They can’t be seen by the naked eye, but nasal polyps reside deep within the nasal passages. Normally, air flows between the nose, throat and mouth uninhibited. Nasal polyps hang like stalactites from the inside of your nasal passages, and they can cause you to feel like you are always congested. Because they can’t be seen easily, you will need an ENT to tell you whether or not you are being afflicted by nasal polyps.

What Are Nasal Polyps?

Essentially, nasal polyps are just benign growths that exist in the nasal passage. They aren’t dangerous, but their size and shape can lead to nasal blockages. Close your mouth and take a deep breath in through your nose. If you feel that you can’t get enough air, you are either congested, have a collapsed nasal passage, or there could be nasal polyps present.

Causes

There isn’t one root cause for nasal polyps. If you have always had sinus issues, they could develop as a result. Another more recent medical discovery has linked nasal polyps with the frequent use of aspirin. ENT doctors even believe that nasal polyps could be a precursor to asthma and other breathing issues. They can develop in childhood just as easily as they can become present in older people.

Signs and Symptoms

Nasal polyps generally cause breathing and sinus issues. If you constantly have sinus headaches or congestion, you might have some nasal polyps. Then again, there are literally dozens of other reasons that chronic congestion can occur. Generally, if you do have nasal polyps you will feel the urge to blow your nose more frequently than usual as you will feel the presence of something foreign being present in your nasal passages.

Treatment

Nasal polyps can only be treated with medical intervention. In other words, a doctor will need to physically remove them via a surgical procedure or you will be prescribed drugs that will make the polyps dry up and fall off. There is little to no discomfort associated with nasal polyp treatments. Prescription drugs used to eliminate nasal polyps do sometimes come with side effects.

If you feel that you would breathe easier after having nasal polyps removed, then you should seek out a safe medical treatment. A doctor will need to evaluate you to see how many polyps are present as well as where they are situated. Get rid of your nasal polyps by scheduling an appointment with the best NYC ENT doctors as soon as possible.