What Is a Deviated Septum?
A deviated septum is a common condition where the thin wall inside your nose, called the septum, isn’t perfectly straight. The septum usually separates your nostrils, creating two equal passages for air to flow. But when it’s deviated, it leans more to one side, which can cause breathing problems and make one nasal passage feel smaller. It’s kind of like having a crooked wall in your house that blocks part of a hallway. Some people are born with a deviated septum, while others might develop it after an injury, like a bump on the nose while playing sports. If a deviated septum is causing issues, our doctors can fix it with a surgery called septoplasty.
How a Deviated Septum Affects Your Sleep
Waking up feeling unrested could be due to a deviated septum affecting sleep quality. Snoring can be a common issue caused by a blocked nasal passage. A deviated septum may also lead to sleep apnea, causing breathing difficulties during sleep. This issue, combined with tossing and turning due to discomfort and dry mouth from mouth breathing, can disrupt your rest. A deviated septum may also cause headaches from insufficient oxygen intake during sleep, further impacting your daily life.
What Is the Best Sleeping Position?
When you have a deviated nasal septum, the way you sleep can significantly affect how well you breathe at night. Choosing the proper sleep position can reduce nasal congestion and help you breathe freely, contributing to better rest.
Here are the most effective sleep positions for people with a deviated septum:
- Sleep on your side (preferably the unobstructed side): If one nasal passage is more open than the other, sleeping on the side opposite the blockage may improve airflow. This position can relieve pressure on the narrower passage and help you breathe freely throughout the night.
- Elevate your head: Use an extra pillow or a wedge pillow to raise your head slightly. Elevating your head helps reduce nasal swelling and drainage, preventing congestion and symptoms like postnasal drip or a runny nose.
- Avoid sleeping on your back: Lying flat on your back can cause the tongue and soft tissues to fall backward, potentially worsening snoring or even sleep apnea. It may also encourage mouth breathing, which can dry your throat and disrupt sleep.
- Do not sleep face-down: Sleeping on your stomach can put pressure on your nose and nasal passages, making breathing harder.
Experimenting with these positions may help reduce symptoms associated with a deviated septum, such as nighttime congestion, dry mouth, and a runny nose. However, if your sleep doesn’t improve with positional changes alone, it may be time to consider medical or surgical options for long-term relief.
Additional Tips for Improving Sleep Quality
Use a Decongestant Spray
The very first indicator of a possibly deviated septum is observed through the abnormalities in breathing. Since one of the air passages is smaller than the other, it can cause difficulties in inhaling. Thus, a crooked septum may lead to turbulence in the regular airflow, making breathing a difficult and labored process. Due to increased resistance to airflow intake, nasal obstruction can be highly uncomfortable.
Use Nasal Steroid Sprays
Septum deviations can lead to chronic feelings of nasal congestion. Alterations in the airflow intake patterns lead to excessive mucus production, further narrowing the nasal passages. These developments can make a person feel highly congested and stuffed, worsen breathing difficulties, and affect daily functioning.
Use a CPAP Machine (Only With Prescription)
Typically, sinuses occur when the nasal tissues get swollen or inflamed due to certain conditions. However, for those with deviated septa, it can become a regular thing. The blockage of sinus drainage pathways results in stagnant mucus collection, which increases the vulnerability to bacterial growth and infections. The inflammation of tissues can also result in excessive mucus production, which causes more congestion and chronic sinusitis. Being prone to recurring sinus infections may have other damaging consequences that degrade one’s health. This includes the development or worsening of depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, the onset of asthma, pneumonia, and degraded ear and brain health.
Use Oral Appliances for Sleep Apnea (If Diagnosed)
For individuals diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, an oral appliance may be an effective treatment option. These devices reposition the jaw or tongue to help improve nasal airflow and reduce nighttime breathing disruptions, offering an alternative for those who can’t tolerate CPAP machines.
Other Tips
- Elevate your head: If you’re having trouble breathing through your nose, elevate your head with an extra pillow.
- Avoid alcohol and sedatives: Alcohol and sedatives can relax the muscles in the throat and worsen snoring and sleep apnea.
