I have a slight cold–nothing gnarly or doctor-necessitating (no fever), but aggravating to no end. Every now and then I get one of these, where one set of sinuses on a side are practically swollen shut in congestion, but the other side is the complete opposite: it’s dry, and it burns to breathe. I was thinking about this at 1am (and again at 3am) when the discomfort awakened me, and it intrigued me why this would be a reaction. I understand the runny/snotty/overly congested reaction to a viral infection, but what’s the deal with being so dry it burns?
I’m sure many, if not all of you, have experienced this. One way to help is to lie on the uncongested side, and you can literally feel the swelling move from the set of sinuses on one side to the other. No amount of blowing does any good whatsoever with this type of congestion. Nasal saline sprays such as the Ocean brand sort of help the super dry side, but not enough. This dry burning thing also causes a sore throat.
It might be just “a thing,” but I’m curious what the mechanism is leading to this set of symptom.