Dr. R Guruswamy

Causes, symptoms and preventions for Nasal Allergy

Hello! I am doctor Sunil Agarwal, senior ENT Consultant at Paras Hospital Gurgaon. I did my MBBS in MS from a prestigious college of Delhi that is Maulana Azad Medical College. I was serving in Lok Nayak hospital till 2008, and after 2008 I started my private practice in Gurgaon. Today, I am going to discuss with you about nasal allergies and nasal polyps. Basically, I should explain to you about nose and sinus first. The cheek bones and the forehead bones are hollow bones, they have got air containing cavities which are known as sinuses. Normally there is mucous production in these sinuses which helps in normal humidification of air which we breathe through the nose.
Allergy or sensitivity is basically because of weather change, or can be because of certain food items, dust, pollution, strong smells etc. It can lead on to excess mucous production in the sinuses or sneezing. Nasal allergies can be controlled effectively by medications like antihistamines and intranasal steroids which are very effective and without any serious side effects. But if nasal allergy is uncontrolled or if it is recurrent or prolonged it can lead to swelling of the lining of the sinuses which ultimately can lead on to the formation of polyps.

Polyps are abnormal soft tissue masses in the nose and sinuses. Once the nasal polyps are developed the medical treatment is not that effective, in that case we need to go in for endoscopic surgeries which remove these polyps or soft tissue masses effectively. Nowadays with the advancement in technologies in the endoscopic procedures these things are without any serious complications, there is not too much of pain or bleeding and the recovery time is very fast. Even certain brain or neurosurgical procedures like pituitary glands are done through these intranasal endoscopic procedures.So one should not take these cold and allergies lightly and one should go to his ENT specialist to get these treated so that the production and development of polyps can be prevented and surgeries can be avoided.

In case of any further queries regarding nasal polyps, allergies, or cold, you can contact me through Lybrate or you can consult in my clinic at Gurgaon, sector 15.