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Educational guide for US adults 18+ Clinical review pending

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Understand what’s happening in your nose.

Select a symptom. Explore treatments as you add detail.

What’s bothering you?

Stuffy or blocked noseRunny noseSneezingItchy noseItchy or watery eyesPost-nasal dripThroat clearingFacial pressureFacial painHeadacheThick mucusReduced sense of smellDry or burning noseNosebleedsCough

No account or health profile. Answers stay in this page’s memory.

Serious symptoms?

New vision problems, swelling around an eye, breathing trouble or an unusually severe headache need urgent medical care.

Follow mucus from the nasal passages to the throat, then locate the four groups of sinuses.

Considering balloon sinuplasty?See what it changes, who may benefit, and the evidence.

Sagittal cutaway of the head, with the nose facing right, showing the nasal passages above the mouth

Direction only; speed is illustrative.

Anatomy: BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0. Highlight and clearance path added. Image credits

The folds that warm, humidify and filter air

These shelves of tissue increase the surface area inside the nose. Their blood vessels can fill and expand, narrowing the space for air. That is one reason a blocked nose can contain surprisingly little loose mucus.

Rinse water takes a different route

The blue path shows natural mucus transport. A rinse moves through the nasal passages and out. It does not reliably fill every sinus, especially when small sinus openings are narrowed.

Read about rinse use and safe water

Explore treatment effects at the lining

Four groups of sinuses surround the nose

These air-filled spaces connect to the nasal cavity. They are not one large open chamber.

Frontal: Above the eyes, in the forehead.
Ethmoid: Small air cells between the eyes.
Sphenoid: Deep behind the nose and ethmoid cells.
Maxillary: In the cheekbones, beside the nose.

Red shading in this illustration represents inflammation.

Anatomical illustration of the four sinus groups in a frontal face and a skull section; red shading depicts inflammation — Blausen.com, CC BY 3.0. Attribution

Sources: Nasal physiology · Nasal conchae · How nasal congestion develops

Start with a symptom

Updates as you select

See how saline, nasal sprays and antihistamines work, then add a symptom to see relevant product examples.

When symptoms need medical care Explore all product examples

Educational treatment and procedure information for US adults 18+. No diagnosis, dose selection or personal treatment plan. Clinical and regulatory review is pending. This guide does not establish personal suitability.

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