Runny nose, stuffy nose, fatigue… These symptoms caused by autumn rhinoviruses are back in France. According to the latest data from Public Health France, the interventions of SOS Médecins for “ENT and respiratory pathologies” have jumped by 58% in children and 25% in 15-74 year olds.
The explanation? With the gradual exit from the Covid-19 epidemic and the return to a “normal life”, the French are lowering their guard (a little): the hydroalcoholic gel is less systematic, the mask falls off at school, the festive meetings are more frequent … Remember last year, we were subject to curfew, university courses were held at a distance, telework was generalized.
Result: since mid-September, seasonal respiratory viruses have made a comeback and the number of colds and influenza syndromes explodes.
And among the unpleasant symptoms of a cold, there is a stuffy nose! The feeling of not being able breathe with a blocked nose is absolutely not a health alarm. Except that she can affect sleep and degrade the quality of the nights.
Stuffy nose: what are the causes?
Most often, the stuffy nose is a nasopharyngitis (cold). But, several factors can explain this inconvenience. It can be an allergy, which can occur all year round or during certain seasons (pollen allergies in particular) only.
Note that the tobacco can also promote these nasal obstructions.
Finally, let us specify that lying down does not help because it involves an increased production of nasal secretions.
What can I do to reduce the feeling of a stuffy nose?
Fortunately, there is simple solutions to unblock your nose.
- Positioning for sleeping. “Adjust the position of your head. The ideal is to raise the head and upper trunk with cushions or a bolster to avoid this unpleasant feeling“, advises Doctor Jean-Louis Bensoussan, general practitioner.
- But before going to bed, it is a good idea to wash your nose with salt water, or sulfur-based. Or with physiological serum. This operation will decongest the nose area. These products are sold in pharmacies or drugstores. They come in the form of sprays or small plastic vials.
- You can also use inhalations. For this, we boil water and put our head above a distance to breathe the hot steam. “You can add essential oils such as mint or eucalyptus, but this is not the most important, the main thing is the heat that we breathe and which will help to thin the nasal secretions.“, specifies Doctor Bensoussan. One can carry out these breaths of hot vapor during 10 to 15 minutes.
- Another solution is to breathe disposable tissues soaked in a few drops of essential oils. Be careful with the use of these oils. They must be handled with care and be the subject of prior advice from your pharmacist. Pregnant women, for example, should not have recourse to it. This technique is also not recommended for people with asthma or allergies.
- There are also little tips that concern the environment in which we lie down. We ventilate the room where we sleep (about ten minutes in the morning and the same in the evening) and we avoid overheated atmospheres even if it is cold outside.
- We can also purify the ambient air or humidify it through diffusers or humidifiers sold commercially.
Finally observe the frequency of the phenomenon. “If the feeling of a stuffy nose bothers you constantly and lasts a long time, in-depth examinations may be necessary. And for people with allergies, the feeling may go away with antihistamines. So if we do not solve the problem quickly with classic solutions, do not hesitate to consult. Sometimes this can be accompanied by snoring and in some cases suggest sleep apnea. A disorder not to be taken lightly“, warns Jean-Louis Bensoussan.
Also read:
- Dry mouth: causes and solutions
- Greasy cough, dry cough, nocturnal cough … How to calm them?
- Sore throat: causes and treatments?
- Otitis in adults: symptoms, contagion, what to do?
