Getting a deviated nasal septum is no fun.
It’s painful, it looks funny and sometimes, if the nasal membrane wall is bent far enough, surgery is required to repair it back to its normal and straight self. That surgery can be costly. And no one wants a crooked nose!
So, what kinds of things would cause a deviated nasal septum? Let’s take a look.
There are two ways to think about it.
- The deviation is a condition present at birth – Sometimes, the bend in the nose can happen sometime during fetal development, and when the baby is born surgery has to be performed.
- More commonly, an injury to the nose post-birth – It’s pretty easy to knock the nose wall out of position. In infants, this type of injury can happen with a fall or bump. In adults, the most common accident that results in a deviated nasal septum is..well, there are a lot: tripping on a step, colliding with another person. Contact sports, automobile accidents, goofing around with friends at 2am on a Friday night–speaking from personal experience here, folks–are all activities that might cause a broken nose or deviated septum.
Also, normal aging can cause the membrane wall to deteriorate, which could aggravate a deviated septum over time.