deviated septum

One of the complications of a lifetime of allergies is a deviated septum. This is where constant allergies, and constant rubbing or wiping of your nose, can lead to one side of your septum becoming crooked over time, and maybe even partially or wholly blocking one of the passages.

The septum is made of cartilage, and is the part of your nose that divides the right nasal passage from the left, as you can see in the picture to the right. As you can see, in the picture the septum is deviated to the left. Since here it's deviated left, it may force the person to breath out of the right nare. If the right nostril is blocked with secretions, then the person is often forced to be a mouth breather.

This is basically what happened to me, your humble RT. I have had allergies since an early date, and my mother even told me stories about how I used to have to stand in the front of the car instead of the back because my noisy breathing irritated my brothers (note, if we stood in cars today at all the people who would frown. It was accepted normal back in the 1970s).

Until recently there wasn't really much one could do for nasal congestion and seasonal allergies other than the typical nasal wash or decongestants or antihistamines. Yet when I was a really little kid my doctors recommended I not take any antihistamines because they believed it would trigger asthma. Do you believe that? To me, allergies is worse than asthma because at least for asthma you can take something, or at least go to the emergency room and get something.

Today, however, there are a lot of things that can be taken for allergies and nasal congestion, such as singulair and accolate and clariton. Still, however, there are warnings on some of these medicines that scare some parents away. I personally think the risks associated with these medicines is far less severe than the lifetime of risks associated with allergies and congestion and deviated septums.

Can you imagine the kid who has a runny nose all the time, is wiping his nose and sneezing, and is generally uncomfortable, at school and getting picked on all the time because of it. Or who has constant headaches and is in a glum mood because his parents and teachers have no clue what is going on. And then the kid has trouble reading and gets put in with the slow kids, even though he is not slow at all but just sick.

See, that's kind of how it was for me when I was a kid. Thankfully, there's wisdom today to notice, treat and prevent such things from occurring. Yet there are doctors and parents who still don't heed all this wisdom. Which is why I started my blog -- to educate.

So if you have constant headaches, nasal congestion, and the likes, you should get it treated right away. If you notice your child rubbing his nose constantly, notice this is a sign of allergies and congestion, and can lead to a deviated septum if not treated.

I remember my mom telling me once she always knew when I was present by all the tissues being left around. Then, when I was 23 and diagnosed with a deviated septum, and had the surgery to correct this, the need for tissues all the time went away.

Then once medicines like Singulair and Clariton came about, the allergies went away too. Amazing isn't it?

Anyway, the surgery wasn't that bad. I basically had to lie on my back for 24-48 hours, and spend one night in a hospital. It really didn't hurt so bad, just a little uncomfortable around the face.

You should know when you have surgery on your nose it also effects your eyes. It makes you cry, and it can make your eyes black and blue too. Although I don't recall my eyes getting black and blue.

Allergies and congestion of the nasal passages can cause complications not just short term but long term especially in kids. So notice the signs early, and prevent and treat. For more information, check out this link.