What is Nose Catarrh
By: Brian HarmonTotal Views: 342, Word Count: 527,
Nose catarrh is known to be an inflammation of a mucous membrane where a major production of mucus takes place. It can affect the nose and throat which appears as a common cold. To focus on its cause and treatment, let us first know in detail as to what is nose catarrh.
What is Nose Catarrh?
Nose catarrh is the vast amount of production of mucus in one of the airways or sometimes cavities of the nose. It is also referred as blockage of the nasal cavities. There are chances that it will affect the other parts of the body too, like the ears, throat and chest.
Nose catarrh is basically a symptom of specific medical condition like common cold, throat infection, etc. Sometimes, it is known to be a simple response to the allergic reaction.
Types of Nose Catarrh
Most of times, the catarrh is an acute type as it takes place within a few days after the fight of the body to the infection. In a chronic type of catarrh, it takes place due to an allergic reaction or due to structural abnormalities in the nasal cavities.
Acute catarrh is normally relieved by taking a short-term medication course of decongestants. In the other hand, treatment for chronic catarrh depends on the exact causes.
Symptoms of Nose Catarrh
· A stuffy and blocked nose
· Continuous release of mucus from nose
· The appearance of mucus is thin and watery or in some cases, thick and stodgy.
· An irritating and cough causing the mucous to enter the throat
· Headache
· No smell or taste
· Temporary hearing loss and also crackling sensation in the ear
· Tiredness
· Facial pain due to nasal passages and sinuses blockage
Catarrh can be triggered by the following things:
· Infection like cold
· An allergic reaction like exposure to pollen or dust mites
In this way, we can conclude that catarrh is an immune response to the infection or irritation. This in turn causes the linings of the nose cavities to swell, leading to mucus formation. Those who have the problem of nasal catarrh must stay away from the following things:
- Chemical irritants, for e.g. smoke, paint fumes or perfumes
- Spicy food
- Changes in the weather
- Alcohol
- Stress
Diagnosis of Nasal Catarrh
Your doctor will recommend you to have a CT scan for polyps present in nose. Doctors may also ask you whether the symptoms are worse in certain environment, so as to find out the possible allergens causing it. There are some types of allergy tests that can also help to diagnose the nasal catarrh.
Treatment of Nasal Catarrh
This condition is treated by oral medications like decongestants which are present in spray form or tablet form. These medicines do not cause any side effects and have the compound pseudoephedrine in it.
In this way, now we are familiar with what is nasal catarrh along with its symptoms and treatment.
About the Author
Brian Harmon is a General Health Practitioner. He has an MD degree and has worked in different Medical Clinics of Texas for 25 long years.
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