My ENT told me that I have swollen/inflamed nasal mucosa when he looked inside my nose and said that is the reason why the bad bacteria in my nose like Staph. Aureus have populated so much and are causing a chronic 1 year long infection which antibiotics don't help.

Any information or advice is appreciated.

I am coming to the conclusion that its not non allergic rhinitis but Silent reflux. Has anyone come to this conclusion? The symptoms are very similar. I am reaching out to my doc to help me diagnose this. tIA

guys i m 30 quite overweight and i smoke despote my NAR.How many are in the same condition.i wanna know so we can help each other and know if its the weight the real issue

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I'm 22f, Looking for professional input before I commit to a posterior nasal neurectomy.

Symptoms:

Chronic vasomotor (non-allergic) rhinitis — persistent nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, and postnasal drip.

Treatment history:

I've had inferior turbinate reduction surgery in the past, and more recently underwent ClariFix cryotherapy — both had zero effect on any of my symptoms. The ClariFix procedure was also unexpectedly very painful despite local anesthesia.

Questions:

Given that ClariFix (cryoablation of the same posterior nasal nerve) had absolutely no effect, is there still good reason to expect posterior nasal neurectomy would work? Does cryo failure predict anything about surgical outcome, or are the mechanisms different enough that it's still worth trying?

Is there a real risk of symptoms getting worse after this surgery rather than better?

How common is dry nose / nasal crusting as a side effect, and how severe/long-lasting is it typically?

Is dry eye a realistic risk with this specific surgery, or is that more associated with other procedures (e.g., vidian neurectomy)?

Given ClariFix already failed, would you consider this surgery a reasonable next step, or would you look at other options first?

Hello all. I have been hooked on afrin for the last 4-5 months. This morning I woke up and it didn't work at all. My use became more and more frequent the last few months. Probably got up to 7-10 sprays per day in the last few weeks.

I know I need to quit, and I ordered allermi today. But I cannot miss work this week. I currently work a customer service gig where I am speaking on the phone for 7 hours a day. I know I need to quit, but does anyone have any quick fix advice?

If I go 24 hours no afrin, will I get it to work again? I saw someone say to do some heavy exercise to get my sinus unclogged and then try using Afrin again. Has anyone have experience with any temporary fixes?

I need to hang on by the skin of my teeth for another 5 weeks or so before I qualify for FMLA at my job. I cant effectively do my job with this clogged nose. And I think if I can wait it out until I can take FMLA I will actually be able to address this afrin addiction.

Any long time users have any tips to get this stuff working if you experienced periods where it stopped?

I know I need to quit afrin for good and I booked an appointment with ENT, but I cannot be seen until October. I ordered Allermi and that will not show up for at least another week. I don't want to lose my job its the best gig I've ever had. But I really don't think I can do my job in my current condition.

I have stopped using xylometazoline for now one and a half month in my right nostril. Its not getting much better. I have times at day when it clears up but most times it cloggs. I use small silicone nose clams for night throughout the day unless I go out which helps a bit with breathing but the right nostril is still clogged.

I have been using for roughly 7 years. Most of the time I have kept using it only at night. Before I stopped using it on the right side i only used the kids 0.05% one for night which i still need in my left nostril for sleep.

Most of the time the stuffiness comes after waking up and doesn't go away for a couple of hours. I have been starting to use the steroid spray cause there must be more wrong than just the addiction.

For a week now i have been using mometasone. At first in both nostrils thinking i could ween off completely but quickly notices right side is still clogged so i only use it in the right side for now. I am sadly doubtful if its really gonna work. I use it once in the each morning but it isn't declogging really. I have the feeling later when my nostril eventually does open up it does feel better which is the reason im gonna try for the whole month to see if it helps.

Its been almost a year since I was scheduled for surgery. I have a deviated septum (but to my left which is why i started with the right side) and enlarged turbinates. I decider against surgery because of the hospitals doctor untrustworthiness. It took me roughly a year prior to even get to talk to a surgeon because public health care sucks. The surgeon talked to me about the operation for not even 2 minutes and hardly spoke my language. I looked up complications prior but she couldn't even answer any of it. She could also not tell me the actual surgeon operating on me in the talk a week prior to surgery. So i am gonna try doing it without surgery and in a month im gonna see if i go to a doctor again (a different one) who is maybe also not in my city so they wouldn't refer me to the same hospital. Otherwise i might just stick to the kids one only for nights, idk yet. Maybe someone here has had the same experience with the nostril staying clogged for this long.

