{"id":149,"date":"2018-07-23T18:00:15","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pdxent.com\/?page_id=149"},"modified":"2021-11-18T22:01:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T22:01:16","slug":"deviated-septum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pdxent.com\/ent\/nose\/deviated-septum\/","title":{"rendered":"Deviated Septum"},"content":{"rendered":"
When the bone and cartilage dividing your nasal cavity is off center or crooked, the condition is referred to as a deviated septum. If the deviation is serious enough, it can cause breathing difficulties and chronic sinus conditions that require treatment.<\/p>\n
Most often, a deviated septum is a condition that occurs during birth or fetal development. In other cases, trauma or injury to the nose causes the displacement. This is frequently the result of a sports injury or automobile accident. Occasionally, cartilage in the nasal tip deteriorates as we age, producing a deviated septum.<\/p>\n
The perfect nasal septum divides the left and right nostrils evenly, but this is pretty rare; it\u2019s estimated that about 80 percent of the population has a septum that is off center to some extent. Usually the deviation is slight and goes unnoticed; only the worst cases produce symptoms that affect breathing.<\/p>\n
Symptoms include nasal congestion (often limited to one side of the nose), frequent nosebleeds and sinus infections<\/a>, facial pain and pressure, headaches, postnasal drip, and noisy breathing or snoring during sleep.<\/p>\n If the deviated septum isn\u2019t too severe, symptoms may respond to treatment with medications. Antihistamines, decongestants and nasal steroid sprays can reduce congestion and inflammation in some patients.<\/p>\n When medicines are ineffective, a surgical procedure known as a septoplasty<\/a> may be necessary to reposition a crooked septum and improve breathing. This involves removing excess bone or cartilage in order to create a larger breathing space, and is typically performed in an outpatient setting using local or general anesthesia.<\/p>\nHow Is a Deviated Septum Treated?<\/h2>\n