. Contact our office to learn more.

The city of Los Angeles is no stranger to air pollution; smog has plagued the air for decades, and it’s getting worse due to the city’s high population and citizens’ reliance on cars. Los Angeles is ranked as one of the U.S. cities with the highest pollen count and air pollution rating.

Scientists who study the environmental factors behind sinus and nasal disorders are beginning to suspect that city life may have something to do with it. Studies have found that there are more breathing problems among people who live in large cities and industrial areas with polluted air.

Scientists were hoping that understanding breathing disorders can allow them to provide the best chronic nasal congestion treatment in Los Angeles possible. A breakthrough study showed that mice who were breathing in polluted air for 6 hours a day had more white blood cells in their mucus. After flushing the mice’s sinuses, scientists inferred that the ones that had been exposed to smog had more inflammation. In fact, their sinuses and nasal cavities were similar to those who live in Asian countries that suffer from high levels of air pollution.

Living in a city with air pollution may cause you to experience more breathing and sinus issues, such as sinus infections, chronic sinusitis, asthma, and post nasal drip. Luckily the ENT specialists at Westside Head & Neck are experienced in handling these kinds of disorders.

A common culprit behind your sinus and nasal discomfort may be chronic sinusitis since the CDC estimates that 12% of American adults have a chronic sinusitis diagnosis. Chronic sinusitis can cause complications like sinus pressure, congestion headaches, and congested or drippy noses.

Sinus issues are more than just an annoyance in your day, as they can cause you to be less productive because you’re fatigued or depressed from your symptoms. If you are suffering from frequent sinus congestion, there’s no need to continue suffering.

Contact an ENT doctor in Los Angeles to set up an appointment. We can go over your symptoms to suggest solutions that can put an end to your symptoms instead of just treating them. Some of the solutions we offer include immunotherapy through either allergy shots or allergy drops, and we can even conduct sinus surgery like balloon sinuplasty to manually clear the infected mucus from your nasal passages.

Call (310) 361-5439 to set up an appointment!

Did you know that Los Angeles is one of the worst cities in the U.S. for air pollution? This means many people who live in the city are sinus sufferers.

The sinuses are the four connected cavities behind your forehead, eyes, nose, and cheeks. When the pollen count is high, your sinus cavities often fill with mucus as a reaction. This can create a congested feeling, leading you to seek sinus pressure relief in Los Angeles.

If you suffer from allergies, you may suffer the following symptoms:

• congestion
• runny nose
• headache
• pressure in your face, around your sinuses
• postnasal drip

Sinus relief can be found in OTC medications, nasal sprays, allergy shots, allergy drops, and even sinus surgery performed by an ENT doctor in Los Angeles. However, there’s a holistic remedy that is gaining popularity in the City of Stars. It’s called acupuncture for sinus issues.

Acupuncture is a form of Chinese medicine that has been used for thousands of years. The insertion of tiny needles into your skin can trigger its healing process, treating many issues such as chronic pain and headaches.

There are hundreds of acupuncture points located across your body, and an acupuncture specialist can insert needles into these areas, helping to clear blockages to restore the flow of qi through your body.

Many people who undergo acupuncture for sinus relief can feel their sinuses begin to drain after a session or two. The appeal of sinus acupuncture is that it doesn’t use any invasive techniques or chemicals that change the natural function of your body.

Is it Safe?
Acupuncture should be performed by a trained and experienced acupuncturist in order to be as safe as possible. An experienced acupuncture practitioner will know which points to target and which to avoid, and they will also use sanitary, single-use needles.

It’s possible to experience some mild side effects after an acupuncture session, including:

• nausea
• dizziness
• pain or tenderness around the involved areas

Find Sinus Relief
Acupuncture is not going to work for everyone. If you are interested in holistic remedies for sinus pressure, then you may enjoy going to an acupuncture session every few weeks. If you have a blockage or infection that’s causing your issues, then you may need to see a doctor that specializes in sinus relief.

Our ENT specialists have been helping Angelenos with their sinus problems for years, and we will work with you to pick a technique that works best for you and your comfort level. Contact one of our two offices to set up an appointment.

We’ve all felt it at the worst of times. You’re sitting in class, at a meeting, or in church and suddenly you get an itch in your throat that demands a coughing fit to get rid of. This itching can be due to irritation in your mucus membranes or it can be caused by something in the environment that you inhaled.

If you experience this uncomfortable feeling on a regular basis, it can interfere with your professional and personal life. You may want to visit a chronic cough doctor in Los Angeles.

A tickle in your throat is also referred to as postnasal drip and can be caused by inhaling cold, dry, or polluted air. You may need to check the air quality before leaving your home if your cough is due to external factors. Chronic throat itchiness can also be a sign that you have a medical condition.

