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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Managing symptoms
Initial treatment of deviated septum may be directed at managing the symptoms of the condition, such as nasal congestion and postnasal drip. Your doctor may prescribe:
- Decongestants. Decongestants are medications that reduce nasal congestion, helping to keep the airways on both sides of your nose open. Decongestants are available as a pill or as a nasal spray. Use nasal sprays with caution, however. Frequent use can create dependency and cause symptoms to be worse (rebound) after you stop using them.
- Antihistamines. Antihistamines are medications that help prevent many cold and allergy symptoms, including runny nose. Avoiding a runny nose is important when you have a deviated septum because the mucus can become blocked in your narrow nasal passage, causing discomfort, postnasal drip or, ultimately, a sinus infection.
- Nasal cortisone sprays. Prescription nasal cortisone sprays can reduce inflammation in your nasal passage and help prevent runny nose — thus reducing your risk of nasal blockage and sinus infection.
Medications are only a temporary fix, however, and won't correct a deviated septum.
Surgical repair (septoplasty)
If you experience especially bothersome symptoms — such as significant airway obstruction, chronic sinusitis or frequent nosebleeds — you may consider surgery to correct a deviated septum (septoplasty).
Septoplasty is the only way to repair a deviated septum. During septoplasty, your nasal septum is repositioned in the center of your nose. This may require your surgeon to cut and remove parts of your septum before reinserting it in the proper position.
The level of improvement you can expect with surgery depends on the severity of your deviation. Symptoms due to the deviated septum — such as nosebleeds and nasal obstruction — often completely resolve. However, any accompanying nasal or sinus conditions — such as allergies — can't be cured with surgery.
Reshaping your nose
In some cases, surgery to reshape the nose (rhinoplasty) is performed at the same time as septoplasty. Rhinoplasty involves readjusting the bone and cartilage of your nose to change its shape or size or both.
- Chandra RK, et al. Diagnosis of nasal airway obstruction. The Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. 2009;42:207.
- Fact sheet: Deviated septum. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/deviatedSeptum.cfm. Accessed April 25, 2009.
- Fettman N, et al. Surgical management of the deviated septum: Techniques in septoplasty. The Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. 2009;42:241.
- Nose surgery. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/noseSurgery.cfm. Accessed April 26, 2009.
- Ferguson BJ. Septoplasty and turbinate reduction. American Rhinologic Society. http://www.american-rhinologic.org/patientinfo.septoplasty.phtml. Accessed April 25, 2009.
- Higuera S, et al. Nasal trauma and the deviated nose. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2007;120(suppl 2):64
- Nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch089/ch089c.html. Accessed April 26, 2009.
- Septal deviation and perforation. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch091/ch091f.html. Accessed April 26, 2009.
