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Summary
Your nose is important to your health. It filters the air you breathe, removing dust, germs, and irritants. It warms and moistens the air to keep your lungs and tubes that lead to them from drying out. Your nose also contains the nerve cells that help your sense of smell. When there is a problem with your nose, your whole body can suffer. For example, the stuffy nose of the common cold can make it hard for you to breathe, sleep, or get comfortable.
Many problems besides the common cold can affect the nose. They include:
- Deviated septum - a shifting of the wall that divides the nasal cavity into halves
- Nasal polyps - soft growths that develop on the lining of your nose or sinuses
- Nosebleeds
- Rhinitis - inflammation of the nose and sinuses sometimes caused by allergies. The main symptom is a runny nose.
- Nasal fractures, also known as a broken nose
Diagnosis and Tests
- Panoramic Dental X-Ray (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- How to Use Nasal Pump Sprays (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)
- How to Use Nose Drops (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)
- Nasal Surgery: Fixing Form and Function (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Septoplasty - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- Petroleum Jelly: Safe for a Dry Nose? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Specifics
- Bacterial Nasal Infections (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
- Broken Nose (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Deviated Septum (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Fibrous Papule of Nose (VisualDX)
- Nosebleeds (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Nosebleeds (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Post-Nasal Drip (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
-
Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis or Laryngeal Papillomatosis
(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Also in Spanish
- Rhinitis (Hay Fever) (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology) Also in Spanish
- Runny Nose (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Epistaxis
(National Institutes of Health)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Nose Diseases
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Assessing the relationship between migraine and sino-nasal symptoms and diseases among...
- Article: Predicting nasal diseases based on microbiota relationship network.
- Article: Establishment of nasal and olfactory epithelium organoids for unveiling mechanism of...
- Nose Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery
- American Rhinologic Society
- Find an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist) (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
-
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Children
- Chronic Nosebleeds: What to Do (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Nosebleeds (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Nosebleeds (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- What Makes Me Sneeze? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- What's a Booger? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Why Does My Nose Run? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Choanal atresia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Foreign body in the nose (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nasal endoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nasal fracture - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nasal polyps (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nose fracture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nosebleed (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Stuffy or runny nose - adult (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Stuffy or runny nose - children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.