Laryngitis
Those with laryngitis will feel a throat tickle that won’t go away. This is likely to occur after a long night out or any other stressful event on your vocal cords, such as a play rehearsal or speaking tour. It’s usually due to overuse of the vocal cords, but laryngitis can also be the result of viral and bacterial infections.

Common cold
A common cold may be the source of your throat tickle. This viral condition causes symptoms in your upper respiratory tract, including your throat. A cold symptom that may lead to a throat tickle is postnasal drip, which causes mucus to run down the back of your throat.

Symptoms typically last no longer than 7 to 10 days. A severe or lingering cold may be the sign of another condition like influenza or sinusitis. Learn more about the common cold.

Allergies
Your throat tickle could be caused by allergies like pet dander, mold, pollen, and certain ingredients.  An itchy throat is a clear sign that you are having an allergic reaction, but if you have seasonal allergies, this tickle can be minuscule but chronic.

Our ENT doctor in Los Angeles can conduct an allergy test on you so that you know specifically what substances to avoid.

Sinusitis
Sinusitis can cause postnasal drip since it’s an irritation of your sinuses. When your nose is congested, your body often starts to drain it down the back of your throat, which causes a tickling feeling.

If your chronic cough is accompanied by cold-like symptoms, you may need surgery for chronic sinusitis. Also known as a sinus infection, sinusitis can last for weeks or even months and will be recurrent throughout the year.

Suffering from sinus issues can be very painful, as it often takes the form of congestion, which can put pressure on the areas around your eyes, nose, and forehead. People with sinus congestion often suffer from sinus headaches, drowsiness, and even fatigue.

If you have allergies that resolve on their own, you likely have acute sinusitis, but chronic sinusitis occurs when your sinuses are inflamed and swollen for three months or more.

You might take medications, use a neti pot, or use steam therapy. These solutions don’t always work. If you continue to suffer from sinus pressure and cannot find relief, you might want to resort to sinus surgery in Los Angeles.

Sinus surgery may sound scary, but we offer a method that is minimally invasive and comes with little downtime. One of the most effective methods to treat chronic sinusitis is called balloon sinuplasty.

During the balloon sinuplasty procedure, an ENT doctor in Los Angeles will insert a small, balloon on a catheter into your sinus passages. This will help open up your blocked sinuses when the balloon is expanded. Once the balloon is expanded, the ENT specialist will spray a safe, saline solution inside your sinuses to drain any mucus that may have accumulated.

The balloon creates space in your sinus cavities, giving the saline spray space to clean out your sinuses. Physically removing your mucus can be much more effective than other methods.

The balloon sinuplasty procedure has many upsides, including:

• Safe and Effective: Although using any surgical instrument can result in infection, balloon sinuplasty is a relatively safe procedure while still resulting in sinusitis relief.
• Minimally Invasive: The small catheter that enters your sinuses is small and gentle; you won’t even feel it. The device is inserted entirely through the nostrils. Because it’s noninvasive, you won’t experience any pain.
• Less Bleeding: In most cases, chronic sinusitis does not require tissue or bone removal to be treated. The result of this gentle procedure is less bleeding during and after the procedure.
• Fast Recovery: Minimally invasive procedures mean that there is little to no downtime. This is because there are no incisions to keep sanitary and stitches to keep closed. Recovery times vary from patient to patient, but most people who undergo balloon sinuplasty can get back to their normal lives within 24 hours.

Balloon sinuplasty is covered by the majority of insurance plans. Unlike many ENTs, Westside Head & Neck accepts most insurance plans, HMOs, and Medicare. Depending on your insurance plan, you may need pre-authorization for sinus surgery, but our team can tell you more about how to get your procedure covered.

Nosebleeds are more common in children because they don’t understand the gentleness required to touch their inner nose. Nosebleeds are also often caused by nasal dryness, blowing their nose too hard, or even allergies. Nosebleeds can also occur when your child hits their nose on another object, like a ball or wall.

Parents see more nosebleeds in their children when it’s allergy season, so they find themselves buying more tissues in the spring, summer, and fall months. Allergy season is more likely to cause nosebleeds because your child is going to rub their nose and blow it more often.

Nosebleeds are very common throughout childhood, and they are usually nothing to worry about. However, if your child has more than one nosebleed a week, you may want to contact a Los Angeles nosebleed doctor to ask about chronic nosebleeds.

Stopping Your Child’s Nosebleed
Once your child’s nose starts bleeding, they may start panicking at the sight of the blood. Try to stay as calm as possible, as seeing your behavior will set an example for them. Having your child sit down will slow the bleeding. Then, follow these steps to get the bleeding to subside:

• Gently tilt their head forward slightly; the common idea seems to be that you are supposed to tilt your head back, but this is not recommended by doctors. Leaning back causes blood to run down their throat.
• Pinch the soft part of their nose below the nasal bridge. Your child should breathe through their nose while doing this.
• Have your child maintain this position for around 10 minutes. You can also use a cold compress on the nose, reducing blood flow.

