Nasal obstruction can result from many causes:

• Allergies.
• Acute or Chronic sinusitis.
• Common cold.
• Decongestant nasal spray overuse.
• Deviated septum.
• Adenoids hypertrophy.
• Choanal stenosis.
• Naso-pharyngeal tumors.
• Dry weather conditions.
• Foreign bodies in the nose.
• Polyps/Nasal polyposis.
• Spicy foods.
• Pregnancy/Hormonal changes.
• Stress.
• Tobacco.

And the list is longer, however, there are three causes in general for nasal obstruction:

1. Anatomic/mechanical obstruction like septal deviation, turbinates hypertrophy, sinus obstruction, collapsed nasal valves… And these can be corrected surgically. Please note that all these surgeries if not coupled with a cosmetic surgery for the nose, will NOT cause bruising and swelling, and the downtime is only 1-2 days.
2. Functional nasal obstruction or congestion, like mucosal thickening, allergic turbinates, polyps…. And here oral, topical, systemic or immunotherapy would be the proper treatment of choice.
3. Combination of Anatomic and functional would require treatment by both modalities, surgical and medical.