Nasal congestion happens when blood vessels and mucous membranes located inside the sinuses and nasal passages swell. Most people have experienced nasal congestion at least once in their lives, and for some, it’s worse than others.
If you are one of those people who experience chronic nasal congestion in Los Angeles, then you may need to visit an ENT doctor in Los Angeles if you haven’t already. For most, congestion clears up on its own, but if your congestion lasts two weeks or more, you have what doctors call chronic congestion, which requires medical treatment.
If you don’t seek out professional sinus treatment in Los Angeles, the buildup of mucus in your nose will become infected if it hasn’t already. Signs that your sinuses may be infected include:
Your nasal congestion can come with a variety of causes. Los Angeles is one of the areas in the United States where its residents have the most sinus and nasal problems. This is largely due to a high amount of environmental factors, including pollen from the surrounding plants and air pollution from all the cars and factories.
When you visit an ear, nose, and throat doctor in LA, they can take into account the city’s air quality in addition to your genetics and lifestyle to diagnose the source of your nasal congestion. Once they understand what’s causing it, they can set you up with a treatment plan that will finally help stop chronic nasal congestion.
Chronic sinusitis occurs when nasal congestion causes inflammation and infection in your sinuses. If this is the source of your nasal congestion, then you will have been feeling this way for at least a month.
This is one of the most common causes of frequent nasal congestion, and it most often occurs in children under the age of 15 and adults aged 25–64, specifically adult females. This issue causes around 16 million outpatient treatments a year, so you’re far from alone if you experience this issue.
You will need the professional help of a sinusitis specialist in Los Angeles to put an end to your suffering. Chronic sinusitis can be fixed through surgery, and our nasal specialists can do it as an outpatient procedure, meaning you’ll save money and downtime.
Although they’re called seasonal allergies, many people have them for the majority of the year. A body with seasonal allergies responds to pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds by creating inflammation in the body. If you have seasonal allergies, your chronic nasal congestion will last through the spring and fall.
Seasonal allergies can be helped by over-the-counter medications such as Claritin and Zyrtec, but these medications only help you manage your symptoms by drying out your nasal cavity. They won’t be a long-term solution, as you are still allergic to the allergen that is causing your symptoms.
The best way to stop allergies from clogging your sinuses is by eliminating your allergy. Your sinus doctor in LA can do this through immunotherapy. By exposing you to minuscule amounts of your allergen, you will develop immunity over time. Allergy shots are the most well-known kind of immunotherapy, but this requires visiting a doctor for shots multiple times a week. Another method we offer is immunotherapy through allergy drops, which can be administered under your tongue several times a week to build immunotherapy.
If you have a life-long illness such as lupus or HIV, you have a compromised immune system. This means that the smallest viral infection, like a cold, can give you nasal congestion that won’t go away.
If you have diabetes, it’s possible that your raised levels of estrogen are causing your chronic nasal congestion. Having estrogen levels higher than normal can cause isolated nasal congestion.
If you have a chronic illness or chronic disease, keep a close eye on your nasal congestion, as it can quickly turn into a serious infection.
If you have a deviated septum, it means that your nasal septum is severely off-center. When the bone and cartilage that separates your nostrils is uneven, it often blocks one of your nasal passages completely. In fact, those with a deviated septum often experience chronic nasal congestion year-round. It’s possible that your off-center nasal septum is giving you chronic congestion.
Almost everyone has a septum that is slightly off-center, but if yours is affecting your quality of life, you can get it repaired through septoplasty. Our Los Angeles ENT office offers expert deviated septum repair.
Septoplasty is often covered by insurance since it’s a health concern. Make sure to contact a doctor if you feel that your deviated septum is negatively affecting your health.
Sometimes, nasal congestion is caused by an activity or habit in your life. Your congestion may be caused by:
The board-certified ENT doctors of Westside Head & Neck treat all general conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. Every doctor under Westside Head & Neck has extensive training in the treatment of:
Even more serious conditions such as neck, mouth, and throat cancer can also be diagnosed and operated on by ENTs. We accept most PPO insurance plans, Medicare, and select HMO’s to keep hearing, swallowing, and breathing relief open to more Los Angelenos. Our two offices are located in Santa Monica and Culver City. To set up an appointment to discuss your ENT issues with any of our physicians at either location, please call (310) 361-5128 or email appointments@westsidehn.com.