Right nasal passage is fine but left one is blocked and filled with a clear, thick, sticky mucus?

Ears, nose and throat
1

Hello,

I am a 19-year-old female and have had this sinus issue for about 3 or 4 years. I seem to have what is identical to sinusitis, but cannot seem to place it. I have bouts of fatigue, especially when stuffed up completely. I also wake up completely stuffed up, but can usually clear the right nasal passage out fine once I blow. It's still stuffed up, but not as badly. I also have post-nasal drip, and my left salavary gland is swollen enough to notice it if you touch it. I have a cough which is almost identical to the sound of the common cold; a bark and sometimes phlegm. I think this is all to do with my left nasal passage. What could this be?

Thank you so much in advance

2

Hi

I the mucus dark colour or white?

3-4 years is quite long, have you seen a specialist?

It could be allergy, have you tried nasal wash, saline, sprays? other allergy treatments?

Could be many other things as well, polyp, or deviated septum, can't relly tell from what you're describing.

 

3

Hi there, I get exactly the same. I use a nasal wash called Neil Med which comes with a bottle and satchets of sea salt and bicarbonate of soda. This helps a lot. I also have a antihistimine from my GP but it doesn't do much except make me drowsy. The over the counter nasal sprays can only be used for a few weeks, then they start to make the problem worse. It states on the nasal sprays not to be used continually. My doctor told me about Neil Med  as it is not available on the NHS but does work. If you see your G,P, (if you are in the UK) then get advice from him. As carehealth asked...if the mucus is white, then you do not have an infection, if yellow or green, then you do. 

Hope you can get it sorted. 3 to 4 years is too long to put up with it.

Good luck.

Regards, Val.

4

I've seen my doctor but I was thinking at the time it was a bad allergy. I did get a Neti pot from but I only used it a few times. Plus the water I found a little too cold. See, I'm blind so I need help with it. I think it helped for the most part, but I haven't used it enough to notice a difference. I get the same simptoms as sinusitis though: The pressure in the face, fatigue and cough. I don't know of any ENT's here, but I would like to have a more thorough check...

5

Must be very difficult for you, I hope someone can help you.

You seem to have a classic allergy, - though you would need to get it checked.

for allergy tests there is a skin prick test, quite good, they test you for different food, moulds, plants, animals.

You can also get a RAST test, it's a simple blood test for allergies, but it's not as efficient as the skin prick one and could cost you more. Depends how much the government pays.

Lots of people who have allergies changed their diet.

You could avoid milk and dairy products for a while and see if that makes any difference

as for allergie treatments:

saline sprays, it's easy, and might help a little bit

antihistamine tablets - if you have mucus, runny nose

If you use neti pot, the water needs to be luke warm. If it's cold it might just irritate you even more. 

If the allergy test comes back negative, it doesn't necessairly mean you have no allergies, it might just be that they didn't find it. 

You mentioned that sometimes your nose is completely stuffed up.

You can't use the decongestant sprays - it's max for 3 days, using it longer and you will get a rebound effect

But you can use pseudoeffedrine tablets, don't use it in the evening, you might not be able to sleep. But durung the day should be ok. Don;t use it all the time though!

The next best to pseudoeffedrine, you can order in form of tea. It's very mild, I tried it and have no problem sleeping, quite safe. PM me if you're interested and let you know how to order.

That's about how much you can do yourself. 

ENT can do further checks: polyps, deviated septum, turbinates, anything, which could physically block your sinuses.

Keep in mind they might not be able to find the cause of your sinus problem either, sometimes it's some unknown allergy and unfortunately not much research has been put into this area.

 

6

Hello,

I don't sneeze very often, have maybe only one to two nosebleeds a year if any, and have the same symptoms every day. It doesn't matter if there's pollen in the air, or if I'm at the beach. The salt air may help a little, but it really only helps the right side clear out. The left side not so much. Sometimes if I do end up getting mucus out, it's still not cleared out enough to breathe comfortably through it. I'll have to see my doctor and get a referral to the ENT. I found out there is one here but my mom said I have to see the doctor first.

7

Hi, a Netti pot is different inasmuch as the bottle of tap water must be put in the microwave for a good few secons, then again, then again. (depending on the wattage of your microwave..full instructions on the leaflet...This not only warms the liquid but is supposed to kill off anything in the water. I also have visual impairment and use a magnifying glass when I am filling the bottle to the required black line. It needs to be done every day to get the full benefit, but the results are very good.

8

Thank you so much for your comment!

I actually went to the doctor today and he checked my throat and nose. Apparently I have a bit of yellowy green mucus in the throat, but usually the mucus I manage to blow out is clear. He gave me a week supply of penicillin and reduced the dosage of the corticosteroid I was on to once a day. I took the penicillin before when I had ear infections, so I'll be fine. I take it for three days. If it doesn't help then I'm going to get tested for allergies and possibly the referal to the ENT. He did see a small polyp in the left nostril but he thinks it might be part of the infection. I just took a dose of my meds earlier and am really starting to feel better! But I will continue to take the meds until they're gone, of course.

9

Hi Kaleolani

I have the same condition as you although it is my right side nostril that is blocked and filled with sticky mucus. I have tried a lot of different meds / procedures but nothing has helped, you can read below.

Have you manged to find anything that helps?

Thanks!

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-nasal-drip-silent-reflux-etc--144813?page=1#1495238

10

Hi

I think you need to go see an ENT specialist. My specialist told me that my sinus passages needed to be expanded in order for the mucus to flow so I had sinus surgery. This procedure did help me but the sinus pressure and horrible fatigue will not go away after trying everything that is recommended. Good luck!