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Causes And Treatments Of A Burning Sensation In The Nose
A burning feeling in the nose can stem from respiratory infections, allergic or nonallergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and other causes. Steam inhalation and other remedies can often help. However, prescription medication and medical intervention can be necessary.
A burning sensation in the nose may result from inflammation or irritation brought about by an infection or allergic reaction. Besides burning in the nose, a person may experience irritation or itching in the eyes, throat, or sinuses.
In this article, we explore the causes of a burning sensation in the nose, along with their treatments and other symptoms. We also look into home remedies that can reduce irritation.
"Rhinitis" refers to inflammation inside the nose. In a person with allergic rhinitis, the immune system mistakenly interprets a harmless substance, such as dust or pollen, as a threat and attacks it, leading to inflammation.
Allergic rhinitis is very common, affecting 10–30% of people worldwide.
When the allergen responsible is pollen or something else that presents seasonally, the doctor may diagnose seasonal allergic rhinitis, which is better known as hay fever.
The symptoms of hay fever can include:
The quickest way to relieve allergic rhinitis symptoms is to avoid the allergen. For example, people with pollen allergies may limit their time outdoors during days with high pollen counts.
Over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamines and nasal corticosteroids can also help ease the symptoms.
Another option is allergy immunotherapy, which involves exposing the person to tiny doses of the allergen, "teaching" their immune system not to react to it.
Sometimes, rhinitis cases are not caused by an allergic reaction.
In this case, the condition is called nonallergic rhinitis. It tends to affect adults and cause symptoms all year, including:
Unlike allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis usually does not cause itchy eyes, nose, or throat.
A person with nonallergic rhinitis may have a sensitivity to air pollution, certain odors or chemicals, or changes in the weather. Some medications and health issues, such as viral infections, can cause inflammation in the nose.
Avoiding triggers may help ease the symptoms of nonallergic rhinitis. While there is no cure, saline nasal sprays, and medicated sprays or rinses may help reduce the inflammation.
Learn how to make a saline solution here.
Sinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses. The sinuses are small, empty spaces behind the cheeks and forehead. Sinusitis can occur due to a viral or bacterial infection.
Symptoms of sinusitis include:
Most cases of sinusitis result from viral infections, which tend to go away on their own without treatment. When the cause is bacterial, a doctor can prescribe antibiotics.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults in the United States get around 2–3 colds per year. The symptoms may include:
Usually, cold symptoms go away without treatment, though certain medications and home remedies can ease symptoms. For example, decongestant medications can help unblock a stuffy nose.
Learn about the best medications for each symptom of a cold.
Influenza, also called the flu, is another common respiratory tract infection. The flu can cause mild to severe symptoms that include:
Some people also experience vomiting and diarrhea. The symptoms of flu often develop suddenly.
Most people recover without medical treatment. However, certain groups have a higher risk and may require extra care and precautions, including:
Learn more about flu symptoms, treatments, and prevention methods.
An infection can develop in any part of the respiratory tract, including the nose, throat, and lungs. Coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, are sometimes responsible.
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. Some symptoms of COVID-19 may include:
According to the CDC, anyone who suspects that they have COVID-19 should:
A burning sensation in the nose is not an indication of a stroke. The symptoms of a stroke include:
If anyone has any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately.
Home remedies cannot cure an infection or allergic reaction. However, they can ease the symptoms and relieve discomfort.
For a viral illness, such as a cold or the flu, a person can:
For ongoing nasal irritation or inflammation, a person can try saline nasal sprays or rinses. Also, increasing the amount of moisture in the air with a humidifier may make breathing easier and reduce discomfort.
Over-the-counter treatments such as nasal saline gel, vaseline, and Aquaphor can also help to lubricate the nasal passage and help protect the skin barrier.
Learn about home remedies for cold and flu here.
Anyone who develops sudden or severe symptoms should receive medical care.
If a doctor determines that a burning sensation in the nose results from a bacterial infection, they will prescribe antibiotics. A doctor can also perform allergy testing before diagnosing allergic rhinitis.
However, if a person may have COVID-19, they should call ahead to check whether it is safe to visit the clinic, office, or hospital. If a doctor believes that someone may have COVID-19, they will advise about the next steps.
