Deviated Septum
I never knew that a deviated septum was a real condition. I always thought this was just a made up excuse for someone to have a nose job. Well it appears that along with being a deviant, I find myself with this nasal condition.
The septum is the structure of the nose, between the nostrils, that forms the air passages to the airway and sinuses. I have had chronic sinus problems for a few years, never knowing where one cold ended and another began. It also contributes to another condition called sleep apnea, where one’s airway is blocked during sleep causing one to stop breathing and gasp out for breath. It sounds quite dreadful, but mostly for the person you are sharing your bed with. For the afflicted, you just don’t sleep very well and tend not to be well rested. Although, there are a number of long-term consequences.
I am hoping that the remedy of my nasal issues will alleviate the sleeping problem and contribute to better health all around.
The doctor visit was easy. First he sticks cotton balls with some anesthetic on it to numb your nasal passage. After about 15 minutes of waiting, I couldn’t feel my teeth — nor did I remember I had cotton shoved up my nose. After removing the cotton, he slid a thin fiber optic tube up my nostrils one at a time to have a look around. It was actually difficult to get the tube in due to some swelling and I could feel it poking around the back of my throat.
My course of action is to use Nasonex for a few weeks, get a CAT scan to check for any other nastiness, and lose some pounds. (It seems if you can somehow lose weight in your soft palate, it helps with the apnea.)
At some point, I will be having a surgery to fix the deviated septum and some other trimming to fix the sleep apnea problem.
The procedure:
To repair the septum, the surgeon works through the nostrils, making an incision to separate the mucosa from the underlying cartilage and bone. The doctor cuts off or straightens the bent cartilage and then replaces the mucosa over the cartilage and bone.
The whole thing should take about an hour and is done on an out-patient basis.
I guess I just need to decide if I should have the doctor give me the perfect nose while he’s at it.
1 comment May 22nd, 2006