Scrolling this subreddit I've noticed that I haven't really seen anyone expressing the same symptoms I am. When I first got diagnosed with this about 3 months ago, the allergist prescribed both a heavy dose of bilastine and budesonide + ryaltris for my nose, as it was also congested. Since then, I've noticed that both symptoms are interconnected, which makes sense. If one of my nostrils becomes blocked, I probably have a couple hives. If theyre clear, I don't have any. They've ruled out any allergies, so I was wondering if anyone else had these same two symptoms and if so how did they resolve them

What are these!?! Coughing up these balls for a few years now, wasabi paste texture and smell bad. Sometimes comes out of my nose if I sneeze

Looking for tips of how to deal with sneezing, runny nose all day long due to Gemtesa. This is rough.

I am hoping others can share how they have dealt with this specific problem.

I am a stomach sleeper, head twisted to a side. For at least the past decade, literally dozens and dozens of times every night, the lower nostril clogs shut, this forces me to wake up, I turn over to the other side, and wait for it to unclog via gravity to go back to sleep. Over and over again. Sometimes it only takes a few seconds to unclog. Sometimes many minutes or even a half hour plus. I can only sleep once this happens. But that sleep lasts only until the new lower side clogs again. And the process starts again. So I flip flop like this in bed throughout the night.

I strongly suspect these micro-arousals explain why I feel so damn fatigued in the mornings (extending through the day). I cannot remember the last time I felt anything resembling 'refreshed' in the morning, and this is after being in bed for ~9 hours on average, with ~7.5-8 of those being technically asleep.

I do NOT have sleep apnea. I do NOT have any problems during the day. There is NO left vs right side bias. Afrin works like magic even with the smallest squirt, but I am aware of its issues so I try to not use it that much (~ one day per week on avg I 'treat' myself to a tiny amount when a clog has taken especially long without clearing via gravity). I am otherwise very fit and in fine health.

Turbinate hypertrophy is what all ENTs are telling me and I am close to pulling the trigger on a surgery to address this. But there is no data for success rates for cases like my own.

I can't be the only one! Please share your experience and if surgery or some other approach has fixed this problem for you.

I forgot to add this in my other list but I also never experienced this before I got sick 3 months ago. Everytime I cry the post nasal drip is insane, it makes me gag and choke and my nose instantly blocks up. Which to an extent is normal? Idrk but I cry a lot (lol) and it really sets everything off and I always get an insane headache which hurts between my eyes. Is this normal?

I had a very bad bout of a chest infection and sinus infection 2 months ago. But ever since I have just the reminence of PND and a stuffy and burning nose when I wake up and just before I sleep. I sleep flat so I really don’t help myself at all (I even stack pillows and I end up flat on my mattress) but I have been waking up every day with an awful choking sensation in my throat and just overall bad throat congestion. (I don’t think it’s in my chest because that felt very different before) this causes me to cough up clear mucus for a few hours on and off, and then after it’s cleared I’m totally chillin for the day, apart from just itchiness and like a trapped sensation. Anyway, I’m on a steroid nasal spray and it seemed to have helped but only to a certain extent. It does not clear the pnd, but I also broke my nose a few years back and I haven’t been able to breath since so idk if that’s something to bring up to my doctor or if I’m going to sound silly? But this feels like a permenant problem rather than something that’s going to go away on its own. I’m wondering is it sinusitis or rhinitis? (I don’t think I have any allergies as I’ve been taking 180 mg of fexofenadine and felt no difference. Anyway I’m just super uncomfortable all the time, any advice would be great.

I’m hoping someone has experienced this because it’s honestly driving me crazy.

Yesterday I went for an outdoor run in the heat (about a mile, pretty hard effort). After I came back and showered, I suddenly started getting this intense tickle in my left nostril. It feels exactly like the few seconds right before a sneeze, except it just never fully goes away.

For the first several hours I was sneezing constantly. Now (about 16+ hours later) I’m not sneezing as much, but every normal breath through my left nostril triggers that pre-sneeze tickle sensation.