A burning sensation in the nose may stem from inflammation or irritation brought about by an infection or allergic reaction.
The feeling may be mild and go away when the infection clears or the reaction subsides. In the meantime, OTC medications, home remedies, and nasal sprays can help ease the burning sensation and other symptoms.
Read the article in Spanish.
What Will Cure My Daughter's Constantly Runny Nose?
My two-and-a-half-year-old daughter has had a runny nose constantly for six months.
We have to wipe her nose literally every few minutes.
The mucus is thick and green in the mornings and becomes clearer during the day. Antibiotics did not help.
Apparently she has large adenoids (we were told this by an anaesthetist after an operation to correct her squint seven months ago).
Is this normal? Is there anything we can do?
{"status":"error","code":"499","payload":"Asset id not found: readcomments comments with assetId=55784, assetTypeId=1"}The Case Of The Never-Ending Illness
These days, the background music of my life is a chorus of coughing and sneezing. At work, colleagues complain of scratchy throats and put illness emoji next to their names on Slack. At home, my daughter returns from day care with a backpack full of construction paper crafts and, more often than not, a runny nose.
No matter how much my husband and I wash our hands — and hers — the germs inevitably get passed on to our baby, and then to us. Sometimes it seems like there's barely a break before another illness hits.
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Whether or not you have kids, it can feel as though you are stuck in a cycle of never-ending illness this time of year. Particularly since the pandemic, it may appear as if you and your family are sick more often, and that your colds are more severe and coughs drag on for longer.
To some extent, it's simple math — COVID now adds to the infectious diseases already spreading every virus season, said Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, founding director of Boston University's Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy and Research. In addition to the flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, there are more than 200 viruses that cause cold-like symptoms, including enteroviruses, rhinoviruses, parainfluenza viruses and common cold coronaviruses that are cousins of the virus that causes COVID.
As far as experts can tell, these viruses haven't changed to become more severe. But one reason they could feel more intense now is because our bodies have forgotten how to fight them off, Bhadelia said.
The precautions we all took to lower the transmission of COVID in the early days of the pandemic also slowed the spread of these other viruses, Bhadelia said.
So when people began ditching their masks and mingling more, they were exposed to a variety of illnesses again.
Last year, the flu, RSV and COVID all surged together in a tripledemic. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that cases of strep throat were on the rise. And norovirus, which can cause fevers and vomiting, is also back along with regular old colds.
Unfortunately, immunity to many of the viruses that make people sick doesn't last very long, said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, chief of infectious diseases and epidemiology at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann. That means your body has a sort of immunity debt to catch up on. "If your immunity dates back to strains that were in circulation three or four years ago, you're needing to pay back," Ostrosky said.
Once your body relearns how to create antibodies against a particular virus, you will likely experience milder symptoms and recover faster if exposed again, Ostrosky said.
COVID has also made us far more attuned to when we are sick, experts said. It feels like a bigger deal now when someone shows up to work or school with a hacking cough. "Pre-COVID, you would blow your nose and grumble a little bit, but you didn't talk about it quite as much," said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Paying closer attention to respiratory symptoms may also make it seem like we're sick for longer, said Dr. Debra Langlois, a pediatrician at the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. But a 2013 review of common respiratory infections in children found that the time it takes for illness to resolve has always been staggering: It can take 15 days to clear a common cold, and 25 days for a cough to go away in most cases.
Adults can also have what doctors call a post-viral cough that lasts for three weeks or more after other symptoms go away. "My own husband has had a post-viral cough for weeks," Langlois said.
And in some cases, it's possible to develop a secondary infection in your sinuses, ears or throat that makes it seem like one illness is running into another. "It really stinks to be sick back to back," Langlois said. "But what's really reassuring to us as doctors is that even if you have a day or two or a week break, that means it's a separate virus."
There are also steps that can curb at least some infections, Langlois said, such as getting vaccinated against RSV if you are eligible; making sure you are up to date on flu and COVID shots; and applying other lessons from the pandemic, like staying home when you're sick and wearing a mask on airplanes.
For parents like me, with young children carrying every kind of germ imaginable, Langlois said there's reason to hope we won't keep getting sick so often: As children grow up, they're a lot less likely to cough in your face and a lot more likely to wash their hands without a fight.
c.2023 The New York Times Company
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