Most conditions, like influenza, irritants, allergies or cold causes the blood vessels and nasal tissues become swollen. This is accompanied with accumulation of excess fluid and causes the onset of nasal congestion. Person with nasal congestion feels stuffiness in the nose. Nasal congestion does not cause any major or severe concerns in adults and young children. It is an annoying thing for them until it is treated. However, when it affects infants, it turns out to be a serious problem, as it causes difficulty in breathing in infants.
Causes of Nasal Congestion
Following are some of the causes of nasal congestion:
- Chicken pox
- Food allergies
- Dry air
- acute sinusitis
- Measles
- Deviated septum
- Common cold
- Medications
Nasal Congestion Relief:
Pungent food and spicy food provides great relief from the nasal congestion. Chicken soup gives excellent relief from the nasal congestion. Add generous amount of black pepper powder to the chicken soup. This helps to open up the sinus congestion and gives relief from stuffy nose. People can also try Chinese, Indian and Mexican spicy dishes that contain hot pepper as the prime ingredient.
Steam inhalation is recommended and some popular home remedies also relieve nasal congestion. Biol some water in a pot and pour it in the wide container. Put a towel on the head and inhale the steam. Do the same for 15 – 20 minutes. Add few drops of eucalyptus oil to the drop and inhale the steam. This adds great benefit to the steam therapy.
An excellent remedy for relieving the nasal congestion in babies is increase moisture levels in the infant’s room by keeping a cool mist vaporizer or humidifier. Put some saline drops in each nostril of infant. This loosens the dry secretions of mucus. Nasal aspirator can be inserted in the nostrils to get rid off nasal mucus. Excessive usage of these products may cause irritation to the infant.
