How do nasal polyps impact your quality of life?

Quality of life is a term that refers to a person’s general sense of wellbeing, including how they feel physically, their moods and emotions, how they are able to spend their time, and the people they are able to spend their time with.

Nearly every health condition affects quality of life in some way, and the impact that a condition has on quality of life is an important consideration in the treatment of many chronic health conditions.

Nasal polyps are one example. Nasal polyps are benign growths that occur in the soft tissues that line the passages of the nose and sinuses. These growths often result from chronic inflammation in the nasal and sinus passages but can also occur without any identifiable reason.

These growths can cause a number of symptoms, including constant sinus congestion, post-nasal drip, and facial discomfort. A person may also lose their sense of smell and experience recurring sinus infections as a result of nasal polyps.

Below are some questions to ask yourself about the impact that nasal polyps are having on your quality of life.

How have nasal polyps impacted your quality of life?

As mentioned above, a basic definition of quality of life refers to physical, mental/emotional, and social wellbeing.

These areas are a useful starting point when considering how nasal polyps and their associated conditions are impacting your quality of life.

Physical wellbeing

• What symptoms are you experiencing?
• How often are you experiencing symptoms?
• Do symptoms disrupt sleep? How often do you feel tired?
• Do symptoms interfere with healthy habits or routines? Do symptoms affect how and what you eat? Do symptoms interfere with exercise?

Mental wellbeing

• How would you describe your current emotional and mental health?
• How often do you feel stressed, frustrated, anxious, or sad?
• Do symptoms contribute to these emotions?
• Do your symptoms affect concentration?
• Have nasal polyps affected your ability to smell or taste food? Have they interfered with your enjoyment of other parts of your life?

Social wellbeing

• Do you ever avoid social gatherings or activities due to symptoms?
• Do you feel nasal polyps have affected your relationships?
• Do you ever feel embarrassed by your symptoms?
• Have symptoms affected work, school, or personal goals?
• Has treating nasal polyps caused financial stress?

In addition to the above, you can also ask yourself this question—how would your life be different if you didn’t have nasal polyps?

Working with your healthcare provider

All of the above is important information to consider when making treatment decisions. In addition to shrinking polyps and reducing symptoms, improving quality of life is an important goal of treating nasal polyps. Quality of life should be considered when making treatment decisions about nasal polyps. It can also be a useful measurement when determining how effectively treatment is working.

There are standardized quality of life questionnaires used in the treatment of nasal polyps. Your healthcare provider may utilize one of these in your treatment (and you should ask for copies to keep as part of your personal health record).

Even outside of a standardized assessment, spend some time thinking about the questions above and talk about your answers with your healthcare provider. It helps to think of yourself as a part of your healthcare team. While exams can provide information on the number and size of polyps, your healthcare providers rely on you to describe the experience of living with those polyps.

Also remember that it is not uncommon to try a number of treatments before finding one that works.