What causes bad smell in nose?

Posted on Fri, 28 Feb 2014

Question: I had severe bronchitis which lasted 4 weeks. I was treated with antibiotics for 10 days be it viral or bacterial. As soon as it was over, I noticed this horrible smell in my nose. The ENT doc called me in Azithromycin for 10 days. The 10 days will be over tomorrow. I am supposed to go back to the ENT tomorrow. I am really worried. The smell is worse and I don't feel sick except the smell makes me not hungry and I can't breathe well out of my nose.

Answered by Dr. Dadapeer K (55 minutes later)

Brief Answer: It is because of accumulation of mucus discharge. Detailed Answer: Hello Welcome to Health Care Magic I reviewed the history. It seems you had severe bronchitis which was treated by antibiotics and later by one more antibiotic in the form of Azithromycin and the present complaints are bad smell in the nose. The common cause for bad smell in nose is accumulation of mucus discharge as a result of post nasal drip seen in respiratory tract infections or because of obstruction of the sinuses. Since you have mentioned that last year you had a sinus surgery for blockages the sinus infection and accumulation of the secretions is the most likely cause in your case. The treatment of the condition is by using mucolytic drugs and decongestants drugs. The other causes needs to be ruled out in case of complaints of smell from nose are atrophic rhinitis. Do discuss with your doctor when you go back to him tomorrow. Hence no need to worry with treatment to dissolve or to remove the accumulated mucus secretions the condition can be treated effectively. Hope the information is helpful to you. Thank you

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar