Just what is causing my blocked nose?

I WENT to the doctor with a blocked nose and he told me I have a deviated septum. He said that I may need to have an operation. I looked this up online and wondered how it’s possible that I have a deviated septum without ever injuring or breaking my nose? I’m not keen on having an operation.

YOUR nose is divided in two by a central area called the septum. It is made of bone and cartilage.

Any damage or change to the structure can result in a buckling of the septum which can mean it is no longer dividing the nose equally, but instead obscuring one side.

You have probably had a deviated septum all of your life. Sometimes it’s damaged when we pass through the birth canal.

As human bodies don’t come from an assembly line, so for many of us it’s pretty normal to have some type of a kink. Symptoms of a blocked nose, congestion, poor smell or snoring may all occur due to a deviated septum.

Any allergy or infection can make the symptoms more obvious. We would only every consider surgery if the symptoms impacted you significantly. Tackling contributing factors, such as a bad dust allergy, might help your symptoms so before you consider surgery make sure you have taken the time to tackle any factors that might be driving your snoring.

I would suggest you take a recording of your snoring for when you visit next the GP because with the best will in the world you don’t really know how bad it is.

Septoplasty is the procedure you will discuss with an ENT surgeon should you get referred. It is performed by means of a small cut inside one of the nostrils, allowing the surgeon to refashion the septum.

Many patients think this is similar to having a nose job, but it is not. Your nose won’t look any different afterwards, the only difference is your breathing will be clearer.

It’s a commonly carried out low risk procedure so if it is necessary to stop your snoring you shouldn’t be fearful of it.

That said, life is completely compatible with a deviated septum so there is no danger if you chose to do nothing, apart of course from the annoyance of your snoring! I get very bad migraines around the time of my period. If I went to the doctor do you think they would put me on the pill as I heard that might help?

MENSTRUATION can set off a regular migraine, similar to other triggers stress and red wine. Outside of this there is another type of migraine called menstrual migraine.

It usually occurs two days before a period and for the first three days of the period. It is not associated with aura. Aura is the prelude to a migraine normally in the form of sensory disturbance such as blurred vision or changes in speech and hearing.

Furthermore if you have aura with your regular migraine you are not suitable for the contraception pill. This is because regular migraine with aura increases you chance of suffering a stroke if you take the pill. So if that’s the type of migraine you have the pill is not an option.

Getting back to migraine linked purely to the menstruation. It is thought to be due to the dip in oestrogen hormones and the release in prostaglandins chemicals (these make the womb contract).

Tackling these two chemical issues can be done with pills. Mefanemic acid is a readily available prescription drug given for heavy painful periods because of its action on prostaglandins. The oestrogen dip can be addressed by taking oestrogen around the time of your period, normal by means of a patch or a gel.

The regular contraceptive pill may also be an option. Sometimes we do what is called tricycling, and take three packs back-to-back.

When you go to your GP it is crucial to bring a migraine diary as it will help with both diagnosis and treatment. The pill may or may not be the answer but one thing is for sure — there will inevitably be some intervention that will help.