I've been reading the medical literature on atrophic rhinitis and ENS. One thing that struck me is that a lot of the clinical publications on atrophic rhinitis say it tends to lessen or resolve as patients get older. Some of the publications say it tends to "burn out" as the patient gets older, where they produce less purulent mucus, have less PND, smaller crusts, etc. They still have dry noses, but otherwise it's better. This is supposed to happen especially when people reach their 40s and 50s, and I've read doctors say it about both primary and secondary AR. This also matches what some doctors have told us (see, e.g., http://guest.fr.yuku.com/reply/31185/Breathing#reply-31185, where the pulmonologist said she sees some AR patients, but mostly they don't have breathing issues, and they tend to improve over time).
On the other hand, for ENS, I think Kern and Houser have said it tends to get worse over the years because of additional nerve damage as the inside of the nose is exposed to more turbulent air, pollutants, etc. I don't mean to alarm you with that---there have certainly been some people on here who have said it has gotten better over the years. And there are treatments we have that might make it better. But it certainly makes sense that the nerve damage would tend to get worse as you get older if left untreated.
So it seems like we could separate this into 3 categories: 1) pure ENS tends to get worse, unless the person finds successful treatment; 2) pure atrophic rhinitis, symptoms tend to get better, except that there will still be dryness; 3) mixed ENS and atrophic rhinitis, the ENS symptoms may get worse (paradoxical obstruction/breathing, pain) as nerve damage increases, while atrophic rhinitis symptoms (purulent mucus, PND) tend to get better.
Does this make sense? Does it match our experiences? Or does the medical literature have it wrong? I think this presents some interesting insights about the diseases and potential questions.
On the other hand, for ENS, I think Kern and Houser have said it tends to get worse over the years because of additional nerve damage as the inside of the nose is exposed to more turbulent air, pollutants, etc. I don't mean to alarm you with that---there have certainly been some people on here who have said it has gotten better over the years. And there are treatments we have that might make it better. But it certainly makes sense that the nerve damage would tend to get worse as you get older if left untreated.
So it seems like we could separate this into 3 categories: 1) pure ENS tends to get worse, unless the person finds successful treatment; 2) pure atrophic rhinitis, symptoms tend to get better, except that there will still be dryness; 3) mixed ENS and atrophic rhinitis, the ENS symptoms may get worse (paradoxical obstruction/breathing, pain) as nerve damage increases, while atrophic rhinitis symptoms (purulent mucus, PND) tend to get better.
Does this make sense? Does it match our experiences? Or does the medical literature have it wrong? I think this presents some interesting insights about the diseases and potential questions.