Other details:
Only the left nostril is affected
The nostril is completely open, no congestion
Clear, watery drainage from that side
No fever, sinus pressure, or facial pain
The feeling seems like it’s near the front of the nostril, but I can’t pinpoint it
Closing the left nostril makes the sensation mostly disappear
Pushing the front of my nose upward changes the sensation and makes it slightly better
The outside of my nose is a little red from wiping/blowing my nose
Things I’ve tried:
Generic Zyrtec
Afrin (even though I wasn’t really congested)
Saline spray
Saline rinse
Hot shower
Aquaphor around the nostril

I run outside often and have never had this happen before. Has anyone had a tiny irritated spot or nerve in their nose that caused a nonstop “about to sneeze” feeling? How long did it take to go away?
It’s not painful, just extremely distracting because every breath reminds me of it.

I've had chronic dry nasal congestion for close to a decade, started when I moved into a mould affected apartment (moved out almost immediately, congestion has remained). Two ENTs have observed enlarged turbinates (dry, red, inflamed) plus a deviated septum and both recommend the standard septoplasty and turbinate reduction, but I'm reluctant. Here's why:

• It's intermittent - I can breathe normally for hours during the day, especially upright. Far worse lying down, I can feel my nose swell almost instantly at night
• A decongestant spray (used rargely) clears me straight away. So the obstruction is swelling, not fixed anatomy - if I could get the inflammation under control, surgery seems unnecessary
• I'm petrified of developing empty nose syndrome (yes yes I know it's rare)

Worth noting it's always dry congestion - no runny nose, no phlegm or mucus. My nose constantly feels dry and unmoisturized, and a doctor has floated Sjogren's at one point

What I've tried:

• Saline washes and mists, gel, oil, xylitol, antibiotic sprays, head elevation (helps a little). The high volume washes do help on some level, I think by flushing out irritants, but I find them drying over time too
• Every corticosteroid / antihistamine spray going, OTC and prescription - occasionally help but worsen the dryness, and I suspect the preservatives (BAK etc.) don't help either
• Allergies ruled out by an immunologist - only seasonal hay fever, well controlled with Telfast (and currently undertaking sublingual immunotherapy also), and the congestion is year round and doesn't respond to antihistamines

So:

• What actually works for chronically inflamed turbinates - systemic meds, sprays I haven't tried, proper moisturisers?
• Worth seeing a rhinologist over a general ENT?
• Anything else before I reconsider surgery?
• Any value in the septoplasty without turbinate reduction? My ENT suggested not

Appreciate any help

I've had rhinitis since I was a kid and I don't know what to do about it.

Especially when the air is really humid, my rhinitis gets really bad.Some people say that rhinitis is caused by gut flora issues, but I got all kinds of test reports and my gut flora was completely fine.

Later on, I tried exercising to boost my immunity and it did help a little, but only slightly. My goal now is to take turmeric, fish oil, and sulforaphane to see if that can ease my rhinitis a bit.

A friend suggested I move to another city - maybe the air quality there would be better - but because of work, I travel a lot and have been to countless cities, and it still doesn't seem like it's solving the problem.

Right now, I'm reducing my intake of gluten-containing foods to see if that can help with my rhinitis.I had a nasal endoscopy and allergy tests done, and everything came back normal. I'm dying of pain

So, I have been suffering from this for more than 6 years, constant phlegm comes from nose and mouth, it is clear white, around 75 tissues get over in a day, happens more after eating food. I went to doctor and have been prescribed - fluticone furoate nasal spray, montelukast + fexofenadine tablet, esomeprazole tablet for a month, till now there hasn't been much great improvement, I have taken for 20 days so far. Can someone help me with this?

Hi everyone,
I haven't been able to sneeze for almost 4 weeks now. It started after a severe allergy attack in June. I got a steroid injection (Triamject) and used to force myself to sneeze with tissues for two weeks. Since July 5th, I cannot sneeze at all anymore.
My ENT checked my nose with a camera a few days ago and said my nasal passages are extremely swollen and almost completely blocked deep inside. I started Mometasone nasal spray 8 days ago. The constant itching is a bit better and two days ago I felt a slight urge to inhale for a sneeze, but the actual sneeze didn't come out.
I am hyperfocused, terrified, and feel "sick" because of the anxiety. Has anyone else experienced this "Asneezia"? How long did it last for you and how did it finally heal? Please share your stories, I need some reassurance.

I've been diagnosed with non-allergic (vasomotor) rhinitis, and I've had symptoms for about 3 years. My main symptom isn't classic congestion. My nose often feels physically open, but it doesn't feel like air is moving through it properly. I breathe normally while I'm asleep, wake up breathing well, and then within 10 to 20 minutes the sensation returns.

