Nasal Breathing & Sinus Disorders

Our Ear, Nose & Throat specialists understand the serious breathing challenges involved with these disorders

Nasal breathing and sinus disorders affect many people, but treatment can reduce difficulties. Indiana University Health Ear, Nose & Throat specialists understand the challenges you have because of difficulty breathing through the nose. IU Health physicians have extensive experience in effectively treating nasal breathing and sinus disorders.

Nasal Breathing and Sinus Disorders Causes

Nasal breathing and sinus disorders may have several causes, including:

  • Sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).
  • Damage to the nose and sinuses. Trauma (injury) to the nose and sinuses may make it difficult or impossible to breathe through the nose. A broken nose that heals improperly may lead to chronic difficulty with breathing nasally.
  • Deviated septum. Crookedness or other deformity of the tissue that divides the interior of the nose (deviated septum) can cause problems breathing. This condition may be congenital (present at birth) or result from facial trauma.
  • Nasal Valve Collapse (NVC). When tissues of the nose are not formed correctly or are weak, the nose may collapse slightly when you inhale. This condition constricts the passage of air into the lungs.

How We Can Help

At IU Health, Ear, Nose & Throat specialists can see you quickly--sometimes the day you call. Your physicians’ comprehensive patient- and family-centered approach puts your individual needs and preferences at the center of their treatment decisions.

Your IU Health specialists collaborate with highly skilled reconstructive surgeons and head and neck surgeons to treat complex conditions that require multiple specialties. When necessary your specialists perform related procedures together in one surgery, which speeds your healing and rehabilitation. This multidisciplinary approach underlies all your physicians do and helps them tailor treatment to your specific condition.

As part of the IU Health partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine, many of the specialists educate the next generation of doctors and stay current with the latest developments in diagnostic and treatment techniques. Your physicians’ constant pursuit of excellence includes conducting research studies into the causes of chronic sinusitis by collecting and analyzing sinus tissue. Ongoing study of this tissue helps them develop new methods for treating this often debilitating condition.

Overview

Nasal Breathing and Sinus Disorders Causes

Nasal breathing and sinus disorders may have several causes, including:

  • Sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).
  • Damage to the nose and sinuses. Trauma (injury) to the nose and sinuses may make it difficult or impossible to breathe through the nose. A broken nose that heals improperly may lead to chronic difficulty with breathing nasally.
  • Deviated septum. Crookedness or other deformity of the tissue that divides the interior of the nose (deviated septum) can cause problems breathing. This condition may be congenital (present at birth) or result from facial trauma.
  • Nasal Valve Collapse (NVC). When tissues of the nose are not formed correctly or are weak, the nose may collapse slightly when you inhale. This condition constricts the passage of air into the lungs.

How We Can Help

At IU Health, Ear, Nose & Throat specialists can see you quickly--sometimes the day you call. Your physicians’ comprehensive patient- and family-centered approach puts your individual needs and preferences at the center of their treatment decisions.

Your IU Health specialists collaborate with highly skilled reconstructive surgeons and head and neck surgeons to treat complex conditions that require multiple specialties. When necessary your specialists perform related procedures together in one surgery, which speeds your healing and rehabilitation. This multidisciplinary approach underlies all your physicians do and helps them tailor treatment to your specific condition.

As part of the IU Health partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine, many of the specialists educate the next generation of doctors and stay current with the latest developments in diagnostic and treatment techniques. Your physicians’ constant pursuit of excellence includes conducting research studies into the causes of chronic sinusitis by collecting and analyzing sinus tissue. Ongoing study of this tissue helps them develop new methods for treating this often debilitating condition.

Your Ear, Nose and Throat specialists can decrease your nasal breathing and sinus problems or eliminate them all together with some of the following treatments:

Sinusitis

Rinsing out your sinuses with saline solution can provide a simple and effective treatment for sinusitis. This clears out mucus and removes irritants. You may get temporary relief, but you can easily repeat this process at home as needed. Other treatments include:

  • Nasal steroid sprays to reduce inflammation in the sinuses
  • Allergy evaluation and treatment
  • Antibiotics to fight infection

When these treatments cannot control sinusitis, your physicians may open your sinuses using balloon catheters (tubes that inflate to spread tissue apart) or perform surgery.