- Practice good sleep hygiene: Getting into a regular sleep routine and practicing good sleep hygiene can help. Make a routine, avoid caffeine and nicotine, and create a relaxing bedtime environment.
- Manage allergy symptoms: Allergies can inflame the nasal cavity, leading to a blocked nose and disrupted sleep. If you're sensitive to seasonal allergies or indoor triggers like dust mites, we recommend reducing exposure, such as using an air purifier, washing bedding regularly, and keeping windows closed during high pollen seasons. Managing these triggers can help keep your nasal passages clear and support better breathing at night.
Common Symptoms of a Deviated Septum
The symptoms of a deviated septum vary! For some, it’s a minor issue; for others, it can significantly impact quality of life. However, the common signs of this condition include:
Difficulty Breathing
This is the most common symptom of a deviated septum. When the septum is crooked, it can block one or both nostrils, making it difficult to breathe through them. You may feel like you’re not getting enough air.
Nasal Congestion or Stuffiness
If you have a deviated septum, you may experience chronic congestion or stuffiness. This can make it difficult to breathe through your nose and can lead to other symptoms like headaches and sinus pain.
Frequent Nosebleeds
A crooked septum may cause the blood vessels in your nose to become more fragile, which can lead to frequent nosebleeds.
Facial Pain
If you have a deviated septum, you may experience pain or pressure in your sinuses. This can be a result of the blocked nasal passage, which may cause mucus to build up and lead to inflammation.
Loud Breathing, Snoring, and Other Breathing Problems
When you have a deviated septum, you may breathe loudly or snore, especially during sleep. This is because the blocked nasal passage can cause air to flow more forcefully through the nostrils, resulting in noise.
Headaches
If you’re experiencing frequent headaches in the forehead, it could be a sign of septal deviation. The blocked nasal passage causes pressure in the sinuses, leading to headaches.
Postnasal Drip
Postnasal drip is common in patients with a deviated septum. It occurs when mucus drips down the back of your throat, causing a tickling or scratchy sensation. This can be irritating and lead to a cough or sore throat.
Recurrent Sinus Infections
You may be more prone to sinus infections if you have a deviated septum. The blocked nasal passage results in mucus buildup, leading to bacterial growth. Chronic sinusitis should not be confused with respiratory infections caused by different factors.
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, speaking with a doctor is important. They can conduct a deviated septum test and determine the cause of the problem. In some cases, OTC medications are enough to resolve the issue, but surgery may be necessary for severe cases to correct the deviation and improve breathing.
Correcting a Deviated Septum Through Surgery: Does It Work?
If you’re struggling with the symptoms of a deviated septum, you must be wondering if you need surgery. Surgery is often recommended for people with a deviated septum experiencing significant breathing difficulties or other symptoms affecting their quality of life. But does it really work?
Surgery is often an effective way to relieve symptoms. And the type of surgery doctors recommend for a deviated septum is septoplasty. The procedure involves repositioning the septum and making it straight. This can help to open up the nasal passages and improve breathing.
Septoplasty is an outpatient procedure. After a brief treatment, you can return home the same day. Your doctor will use local or general anesthesia and complete the rest of the procedure in about an hour. After the surgery, you’ll need to rest for a few days. You may experience swelling, bruising, or congestion in the nose.
So, what kind of results can you expect from a septoplasty? For many people, the surgery can significantly improve breathing and other symptoms. In fact, one study found that 80 per cent of patients reported improved breathing after the surgery. Some individuals may benefit from other types of surgical interventions, such as the removal of nasal polyps.
Conclusion
If you’re struggling with sleep problems, know that you’re not alone. Many people live with this condition today. However, there are solutions available that can help. From surgery to lifestyle changes, there are options to improve your breathing and reduce the symptoms associated with a deviated septum.
Consult a doctor, follow the tips mentioned in this article, and prioritize your sleep hygiene. With some effort, you can overcome your sleep problems and get the quality rest you need to thrive.
If you are searching for medical facilities that offer deviated septum tests, treatment, and surgery, Texas Sinus & Snoring can help! Contact our ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor today for an appointment and get relief from a deviated septum!
Ready to Breathe Freely Again?
By Dr. Ben Cilento, ENT
June 16, 2025
