Both of these senses are directly related to the health of the nose. Smell (Olfactory system) What would life be like without the ability to smell? The term anosmia means lack of or decreased sense of smell. The olfactory nerve cells with their special ends, called olfactory receptors, are located at the upper area of [...]
Structure Of The Ear We can’t look inside our own ears but we can sure feel what goes on in there! As you will soon learn, what goes on in the ears is intimately connected to the nose. Three distinct areas make up the human ear: the outer, the middle and the inner ear. The [...]
The tear duct (nasolacrimal duct) drains tears from the eyes and empties those tears under the lowest turbinate. This is why crying often results in nasal discharge. This also explains why nasal washing is done incorrectly can push the solution up and out through the tear ducts. This pathway may contribute to allergens entering the [...]
Nasal sprays are easy to use, but there is evidence that many of the preservatives and additives in some of the commercial nasal sprays can be harmful to the nose! Some additives I like to avoid include benzyl alcohol, povidone, iodine, disodium ETA, edetate disodium, benzalkonium, thimerosal, merthiolate, monobasic sodium phosphate, dibasic sodium phosphate, potassium [...]
The numbers are always changing, and they are not going down. Americans spend billions of dollars every year treating nasal, allergy, sinus, ear and asthma problems. The dollars spent are only part of the price tag. The cost in terms of work time, away from school, sitting in a doctor’s office and time spent feeling [...]
Rhinitis Medicamentosa (RM) is a fancy name for physical addiction to a nasal spray. It is “rebound nasal congestion” caused directly by overuse and abuse of intranasal decongestants. These medications are vasoconstrictive, which means they close down blood vessels. It continues to be unclear how decongestant nasal sprays cause the classic rebound swelling of RM, [...]
