During one of my visits, my dentist looked over my x-rays and mentioned that the portion of the nasal cavity showing was, to use his word, “crusty” and that I should let my doctor know. Similarly, when I had my wisdom teeth out, the guy said he’d had the same problem, had had it “cleaned out” by a nose doctor, and now he breathes and sleeps much better. So I did mention to my doctor that my dentist said I had “crusty” nasal passages. He replied that “We only do something about that if it’s life threatening.” And that was the end of it.
This happened a while ago, and my doctor has passed away and my dentist retired. I’m only now realizing that no one actually told me, medically anyway, what was meant by all this. Any ideas?
FWIW, I had the same problem a few years ago, ignored it until it morphed into severe pain, swelling and bloody discharge. The GP I was seeing said it was some kind of infection and kept throwing different antibiotics at it with no improvement. After nearly a year, he finally referred me to an ENT specialist who quickly diagnosed a nasal carcinoma…a rare beast, in 40 years of practice he’d only seen one or two others.
Surgery followed, then several months of radiation, some permenant facial scarring and several reconstructive surgeries. None of which were much fun, but the good news is that they fixed it…I am cancer-free now.
Bottom line, don’t ignore it or mess around…get it looked at by someone who knows what they’re doing.
SS
I actually do use nasal irrigation from time to time (especially when I have a cold). However, if by “crusty”, my dentist meant that there was an excess build-up of dried mucus in my nasal cavities, why would he say to mention it to my doctor, instead of saying “Blow your nose more often”? Why would my doctor say they only do something about it if it’s life-threatening? Why would my dental surgeon need to have surgery to get his crusty nostrils “cleaned out”?
For some reason, I always thought it meant that the lining of my nasal cavity was thicker than normal - which would explain my mouth breathing, snoring, and sleep apnea - and that there’s a surgery that would thin the lining, allowing for easier breathing. I’ve been thinking about it now because I’m tired of using a CPAP.
This is so icky to describe that I’m putting it behind a spoiler.
I don’t have a cite, just personal experience. But I am also a pretty “snotty” person and I don’t think it can all be blown out by just blowing your nose. I’ve noticed that sometimes there’s a lot of like… low hanging throat-ish mucus, that can only be hocked up or sucked down. Presumably there is a way to irrigate it by a doctor, like the way they irrigate ear canals, that’s hard or impossible to do by yourself at home.
The neti pot always seemed to me that it would be hard to use, don’t you have to lean your head back and pour the water into one nostril? At the grocery store they sell plastic bottles that you squeeze to push the water into one nostril and out the other. I was able to use those to clean my sinuses when I had bad infections.
I believe with neti pots you’re supposed to tilt your head to the side so your ear faces the ground, then use the pot sideways (so the water goes in one nostril and out the other). If you tried to send it straight back it would just come right out into your throat/mouth instead of going through the other sinus.
Neti pots can be wonderful, I hear, but, if you have misshapen sinus’s, can be a trick to master.
But arosal saline spray is the bomb. Do take caution to always sterilize the nozzle, after each use, to avoid reinfection. I keep a small bottle of rubbing alcohol for the purpose.
I was introduced to it following sinus surgery. It worked wonderfully, I still use it to this day if I get any congestion or head colds. I credit this product with finally clearing my sinusitis, which is notoriously difficult to get rid of.
Nah, you just put the spout in one nostril then tilt your head 90 degrees to the side. Neti pot up, spout in the upper nostril (with your head tilted, of course).
Gravity does all the work.
It seems like it shouldn’t work or that it would be difficult until you actually do it for the first time. And the first time does feel very strange.