They may also implant stents (tubes that hold passages open) to drain sinuses while slowly releasing drugs that help control inflammation of sinus tissues. If polyps (small non-cancerous growths) exist in the sinuses, they may also remove these. Ninety percent of people who have these treatments report significant improvement in their sinusitis symptoms. If you have polyps, you may need surgery again if they grow back.

Deviated Septum

Malformation of the wall dividing the inside of your nose can impair breathing significantly. You may have been born with the problem or suffered facial trauma (injury). Your Ear, Nose and Throat specialists will treat this condition surgically, reshaping the inner structure of your nose to allow free passage of air through the nose and into the airway leading to your lungs.

Nasal Valve Collapse

In some people, the outer walls of the nose are thin and collapse slightly with each breath. This constricts the airway and can cause difficulty breathing. Over-the-counter adhesive strips may help improve this condition without surgery. The strips fold over the bridge of your nose and hold the walls open.

This treatment may improve breathing enough to solve the problem. If breathing strips do not help, your surgeons can rebuild your nose by moving cartilage to open the nasal valve. This reconstruction works in a way similar to breathing strips, but solves the problem permanently.

Trauma

Damage to the bones and cartilage of the face can impair or block your nasal airway. Your Ear, Nose and Throat physicians open passages and work with facial plastic surgeons to reconstruct the shape and function of the sinuses, nose and face. Sometimes a patient needs a number of operations over time to give the delicate bones and other tissues of the face time to heal between procedures. Bones and muscles underlying facial structures are complex. It takes time to rebuild them so they can support the forces of facial movements and chewing.

Treatment

Your Ear, Nose and Throat specialists can decrease your nasal breathing and sinus problems or eliminate them all together with some of the following treatments:

Sinusitis

Rinsing out your sinuses with saline solution can provide a simple and effective treatment for sinusitis. This clears out mucus and removes irritants. You may get temporary relief, but you can easily repeat this process at home as needed. Other treatments include:

  • Nasal steroid sprays to reduce inflammation in the sinuses
  • Allergy evaluation and treatment
  • Antibiotics to fight infection

When these treatments cannot control sinusitis, your physicians may open your sinuses using balloon catheters (tubes that inflate to spread tissue apart) or perform surgery.

They may also implant stents (tubes that hold passages open) to drain sinuses while slowly releasing drugs that help control inflammation of sinus tissues. If polyps (small non-cancerous growths) exist in the sinuses, they may also remove these. Ninety percent of people who have these treatments report significant improvement in their sinusitis symptoms. If you have polyps, you may need surgery again if they grow back.

Deviated Septum

Malformation of the wall dividing the inside of your nose can impair breathing significantly. You may have been born with the problem or suffered facial trauma (injury). Your Ear, Nose and Throat specialists will treat this condition surgically, reshaping the inner structure of your nose to allow free passage of air through the nose and into the airway leading to your lungs.

Nasal Valve Collapse

In some people, the outer walls of the nose are thin and collapse slightly with each breath. This constricts the airway and can cause difficulty breathing. Over-the-counter adhesive strips may help improve this condition without surgery. The strips fold over the bridge of your nose and hold the walls open.

This treatment may improve breathing enough to solve the problem. If breathing strips do not help, your surgeons can rebuild your nose by moving cartilage to open the nasal valve. This reconstruction works in a way similar to breathing strips, but solves the problem permanently.

Trauma

Damage to the bones and cartilage of the face can impair or block your nasal airway. Your Ear, Nose and Throat physicians open passages and work with facial plastic surgeons to reconstruct the shape and function of the sinuses, nose and face. Sometimes a patient needs a number of operations over time to give the delicate bones and other tissues of the face time to heal between procedures. Bones and muscles underlying facial structures are complex. It takes time to rebuild them so they can support the forces of facial movements and chewing.

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Patient Stories for Nasal Breathing & Sinus Disorders

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You can find information among the following resources about your condition to help you talk more effectively with your physician.

Resources

You can find information among the following resources about your condition to help you talk more effectively with your physician.