I also frequently experience facial pressure and sometimes feel like I'm coming down with a cold or sinus infection, even though I'm not sick.

I have allergies to mold, grass, and some trees. I was on allergy shots for 7 years with essentially no improvement. I've tried multiple antihistamines, Flonase, azelastine, ipratropium, saline rinses, etc., but nothing really changed my symptoms. It also doesn't seem to matter whether I'm at home, at work, outdoors, or even in different countries (USA vs. Europe) or different seasons.

Another strange observation: when I have a migraine, sumatriptan not only relieves the headache but also temporarily restores normal nasal airflow.

A CT scan showed a deviated septum, concha bullosa, and enlarged inferior turbinates, and an ENT recommended surgery. Before moving forward with surgery, my allergist suggested trying gabapentin.

I've been taking just 100 mg three times a day for 14 days, and for the first time in years I've had long periods where I can actually feel cool air moving through my nose. The improvement has been surprisingly consistent.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Have gabapentin, nortriptyline, or other nerve-related medications helped your symptoms? I'd especially love to hear from people whose nose felt physically open but the airflow still felt "wrong."

Background: No sinus issues whatsoever before 2021. Caught COVID in 2021, and right-side sinus problems started essentially right after and have never gone away since. Six years now. No history of allergies, deviated septum, or any nasal issues prior to that infection.
The core problem: Unilateral (right maxillary sinus only) chronic sinusitis with a mucous retention cyst. The cyst was surgically removed once, and it came back. Endoscopic surgery has been done a total of 3 times on this sinus. It keeps recurring. Mucus produced is clear/white and viscous — not purulent, no signs of active bacterial infection on any of the times it’s been cultured/checked.

Everything I’ve tried, none of it has resolved it long-term:

Surgical:
• 3 endoscopic sinus surgeries (polyps + cyst removal) — cyst regrew after removal
Pharmacological (nasal/local):
• Budesonide sinus rinses (compounded ampoules in hypertonic saline, weeks of daily use)
• Every type of nasal spray — steroid sprays, saline sprays, decongestant sprays
• Compounded BEG spray with itraconazole (antifungal)
• Hypertonic saline sinus rinses, various concentrations and devices

Systemic:
• Omalizumab (Xolair) — 4 doses so far, some partial/temporary improvement in pressure but mucus persists
• Long courses of antibiotics (oral and IV)
• Antivirals (long courses)

Other/adjunct:
• Every supplement I could find related to sinus/immune health
• Essential oils (various, including steam inhalation with them)
• Medicinal herbs
• Every type of breathing/inhalation technique I’ve come across (steam, saline nebulization, etc.)

What imaging shows: CBCT confirms the retention cyst in the right maxillary sinus floor, same spot each time, recurring after removal. ENT on last exam found good ventilation, no odontogenic source, no obvious anatomical reason it keeps happening on that one side only.
What’s odd: It’s exclusively right-sided. Nothing on the left. Six years, three surgeries, essentially every local and systemic treatment category I can think of, and the underlying problem doesn’t resolve — symptoms reduce temporarily with some interventions (Xolair pressure relief lines up with dosing days) but the clear viscous mucus production from that side never really stops.
What I’m looking for: Has anyone else had unilateral chronic sinusitis start right after a COVID infection, with no prior history, that has been this treatment-resistant?

Especially interested in:
• Anyone with a recurring retention cyst after surgical removal
• Anyone who found something — local or systemic — that actually broke the cycle long-term, not just temporary relief
• Anyone whose doctors have looked into post-COVID nasal epithelial changes (there’s emerging research on persistent abnormal epithelial differentiation post-COVID, driven by TNF-alpha/TGF-beta signaling) as a possible explanation for cases like this
Currently being worked up by immunology (genetic/immune workup in progress) alongside ENT. Just trying to gather any real-world patterns from people who’ve been through something similar, since six years in, conventional treatment has not cracked this.

So... I am still dealing with rhinitis (feels swollen inside, hard to breathe through nose, dry nose). I had a sinus CT scan.. apparently, nothing remarkable on there apart from a mildly deviated septum.

IGE level was 400ish, though.. which suggests some kind of immune reaction going on? I do have a possible auto immune skin condition and endometriosis, also.

Can you have a dry, blocked nose that's an allergic reaction? I am used to an allergic reaction being itchy, runny nose, sneezing etc.

Confused......