About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffNasal congestion or "stuffy nose" occurs when nasal tissues and blood vessels become swollen with excess fluid, causing a "stuffy" feeling. Nasal congestion can be caused by a cold, influenza, allergies to such things as dust, pollen or pet dander, or as a response to irritants such as tobacco smoke. Some people have a chronically congested nose for no apparent reason — a condition known as nonallergic rhinitis. Nasal congestion may or may not be accompanied by a nasal discharge or "runny nose."
Nasal congestion usually is just an annoyance for older children and adults. But nasal congestion can be serious in infants, who might have a hard time nursing or breathing as a result.
- Nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. The Merck Manuals Online: Merck Professional Edition. http://www.merckusa.com/mmpe/print/sec08/ch089/ch089c.html. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- Snoring and nasal congestion. American Rhinologic Society. http://www.american-rhinologic.org/patientinfo.snoring.phtml. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- Stuffy nose. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/stuffyNose.cfm. Accessed June 24, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on