Nasal congestion for past 5 months

hello doc,
I'm suffering from nasal congestion for past 5 months and its still continuing. im having nasal decongestion spary(afrin.I dono how to get rid of this congestion..i have doctor appoinment next week...can you guide me what test should i ask doctor to take and also im so curious to know the reason behind this congestion.  Can it be a low wbc count or anything. i do have little pain in my low leg too.. it comes and goes off often.  Pls help me in this

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the forum!
Well nasal congestion that has persisted for 5 months can be due to allergic rhinitis. It could have started as allergic rhinitis and got aggravated by use of nasal sprays,,rhinitis medicamentosa (inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane due to application of topical nasal sprays, ointments and drops). The symptoms could also be due to vasomotor rhinitis (in response to dry air) or viral infection.
Deviated nasal septum, nasal polyps and tumors can also cause persistent nasal congestion. Worms in stool can raise the eosinophil count (a part of the white blood cell count) and thus increase the possibility of nasal congestion.
You’ll have to discuss all these possibilities with your doctor. The nasal passages will have to be examined. Complete blood count and stool test may be required. You may need to get X-rays or CT scans too.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[allmymarbles]

Meanwhile you might try taking 500 mg of vitamin B5 daily. It thins mucus and reduces inflammation. There are no side effects. I have been taking 1000 mg dauly to treat adrenal fatigue. It had the additional benefit of soothing my chronic bronchitis and ridding me of sinus headaches.

[patient000]

Noticed also you have been using nasal spray? for how long? because from what we have studied, it should not be taken regularly or continuously for at least 4 days since chronic use of nasal spray can aggrevate nasal congestion, you will noticed when you stop using it, a "rebound nasal congestion" would occur which will make you use it again and again until you become addicted to it, i've experienced that too, but because I have high blood pressure, i discontinued it since its contraindicated with heart problems, yes i do experienced rebound nasal congestion but after 1-2weeks, i'm now free from nasal congestion ;D, anyway just want to add, i started using nasal spray after experiencing continuous nasal congestion for 1 month.