Why Does Only One Nostril Get Clogged When Sick?

Having one nostril more stuffed up than the other during a seasonal cold is a common symptom.
This is because added mucus and swelling in the nose can interfere with the body's normal nasal cycle.
Experts recommend saltwater irrigation, increased fluid intake, or over-the-counter medications in order to unplug a stuffy nose.

When you get a stuffy nose, does it seem like one nostril is always more stuffed up than the other?

Cold and flu season is quickly approaching, and with it comes questions about how to deal with seasonal illnesses and the symptoms that come with them.

Like, is there a way to avoid having one nostril that's more stuffed up than the other?

Doctors say the reason has less to do with your cold-coping mechanisms and more about your nasal anatomy and function.

Here’s why you may feel like one nostril is more stuffed up than the other when you're sick—and how to get relief.

Getty Images / Moyo Studio

Why One Nostril May Feel More Plugged Than the Other

In order to understand why one nostril may feel more plugged up than the other, it’s important to understand basic nasal anatomy.

Your nose has four pairs of sinuses—air-filled pockets connected to your nasal cavities that produce mucus that keeps your nose moist, Michael Yong, MD, a board-certified otolaryngologist (ENT) and fellowship-trained neurorhinologist at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California, told Health.

There are also three pairs of turbinates on the sides of both nasal cavities which fold inside your nose to warm and moisten air after you breathe it in, and to help with nasal drainage, Yong explained.

Under normal circumstances, your nose and nasal turbinates go through something called a nasal cycle. This nasal cycle is the “spontaneous alternating congestion and decongestion of each nostril,” explained Persephone Vargas, DNP, associate professor in the School of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

“You’re never aware of it, but one side of the nose tends to swell and fill with blood, and then the other side—it switches back and forth,” Benjamin S. Bleier, MD, sinus specialist at Mass Eye and Ear, told Health.

“In a normal state, that doesn’t cause the airway to get too narrow, so you don’t notice it," he said. "But add on swelling and thick mucus that can come with an illness and, when one side swells, you feel blocked.”

This feeling of a one-sided blockage also may be more noticeable in someone with a deviated septum, which is when the septum is displaced to one side, Kathleen Kelly, MD, an otolaryngologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Health.

Your turbinates can also become inflamed. “That can cause a physical obstruction to breathing and it may happen on one side, causing it to feel more blocked than the other,” Yong said.

The side you sleep on at night could play a role in this as well, Bleier explained.

“The turbinates have these large veins inside them that can fill with blood, particularly when you’re lying down,” he said. “That will give you a sense of congestion on the side you’re lying on.”

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Unplugging a Stuffy Nose

To unplug a stuffy nose, experts generally recommend trying saltwater irrigation, like using a Neti-Pot.

“These have been used for thousands of years—they mechanically clear out mucus and have a soothing effect on the nose itself,” Bleier said.

If you do use a Neti-Pot, use distilled or boiled and cooled water—otherwise, you run the risk of pushing bacteria into your nasal passages.

Increasing your fluid intake can help, as well as sleeping with your head elevated, Vargas said.

When to See a Doctor

If you’re having an ongoing loss of taste and smell, vision changes, and pain that’s new or getting worse, Yong recommends calling your doctor for an evaluation. The same advice applies if you’re consistently experiencing discharge or bleeding on just one side of the nose—that could indicate a larger problem.

If you want to try medication, Kelly noted that over-the-counter sprays like fluticasone (Flonase) and triamcinolone acetonide (Nasocort), “can help with nasal swelling and to reduce mucus production.”

Decongestant sprays can be helpful, too, but Kelly warned against using them too long.

“While nasal sprays with oxymetazoline or phenylephrine can be very helpful, they should be limited to three consecutive days,” she said.

Otherwise, she explained you may run the risk of experiencing something called “rebound congestion,” which is where you have stuffiness that becomes worse if you don’t use the medication.

In general, Yong said you can treat yourself best with sprays, rinses, and medications that are applied directly to your nose. “They have very little, if any systemic absorption in the body and tend to stay in the nose,” he said. “They’re pretty safe and often very effective.”

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