Stuffy Nose? New Inexpensive Procedure Keeps Your Sinuses Clear

It's the season when many people suffer with stuffy noses. For some it's a constant problem. But a new study shows a simple, ten-minute procedure can clear the sinuses for years. <br><br>Keri

Friday, January 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

It's the season when many people suffer with stuffy noses. For some it's a constant problem. But a new study shows a simple, ten-minute procedure can clear the sinuses for years.

Keri Weitzberg can finally smell the food she's about to eat. Because of allergies, her nose was so stuffed she got constant headaches and she couldn't sleep. â€œIt happens more often in the winter,â€ Weitzberg said. â€œI'm so stuffed that I do wake up constantly in the middle of the night.â€

That stuffiness is usually caused by structures called your turbinates. But a ten-minute pain-free office procedure shrinks those turbinates. Under local anesthesia a needle is placed just under their surface. Then the turbinates are heated with radio waves to make them contract.

Weitzberg had the procedure ten days ago. â€œIf I sniff in I can actually take a breath,â€ she said. â€œIt's amazing.â€ But the question until now was how long do those effects last?

Now a new study has the answer. Ten patients were followed for one year and all still had totally clear noses. â€œThis study shows for the first time that at a year, the results that you get at two to three weeks are the results you'd get at one year,â€ said Loyola University Medical Centerâ€™s Dr. Regina Walker. Walker doubts the results are life long, but she suspects patients will only need to repeat the procedure every three to four years. â€œThis procedure is really something that will benefit a great number of people,â€ she explained.

The new study means those people can now breathe easier for years. There is no bleeding involved in the procedure, and patients don't need a return visit to the doctor for three weeks. It costs about $350 and is usually covered by insurance.