Most people have had the unfortunate experience of a common cold being accompanied by an extremely stuffy nose that causes temporary loss of smell. It’s an odd sensation when your sense of smell is gone for a few hours, or maybe even for a day or two. It is during those times that we realize how much we normally take our sense of smell for granted. So, can you imagine if you lost your sense of smell for good? Anosmia is the medical term for loss of the sense of smell. Some pe

There are countless ear, nose and throat problems that both adults and children experience throughout their lives. Some, however, are more common than others. The most common ENT problems in adults and children are ear infections, strep throat, sinusitis, and rhinitis. Ear infections affect both children and adults for the same reason. They occur when the Eustachian tube gets blocked. This occurs when the lining of the upper respiratory tract swells due to a cold, respiratory

Every year, just when we think winter will never end, Spring finally arrives in all its glory. The days are longer, the temperatures rise, and we can finally put our winter gear away, go outside and enjoy the outdoors, smelling the flowers and running barefoot through the green grass. That is, of course, unless you are one of the millions of people who suffer from seasonal pollen and/or grass allergies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50

The winter season has arrived. Winter months are all about snowstorms, cozy nights by the fire, big cups of hot chocolate and, unfortunately, colds and sore throats. In the winter months, it seems like everywhere you look children or adults are coming down with a cold. Viruses like the common cold often start in the throat and they are accompanied by a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and watery eyes. Sore throats are most commonly caused by a virus. For many reasons, sore thr

Every day, your nose produces about a quart of mucus. Mucus is a thick, moist substance in the nose, throat, airways and stomach which helps to trap and destroy foreign bacteria and viruses to help prevent infection. Normally, we don’t notice the mucus from our nose because it mixes with saliva, drips harmlessly down the back of the throat, and then we simply swallow it. However, if your body produces more mucus than usual or if it’s thicker than normal, it becomes more notic

An allergy is a strong reaction by the immune system in response to the body’s exposure to certain foreign substances, called “allergens”.  Allergies affect nearly 20 percent of Americans. In nonallergic individuals, the foreign substances are perceived by the body as harmless and do not cause any response. In allergic individuals, however, the body perceives a foreign substance as harmful and the allergic part of the immune system generates a response. These responses, or sy