What the Inside of Your Nose Reveals

Have you ever wondered why your healthcare provider looks inside your nose during an exam? When a person has a runny nose or congestion, the healthcare provider needs a good look at the source of the problem.

Healthcare providers will look inside your nose as part of a routine healthy full physical exam. They will also look inside your nose when they suspect other problems like an infection or allergy. Sometimes, they're looking for other sources of your breathing problem like a deviated septum. This is a shifting of the wall that divides the nasal cavity into halves.

The healthcare provider will use a light source with an instrument called a nasal speculum to get a clear view of about 1½ to 2 inches inside your nose if there is no congestion.

One of the first things he or she will notice is color. The color of your nasal membranes should be pink, the same color as healthy gums.

If your nasal membranes are bluish or pale and appear swollen, the healthcare provider may suspect you have allergic rhinitis. This is an inflammation caused by a nasal allergy. If this is the case, you might have a clear-to-white nasal discharge, and he or she might prescribe antihistamines or a nasal steroid to reduce the swelling.

If your nasal membranes are more red than pale and the discharge is thick and yellow, the healthcare provider will suspect an infection. If your infection involves the nose, throat, and ears and you have no fever or only a slight one, the healthcare provider might suspect a cold virus. Viruses often move around in the body. Many people will ask for an antibiotic when they have a cold, and many healthcare providers will explain that antibiotics may work against bacteria, but are powerless against a virus. For a viral infection in the nose, healthcare providers can prescribe decongestants to treat the symptoms.

If you have a fever, with tenderness around the bridge of your nose and at the top of your cheeks, the healthcare provider will suspect an infection that has invaded your sinuses.

Mucus in the sinuses usually drains into the nasal passages. When you have a sinus infection, those passages are not able to drain properly because of inflammation. An antibiotic might be used to treat it.

Not all nasal problems are caused by allergy and infection. You can be born with a deviated septum or develop one from a broken nose. In both cases, nasal breathing can be difficult. Sometimes surgery is necessary.

When a healthcare provider looks inside your nose, he or she may notice a nasal polyp. This is a growth on the mucous membrane. Sometimes, these polyps must be removed. Some people with polyps have asthma. Some also have a sensitivity to aspirin and/or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine. If you have all of these symptoms, it's called Samter's triad.