Stopping this process too early may make your child’s nose begin bleeding again.

Even if it seems like a lot of blood, nosebleeds in children are part of growing up, and they are rarely serious. If your child has chronic nosebleeds, it could be due to a dry nose, so you should try to moisturize the lining of the nose. You can try:

• Using nasal saline sprays throughout the day
• Rubbing an emollient like Vaseline or lanolin inside their nostrils
• Using a vaporizer in your child’s room at night to add moisture to the air
• Keeping your child’s nails short so they are less likely to scratch the thin inner lining of the nose when picking

If your child seems to have abnormal nosebleeds or an overly sensitive nose, then you may want to mention this to your pediatric ENT doctor in Los Angeles during your next visit.

Almost everyone’s septum is slightly crooked in some way, but in some cases, the thin wall of bone and cartilage that separates the nostrils can be so crooked that it obstructs the airflow in one or both nostrils. This can make it difficult to breathe, thus complicating your life.

If your deviated septum is not noticeable or uncomfortable in any way, most ENT doctors in Los Angeles will recommend that you leave it alone. A crooked or deviated septum is classified as one that is off-center; people can be born with this condition, or it can be a result of an injury.

A deviated septum can lead to health complications. As stated above, it can make it hard or impossible to breathe through your nose. Breathing through your nose is important to your health, as nasal breathing gives your body 20% more oxygen and more nitric oxide, a chemical that helps blood circulation. Your nasal hairs also filter out foreign particles, preventing them from entering your lungs. If you have to breathe solely through your mouth, you may develop issues like dry mouth, sleep apnea, and asthma.

A crooked septum can also cause frequent nasal congestion, and a stuffy nose is a perfect environment for bacteria to grow. Your deviated septum can lead to sinusitis, which shows itself through painful inflammation and infection.

If you are stuck breathing through your mouth or suffer frequent sinus infections, then it may be time to consider undergoing a septoplasty procedure in Los Angeles. Similar to a nose job, this surgery is done to change the shape and structure of the nose, but septoplasty is purely to open up your airways and allow for better breathing. It’s possible that cosmetic changes can be worked into your procedure, sometimes referred to as septorhinoplasty, but this procedure is generally to improve the functionality of your nose.

Deviated septum surgery changes the lives of Westside Head & Neck’s patients. It comes with a few risks, such as post-operation bleeding, infection, or bad reactions to the anesthetic. However, the benefits far outweigh the risks, as the results from this procedure are life-changing.

Our ENT specialists are highly trained and experienced in septoplasty surgery, so you don’t need to worry when you come into our office. Before your surgery, our doctors can go over the risks associated as well as what to expect immediately after the procedure. We will give you a detailed list of instructions on how to provide your body the best tools to recover from the surgery and breathe normally again.

A neti pot is a container used to manually clear out congested nasal passages suffering from allergies, sinus infections, and colds. To use a neti pot, you dispense a solution of saltwater and other ingredients into one nostril, and they flow out the other nostril, thus flushing out your sinuses.

Chronic sinus issue sufferers have praised neti pots for their potency and holistic nature. This sinus treatment has roots in Indian medicine, and nasal irrigation and similar devices made their way to Western medicine in 1902. In a survey of physicians, 87% recommended nasal irrigation through neti pots to treat sinus issues.

However, this high amount of praise does not come with a considerable about of rebuttal. A 2016 scientific review found saline irrigation was less effective than common over-the-counter steroid nasal sprays. On top of their effectiveness, neti pots have been under fire for the health problems they can bring about should they be used incorrectly.

How to Use a Neti Pot
Neti pots should be used with caution. Depending on where you live, your tap water may be too unsanitary to flush out your sinuses. To be safe, many ENTs for ear infections in Los Angeles recommend that you use bottled water in your neti pot and carefully follow the instructions below:

1. Lean over a sink.
2. Tilt the head to one side so that the forehead and chin are at approximately the same level. This prevents the sterile water or saline solution from getting into the mouth.
3. From this point, breathe through the mouth.
4. Place the spout into the upper nostril.
5. Pour the solution so that it drains through the lower nostril.
6. Clear your nostrils by blowing your nose, and perform the same action again on the other side.

Risks of Using a Neti Pot
Using a neti pot may induce gagging or ear pain. If you experience either of these symptoms, you may be using the neti pot too vigorously and need to let up.

