Nose Injuries and Disorders

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your nose is important to your health. It filters the air you breathe, removing dust, germs, and irritants. It warms and moistens the air to keep your lungs and tubes that lead to them from drying out. Your nose also contains the nerve cells that help your sense of smell. When there is a problem with your nose, your whole body can suffer. For example, the stuffy nose of the common cold can make it hard for you to breathe, sleep, or get comfortable.

Many problems besides the common cold can affect the nose. They include

• Deviated septum - a shifting of the wall that divides the nasal cavity into halves
• Nasal polyps - soft growths that develop on the lining of your nose or sinuses
• Nosebleeds
• Rhinitis - inflammation of the nose and sinuses sometimes caused by allergies. The main symptom is a runny nose.
• Nasal fractures, also known as a broken nose

Start Here

• Your Nose, the Guardian of Your Lungs (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Panoramic Dental X-Ray (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Complications of Sinus Surgery (American Rhinologic Society)
• Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (American Rhinologic Society)
• How to Use Nose Drops Properly (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)
• Nasal Sprays: How to Use Them Correctly (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Nose Surgery (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Nosebleed, First Aid (Logical Images)
• Rhinoplasty (Functional) (American Rhinologic Society)
• Septoplasty - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Septoplasty and Turbinate Surgery (American Rhinologic Society)
• Sinuplasty (Balloon Catheter Dilation) (American Rhinologic Society)

Related Issues

• Aspirin Desensitization (American Rhinologic Society)
• Petroleum Jelly: Safe for a Dry Nose? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Specifics

• Bacterial Nasal Infections (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Broken Nose (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Cosmetic and Functional Nasal Deformities (American Rhinologic Society)
• Deviated Septum (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Fibrous Papule of Nose (Logical Images)
• Nosebleeds (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Nosebleeds (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Post-Nasal Drip (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis or Laryngeal Papillomatosis (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Rhinitis (Hay Fever): Tips to Remember (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology) Also in Spanish
• Runny Nose (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Sinus Tumors (American Rhinologic Society)
• Stuffy Nose (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)

Health Check Tools

• Nose Injury (DSHI Systems)
• Nosebleeds (DSHI Systems)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Epistaxis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Nose Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Analyses and treatments of postoperative nasal complications after endonasal transsphenoidal...
• Article: Surgical management of nasal stenosis following chemoradiation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
• Article: Endoscopic sphenopalatine artery ligation for acute idiopathic epistaxis. Do anatomical...
• Nose Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Nasal Anatomy (American Rhinologic Society)
• Sinus Anatomy (American Rhinologic Society)

Find an Expert

• American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery
• American Rhinologic Society
• Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

• Chronic Nosebleeds: What to Do (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Going with the Flow of Nosebleeds (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Nosebleeds (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• What Makes Me Sneeze? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• What's a Booger? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Why Does My Nose Run? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Nosebleeds (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Choanal atresia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Foreign body in the nose (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nasal endoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nasal fracture - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nasal polyps (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nose fracture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nosebleed (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stuffy or runny nose - adult (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stuffy or runny nose - children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish