If you’ve woken up in the morning and suddenly felt congested, you may be wondering whether you’re sick. Congestion is a common symptom of many different illnesses and can be uncomfortable. Learn about what causes sudden congestion and when to seek medical care for congestion treatment. Visit AFC Urgent Care North Bergen for same-day illness diagnosis & treatment.
What Causes Congestion?
Congestion is a very common symptom. Having a stuffy nose can be a frustrating symptom to combat. Congestion is often associated with mild illnesses, such as the common cold. Mild viral infections, such as a colds, are extremely contagious through both direct contact and indirect contact with a sick person. They spread easily in crowded spaces like grocery stores, schools, and offices.
Congestion occurs due to your body overproducing mucus and from having inflamed sinuses. Naturally, your body produces mucus to flush out irritants such as dust and even germs. Sometimes, a mild illness can cause inflammation in your sinuses, causing this mucus to become trapped. Your sinuses can become irritated and inflamed from various factors including a viral infection.
Can Congestion Come and Go?
Depending on the underlying cause of your congestion, it is possible that you only experience congestion during certain parts of your day. Certain positions, such as lying down, can shift the pressure in your sinuses and cause temporary congestion relief. Other scenarios such as taking a hot shower can result in the mucus loosening, temporarily relieving your congestion.
Although congestion may seem to come and go, being congested indicates that your body is being exposed to an irritant. Seeking medical diagnosis and treatment is the only way to fully understand what is causing you to be congested. Without proper treatment, congestion can lead to secondary infections such as sinus infections which require prescription antibiotics for treatment.
Congestion Treatment Available Near North Bergen, NJ
If you are waking up congested, you may have contracted an illness. However, if you’re just congested in the morning and then your congestion resolves during the day, your congestion could be caused by environmental factors. In order to understand why you are experiencing regular congestion in the morning, you should seek medical care for a proper diagnosis.
There are steps you can take to reduce irritants you might be exposed to while you sleep which may lessen nasal irritation and congestion. These steps include:
- Using a humidifier at night
- Taking a shower before bed
- Dusting your room more often
- Keeping your windows shut
All of these steps can help reduce environmental irritant exposure while you sleep, which may help reduce nasal irritation and congestion during the night.
Visit AFC Urgent Care North Bergen for Same-Day Illness Diagnosis & Treatment
If you’re experiencing congestion regularly, or just woke up one day severely congested, you may have contracted an illness. AFC Urgent Care North Bergen is available 7 days a week for rapid illness diagnosis and treatment. Our clinic has a laboratory on-site, allowing us to perform rapid testing for a variety of different illnesses. We never require you to schedule an appointment to get prompt illness care, simply walk into our clinic or schedule your visit online.
