Nasal breathing disorders include various conditions that interfere with breathing. If you have difficulty breathing properly through your nose, visit double board-certified Shivan Amin, MD, at Midtown ENT in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Amin diagnoses and treats sleep apnea, allergies, structural conditions like deviated septums, and many other nasal problems. Call Midtown ENT today or schedule a consultation online for prompt, effective nasal breathing disorder treatment.
Common nasal breathing disorders include:
The septum is a piece of bone and cartilage dividing your nasal passages. Some people’s septums deviate (bend to the right or left), blocking one nostril. This can be something you’re born with or the result of an injury.
The sinuses are hollow spaces behind your nose and cheeks. Colds and the flu often trigger sinus inflammation (sinusitis), making them swell and affecting breathing. Sinusitis also causes intense facial and forehead pain. Acute sinusitis usually clears up in a few weeks. But some people have chronic sinusitis that doesn’t get better or keeps returning.
Allergies to pollen (hay fever), dust, molds, and pet dander can all affect your breathing. They cause your nasal passages to swell and produce excessive mucus, making it hard to breathe through your nose.
Sleep apnea stops your breathing while you sleep, forcing you awake. It happens briefly many, sometimes hundreds of times throughout the night.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common. It develops because soft tissues in the back of your throat relax and block your windpipe when you sleep. A communication problem between the brain and your breathing muscles causes central sleep apnea.
Dr. Amin diagnoses nasal breathing disorders by doing a physical exam, medical history, symptom review, and various tests. He might take a blood or nasal discharge sample for lab analysis to identify infections. He also looks into your nose, ears, and throat using a special flashlight.
You could need a CT scan or MRI depending on what Dr. Amin finds. These produce images showing the structures inside your nose in great detail. They can identify problems like sinus inflammation, blockages, and structural abnormalities.
You might also need lung function tests to see if a disorder like asthma is causing your breathing problems.
The bacterial infections that often cause sinusitis require antibiotic treatment. If you have an allergy like hay fever, you could benefit from an antihistamine or steroids to reduce your immune system’s overreaction to allergens. Septoplasty surgery straightens a deviated septum.
Sleep apnea might require a positive airway pressure (PAP) device to keep your airway open at night. Dr. Amin provides sleep apnea equipment that patients take home with them.
Call Midtown ENT today or book an appointment online for expert help with nasal breathing disorders.