Bad smell is always irksome- whether it is from the armpits, chest, or any other part of our body. But how many of us are aware of the bad smell from nose?
Unfortunately, it is common in many people. Not only is it embarrassing for the person concerned, but also for the people around.
This blog will educate you on the common causes and possible treatments of smelly nose:
Causes and Treatments
1. Malignancy:
Whenever malignancy strikes, it can produce foul smell inside the nose or inside the mouth. It can be taken as smell of feces inside the nose. Nothing to worry – malignancy can go painless and symptom-less.
2. Dental infection:
Poor oral health can lead up to the bad smell.
Cause: Rotting teeth can be a big pain. They are the prime cause of foul smell and bad breath.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Visit an ENT doctor to identify the root cause of bad smelling nose and follow medical advice. Proper oral hygiene is the need of the hour. It means brush your teeth regularly (morning and night time).
3. Sinusitis:
Most of us are down with it. But what is sinusitis in the first place? It is the inflammation of the tissue that lines the sinuses.
Cause: Smelly discharge going down the throat can be the reason of bad breath.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Depending on the severity of sinusitis, prescription can range from decongestants, anti-allergy medicines, pain relievers, steroids or even a surgery.
- Home Remedy: Steam inhalation is the best way to decongest and reduce swelling inside your nose.
- Pour 2 ounces of boiled water in a bowl.
- Lean over the bowl and inhale deeply.
Or follow this:
- Put a damp towel on your face to relieve from sinus pressure.
- The 3rd way is to do a nasal irrigation (twice or thrice a day).
- Mix half tsp of non-iodised salt and a pinch of baking soda.
- Add 1 tsp of this combined mixture with 8 ounces of freshly boiled (then cooled) water.
4. Foreign body inside nose:
Cause: When food particles get lodged in the nasal cavity, they cause unwanted obstruction in the airflow in the nasal cavity, leading to bad odor.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Given the situation, ideally use a cotton swab. Breathe in forcefully so as to avoid inhaling the object. If one of the nostrils is blocked, then close the unaffected nostril and blow out through the blocked nostril.
5. Atrophic rhinitis:
It is also referred to as ‘Ozena’.
Cause: This is an infection in which the mucous membranes and the bony ridges of the nose end up getting wasted. Continued nasal swelling can be the cause of Atrophic Rhinitis.
Cause: Poor nourishment with poor hygiene, diabetes, malignancy in the nose can be some of the root causes for maggots.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Maggots which are visible should be picked up using a pair of forceps. There is another way – instillation of liquid paraffin which can kill the maggots. Overall, nasal hygiene is important to prevent the cropping up of maggots in nose.
7. Tonsillitis:
Blame it on tonsil stones for producing that funny bad smell in your nose. Tonsil stones are white-yellow in color and are made of calcium.
Cause: There is no definite cause as such between the link-up of tonsillitis and bad nose smell. A popular belief is that in some people, food particles, bacteria, and dead cells tend to build up in their tonsils. These harden up, and make a good food for bacteria which emit bad smell-generating compounds.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Consulting your ENT doctor is the best bet.
- Home Remedy: Gargle with warm salt water to relieve the pain and swelling. Cotton swabs can also be used to get rid of the tonsil stones. The other option is to try and cough several times. This will get the stones rush up to your mouth (for eventual spitting).
8. Nasal diphtheria:
When it happens, it can produce foul odour.
Cause: When diptheria happens, it produces a membrane over the affected mucosa.
Remedy:
- You can get rid of Nasal diphtheria through diphtheria antitoxin and antibiotic therapy.
9. Rhinitis caseosa:
This is a foul odour which comes as a result of destructive disease. Thought to be a fungal disease, the exact cause of Rhinitis caseosa is not certain.
10. Tuberculosis:
Don’t mistake this TB to be that of lungs. It is of the nose. When TB of the mucous membrane of nose happens, it leads to death of the tissues and foul smell.
Seek medical intervention when Nasal Tuberculosis happens.
11. Post Nasal Drip:
This means a running discharge from the nose. When excess of mucous build-up happens, it can either come out of your nose or go down to the throat in a dripping way.
Cause: There are several causes which lead up to post-nasal drip. For e.g. Allergies, colds, flu, sinus infection, pregnancy, and environmental irritants (perfumes, pollution, smoke, chemicals and cleaning products etc.) can aggravate this condition.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Decongestants (for sinusitis or viral infections), antibiotics (if the drip is the cause of bacterial infection), nasal sprays and steroids (for allergies) can be pursued.
- Home Remedy: Ditch cold drinks. Instead, drink warm liquids like soups and teas. When done, it will make use of the heat to thin out mucous and flush it out.
12. Rhinoscleroma:
Rhinoscleroma is a bacterial disease of the nasal cavity. It leads to nasal bleeding, deformity and destruction of the nasal cartilage.
Cause: The Klebsiellarhinoscleromatis bacteria is to be blamed for causing this tropical disease which mostly affects people living in Central America and Africa.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: For the initial treatment, bronchoscopy along with long term anti-microbial therapy is advisable. If there are noticeable symptoms of cavity obstruction, then a surgical route may be necessary. In case of advanced infection, the doctor might suggest third-generation clindamycin and cephalosporins.
13. Snoring:
Cause: When you snore, it leads to dryness of tongue, throat and palate. The bacteria in your mouth (not one but billions of them) have got the environ they wanted. Since there is no way to clean up the sulfur compounds produced by bacteria, it leads to bad breath.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: A professional doctor may recommend you to take oral devices and decongestants (like Afrin and Silfedrine or anti-histamines) to tackle snoring.
- Home Remedy: The first remedy is to sleep sideways. This means a change in your sleeping position but use a full-length pillow in doing so. The second option is to use a dehumidifier in your bedroom to control humidity. Dry air is an enemy as it can end up irritating your nose and throat.
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Other remedies:
- Before you sleep, avoid taking heavy meals, alcoholic beverages, caffeine, or depressants.
- Pay more attention to shedding weight. You need to prevent fats from squeezing your throat as it can trigger snoring.
14. Nasal Polyps:
The good thing about nasal polyps is that it is a non-cancerous fleshy growth found in the inside of the nose (so nothing to fear).
Cause: Why nasal polyps crop up is still unknown. However, those of you suffering from chronic nose inflammation could stand a higher chance of developing polyps.
Remedy:
- Medical Treatment: Shrink their size or completely remove them – this is the main objective of treatment of nasal polyps. In which case, steroid drops, steroid tablets, or corticosteroids could be the go-to suggestions prescribed by the doctor. Surgery – only if the case is severe.
- Home Remedy: Nasal passageway needs to be opened up. To get that, try out steam inhalation, or other options such as taking a warm shower, doing warm face compress, or getting soaked in a tub filled with warm water.
Alternatives that can be explored are:
- Mix 1 tsp turmeric powder with 8 ounces of warm milk twice a day and take it twice a day (morning and evening)
- Tea tree oil is a traditional healer. So mix 4 drops of tea tree oil and 2 tsp of carrier oil (it could be olive oil or virgin coconut oil). Dip a cotton ball in this mixture. Put it inside your nose and rub it gently on the nasal polyps.
Have you ever encountered this problem of stinking nose? Tell us which remedies helped you stave off the smell.
