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Do you constantly suffer from sinusitis and experience a blocked nose or burning within your nose? It might not be your immune system that is to blame. There are a number of other conditions not caused due to an infection that might be causing these symptoms; and one of the most common one is DNS or deviated nasal septum. Dr Sangeeta Poddar, ENT surgeon at SevenHills hospital, Mumbai, tells you about the condition and what treatment options one has.
Know the condition:
DNS Stands for Deviated Nasal Septum. This is a condition where the partition of the nose that divides the nasal cavity into the right and left parts is deviated (or not straight). There are various types of DNS; which are classified according to the shape and severity of the deviation.
They are:
Why it happens
It happens mainly due to injury to the nose. The injury may be sustained at birth; where during normal delivery the nose is compressed leasing to its deformation. DNS can also be acquired later in life due to an injury to nose due to fall, during a fight or as a part of some other injury etc.
It is also important to know that injuries that are sustained during infancy and childhood, which may appear trivial at that time but may have a potential to lead to DNS. Since the nasal septum is made of cartilage and bones slight deformities can become worse with time. The cells of cartilage and bone have memory for such injuries, and as the nose grows with age, the DNS and other external nasal deformities start showing, leading to symptoms like nose blockage or cosmetic deformity of the nose. (Read: Eucalyptus oil: Instant home remedy for a blocked nose)
Symptoms are typical
An individual suffering from DNS will have following symptoms:
It can cause complications
DNS can lead to following complications :
Treatment
The most effective treatment for DNS is surgery called septoplasty. The doctor cuts the deformed portion on the deviated septum, and realigns it so that it is straight.
Recovery and care post surgery
A person under going DNS surgery (septoplasty) should be able to go back to routine work in five to seven days after the surgery.
After a septoplasty, a doctor will place a medicated pack inside the nose. This pack is left there for two days, during which the patient is usually hospitalization. The pack is removed after 48 hours and the patient is discharged with advice to have medication and use medicated nose drops.
During the surgery absorbable stitches are placed inside the nose which need not be removed. The patient is advised a follow up visit is advised after one week.
One can expect some amount of swelling in the nose for a few days after the surgery. This usually reopens gradually, which eases out any breathing difficulties.
The only important thing that a patient has to keep in mind is that he/she should not forcefully blow their nose as long as the wounds are healing.
Image source: Lifecaremedi.files.wordpress.com
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