There are different diseases of nose:
Cold and Catarrh (Nazla wa Zukam)
Between the brain and the nose there is a mesh-like bone through which arteries and nerves spread. These carry fluids from the brain toward the nose and throat. When the brain does not receive proper nourishment through blood, inflammation develops in its membranes, resulting in cold and catarrh. In this condition, the brain releases three types of secretions that descend through arteries and nerves into the nose and throat. This process of discharge is called Nazla (falling of fluid). Depending on which surface of the brain is inflamed, different forms of catarrh appear.
1) Cold Catarrh (Nazla Barid / Common Cold):
In this condition, the discharge is thin like water and flows freely. It is usually white in color. The patient’s body feels cold, urine is pale and excessive, taste becomes bland, and saliva increases. Repeated cleaning of the nose causes inflammation of its outer surface and severe sneezing. Excessive discharge occurs from all body outlets. The patient feels lazy, sluggish, and sleepy.
Causes:
Excessive use of cold and moist foods
Cold and damp weather
2) Blocked Catarrh (Nazla Band):
In this condition, the secretions dry up and accumulate in the forehead and back of the nose. Deep breathing gives a feeling of mucus, but it does not come out. Excessive effort may produce dark sticky phlegm mixed with blood. Bending the head downward, bowing, or prostration causes heaviness and pain in the head, while standing or sitting upright gives relief. Excessive mucus may also make breathing difficult. During sleep, the patient breathes through the mouth and may awaken in fear of suffocation. The eyes, ears, and nose feel heavy due to mucus accumulation. Prolonged illness may affect hearing, eyesight, hair, teeth, and may even cause nasal growths and repeated sneezing.
Causes:
Excessive use of cold and dry foods
3) Hot Catarrh (Nazla Har):
In this condition, thick yellowish discharge comes from the left side of the nose, or thick yellow mucus is expelled through the throat. Expelling it causes discomfort. Sometimes a large amount of mucus is discharged, after which the head feels lighter and the body relaxed, though the condition soon returns. The body becomes very warm, and the patient craves cold water. Symptoms worsen indoors but improve in open air. Liver function becomes abnormally active, causing restlessness, heat in the hands and feet, hot blood, dark yellow urine, and abdominal cramps.
Causes:
Excessive use of hot and dry foods
Nosebleed (Ruaa’f / Nakseer)
Allah has placed safety valves on both sides of the nose. When these suddenly open, bleeding occurs, which is called a nosebleed. It may be mild or severe.
Types of Nosebleed:
1) Acidic Nosebleed:
When coldness and dryness increase in the blood, tissues may rupture and bleed slowly because the blood becomes thick. This usually occurs from the right nostril. Touching the nose, cleaning it, inserting something into it, or sneezing forcefully may cause bleeding.
Causes:
Intestinal worms
Hemorrhoidal discharge
Excessive use of dry foods
Hepatitis
Hemophilia
Aplastic anemia
Pregnancy and menstruation
2) Hot Nosebleed:
In this condition, excess bile causes excitement in the blood, opening the valve on the left side of the nose. This may protect the brain from serious conditions like high blood pressure, paralysis, and brain hemorrhage. The blood is thin and flows heavily. Before bleeding, the patient experiences headache, heaviness, and tingling in the nose.
Causes:
Excessive use of hot and dry foods
Climate effects
Summer heat and dryness during wheat harvesting
Nasal Polyps (Bawaseer al-Anf)
If chronic catarrh is not properly treated, the secretions become thick, sticky, cold, and dry, producing foul-smelling discharge from the nostrils. The nasal passage becomes blocked, making breathing difficult. Pressure increases on the blood vessels of the brain, causing severe sneezing. Due to pressure and increased blood flow in the nasal vessels, red fleshy growths resembling hemorrhoids develop inside the nose. This condition is called nasal hemorrhoids or nasal polyps. Sometimes fever also develops.
Causes:
Excessive use of cold and dry foods
Rhinitis
The patient sneezes continuously, sometimes 5 to 25 times, and the intensity may continue for an hour. The inner mucous membrane of the nose becomes swollen due to infection, causing a runny nose. Inflammation makes the inside of the nose red and may spread to the inner membrane of the ear. When mucus drips into the throat, mild coughing occurs. Sometimes the throat becomes blocked and foul-smelling discharge comes from the nose, occasionally mixed with blood.
Seasonal rhinitis is called Hay Fever. It is more common among allergic conditions and usually appears during June and July. Symptoms include itching in the nose, sneezing, and watery nasal discharge. Severe itching may also occur in the eyes, ears, and palate. About 20% of patients also develop allergic asthma. The nose becomes blocked, and the patient may lose the sense of smell and taste.
Causes:
Excessive use of cold and dry foods
Sinusitis (Inflammation of Nasal Sinuses)
There are air-filled cavities around the nose inside the surrounding bones called sinuses. These open into the nasal cavity through small openings. They include the maxillary, frontal, ethmoidal, and sphenoidal sinuses. Infection by streptococcus bacteria or other harmful organisms causes inflammation and infection in these sinuses, called sinusitis.
Even slight pressure on the affected area causes pain. Symptoms include headache, fever, rapid pulse, and watery nasal discharge at first, which later becomes thick and dark. In chronic cases, the nose becomes blocked and mucus drips into the throat, causing throat irritation, cough, and phlegm. Lying down may cause breathing difficulty. Gradually, the disease may affect the ears and even cause brain inflammation. X-rays of the face show darkened sinus areas, unlike in healthy individuals.
Causes:
Continuous cold and catarrh
Improper treatment of cold
Poor nasal hygiene
Streptococcal infection