Some people who use neti pots begin to experience discomfort in their ears or Eustachian tubes. This is due to pressure changes when the rinse happens. You may feel like you need to pop your ears.

Using a neti pot too vigorously can also cause you to cough because it will cause fluid to drain down the back of your throat and possibly enter the wrong pipe.

If you are suffering throat and ear pain following neti pot use, your ENT doctor in Los Angeles will recommend discontinuing your use. There are a variety of other methods to relieve sinus congestion that won’t cause painful side effects. Scheduling an appointment with an ENT specialist will give you an idea of which methods will work best for you.

In the spring and fall, many find that the high amounts of pollen in the air cause them to have allergies. Allergy symptoms are most commonly noticed as a stuffy or runny nose, but they can also present themselves as a sore throat.

When people experience a sore throat, they often think they might have strep throat or some other kind of infection. However, a sore throat is actually a common side effect of seasonal allergies. This is due to a condition called postnasal drip. A Los Angeles postnasal drip specialist can tell you that this is almost always the cause of an allergy-induced sore throat.

When the sinuses are stopped up with mucus, it can begin to drain down the throat. This often causes the feeling of a tickle or scratching in the throat. 

The drainage in your throat can also cause:

• Coughing
• Excessive swallowing
• Throat irritation 
• The need to clear the throat 
• Difficulty or pain when speaking

While the cold and flu are caused by viruses or infections, allergies are your immune system’s response to foreign substances it thinks may be harmful to your body. You may be able to visit an allergy clinic in Los Angeles to see what exactly is causing your allergies. Allergy testing is conducted by placing different allergens on your skin in a grid pattern. Based on which spots swell up, the doctors can determine what you are allergic to.

The most common allergens and irritants include:

• Dust mites
• Mold and mildew
• Pet dander, especially that of cats and dogs
• Cigarette smoke
• Ragweed

Oftentimes, the discomfort caused by postnasal drip is caused by the body’s inability to clear mucus, usually caused by congestion. 

You are most likely to experience your allergies and sore throat during seasons where the population of airborne irritants is high. You’ll notice that your sore throat is worse after you’ve been outside for a period of time. 

In order to treat your sore throat, you may want to take over-the-counter allergy medication. You can also try drinking soothing tea or eating hot soup to soothe your throat. Both of these also hydrate you, thinning out your mucus to make drainage easier. Nasal sprays are also known to moisten your nasal passages and minimize postnasal drip. Manual sinus irrigation tools like neti pots or sinus rinses can also flush out excess mucus.

If you are experiencing a chronic sore throat that doesn’t go away, you should contact an ENT doctor in Los Angeles to find relief. You may need a more serious solution.

Los Angeles is one of the worst cities for those with breathing problems due to the high rates of air pollution and pollen during the spring and fall. It’s not unusual for Angelenos to feel like they have congested sinuses, a dry nose, or a sore throat.

When you have a stuffy nose, it can be difficult to sleep, work out, or even breathe. People with congested sinuses can seek out many different kinds of relief, such as prescription pills or steam therapy. Many allergy doctors in Los Angeles recommend nasal sprays, which can be bought over the counter and through a written prescription.

The highest recommended nasal sprays are listed below.

Decongestant Sprays
When you’re congested, it’s because of swollen blood vessels and tissues in your nose. Decongestant sprays will shrink these vessels and tissues to clear out your airways. Oxymetazoline hydrochloride (Afrin, Dristan, Sinex) and phenylephrine hydrochloride (Neo-Synephrine) are nasal decongestant sprays that can be purchased over the counter.

A nasal specialist will tell you not to use decongestant nasal sprays for more than three days straight, as prolonged use can reverse the effects.

Antihistamine Sprays
Since your nasal congestion is caused by something in the air that you’re allergic to, an antihistamine spray can relieve your symptoms of allergies. These kinds of sprays require a prescription. Azelastine (Astelin, Astepro) and olopatadine (Patanase) are the two most popular. Keep in mind that they might make you drowsy.

Steroid Nasal Sprays
A steroid nasal spray will reduce congestion and sneezing. However, the effects of these sprays do not kick in right away, so you won’t start feeling allergy relief until a week into using steroidal nasal sprays.

Cromolyn Sodium (NasalCrom)
This kind of nasal spray will prevent your body from releasing histamines, which are the chemicals that cause runny noses and sneezing. People who use NasalCrom will experience their congestion disappear in as little as 30 minutes. For the most optimum results, start using this kind of spray one or two weeks before allergy season, and make sure to continue to use it at least once a day. Side effects may include a burning sensation in your nose, so you may not want to use this if you are asthmatic.

Make sure to visit an ENT doctor in Los Angeles before committing to a nasal spray. Through a consultation at Westside Head & Neck, you can understand which option is best for you.