Nose and health problems
The ordinarily healthy nose needs little special
care. Avoid the use of nose drops, sprays, or sniffers unless your physician
prescribes them for a specific purpose. Their continued use can cause
irritation or injury. They will not cure postnasal drip. Actually, the nose
normally is moist inside, kept so by mucus and a thin watery secretion produced
by small glands in the lining of the membranes.
There is a continuous healthy
process of flowing and drying and sweeping backward to the throat of any excess
fluids and mucus. It's this process that accounts for a normal amount of mucus
in the throat termed postnasal drip. Thus postnasal drip is a normal process.
If the drip be- comes excessive and unpleasant, it may be because of infection,
allergy, vitamin deficiency, excessively dry, heated wintertime environment, or
other problems.
Nose drops and sprays will not help under these
circumstances and may, in fact, add to the problem if your postnasal drip
excess is due to overly sensitive membranes.
If you have a disturbing postnasal
drip problem, the best thing to do is to see your physician for definitive
diagnosis and treatment, with emphasis on preventive treatment. If you won't
see a physician, the next best thing to do is leave the drip alone. Despite
what you may have heard, we can assure you that mucus which accumulates is not
"full of dangerous germs" and will not "poison you or ruin your
digestion if you swallow it." It is quite harmless. Your mouth does not
need and may actually be harmed by "medications" that claim to cure
halitosis and other conditions.
Mouthwashes, antiseptic lozenges, and gargles
come in contact with only the surface of the mouth and do not reach any germs
that are more deeply entrenched when infection is present. Halitosis, or bad
breath, accompanies gum disease. It can also be caused by teeth and gums that
are not kept properly clean. However, it may be due to inflamed tonsils,
infections in or behind the nose, and conditions of the stomach or intestines.
Certain foods, of course, cause odorous breath.
Some diseases such as uremia
produce foul breath. It is not always easy to tell whether or not one has a
mild case of halitosis. It is sometimes possible to find out for oneself
whether marked halitosis is present by forced expiration into your cupped hands
held over mouth and nose. In any case, there is no need to worry endlessly
about halitosis or spend time and money on remedies that do little good, since
your dentist or physician will be glad not only to determine whether you do
have halitosis but also, if you do, to help you find cause and cure.
Like the
nose and mouth, the throat does not need sprays, gargles, or lozenges to keep
it healthy. Avoid them because their regular use may produce irritation. Sore
throats are almost as common as colds, since a certain amount of throat
inflammation may accompany a cold.
