Nasal Congestion and Phenylephrine

Nasal congestion is a common reason to visit a clinic in the whole world. It is also another term for nasal blockage, runny nose or commonly called stuffy nose. It is a kind of disorder of upper respiratory tract which involved body sensory organ - nose. Nasal congestion can be defined as the blockage of nasal passages frequently due to membranes lining the nose becoming swollen from inflamed blood vessels. Nasal congestion can attack anybody from infants to elderly throughout the year, highest in the fall and the spring. The common causes of nasal congestion are virus attack, allergic and common cold which nasal cavity is filled with mucus. Human rhinovirus was detected in 181 of 434 patients (41.7%) and was the only pathogen detected in 107 patients (59.1%). In order to ease the situation, phenylephrine acts as a nasal decongestant constrict the blood vessels thus decrease the secretion of mucus.

Allergy is one of the most common cause of nasal congestion. According to data, the percentage of allergic rhinitis is rising in worldwide, happens in 10% to 30% of adults and up to 45% of children. When allergens such as pollens or dust enter the nasal cavity, humans’ immune system detects them as a pathology from external environment. Histamine is quickly produced to defence against the pathology. Histamine irritates the mucous membrane in nasal cavity to secrete mucous fluid, causes the nose cavity filled with a remarkable amount of mucous fluid. When the mucous fluid increase to a certain amount, the air passageway is blocked indirectly. For short, allergy is a popular cause for nasal congestion especially in big cities with serious air pollution.

On the other hand, virus attacks the upper respiratory tract can cause common cold. Rhinovirus is a non-enveloped 30nm RNA-virus with over serotypes that belongs to the Picornaviridae family. Rhinovirus are mainly transmitted through direct or indirect with secretions and invade by binding to the receptor on the nasal epithelium. When rhinoviruses attack the nasal passage, they induce vasodilation, increase blood flow and increase vascular permeability resulted the physical size of nasal passage reduce. To protect the lower respiratory tract from attacked by virus, the body detect the rhinovirus as pathogen and inflammation occur. Mucous membrane in the nose primarily secrete a significant number of mucus which irritated by immune system. Shortly, nasal congestion caused by common cold is temporary, can be treated well once the virus are flushed out of the nasal cavity which cause the irritation.