Yes, Sjögren's can cause nasal congestion, often indirectly through dryness leading to crusting, inflammation, and post-nasal drip, which can feel like congestion and sometimes lead to infections like sinusitis, notes the Arthritis Foundation and Johns Hopkins Medicine. While Sjögren's causes dryness, the reduced mucus can actually lead to blockages, crusting, and inflammation, contributing to a stuffy feeling, and nasal saline sprays are a common treatment.
Upper Respiratory System. If your nasal passages are dry, as they can be with Sjögren's, you may feel you're constantly battling sinusitis and post-nasal drip.
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a rare disease that causes swelling, also called inflammation, of small blood vessels. This condition mainly affects blood vessels in the nose, sinuses, throat, lungs and kidneys. But it can affect any organ. GPA used to be called Wegener granulomatosis.
Dry mouth.
It is a clinical diagnosis. A good rheumatologist or ent can make after ruling out other causes.
Upper airway disease
Hoarseness is reported by approximately one third of SS patients. It is associated with the presence of dryness or thick mucus coating the vocal cords.
Sjögren's disease is primarily treated by: Rheumatologists, doctors who treat diseases of the joints, muscles, and bones, and who are also specialists in autoimmune diseases.
Sjögren syndrome is a chronic systemic rheumatic disease that is characterized by excessive dryness of the eyes, mouth, and other mucous membranes. White blood cells damage glands that make moisture, and sometimes other organs can be damaged. Dry mouth and dry eyes are the hallmark symptoms of this syndrome.
Nipocalimab is the first and only investigational therapy granted U.S. FDA breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of adults living with moderate-to-severe Sjögren's disease [news release]. Johnson & Johnson. 2024 Nov 11.
Because your body has trouble producing saliva, you may experience difficulty swallowing when symptoms flare up. Your mouth may feel chalky, and you may have trouble swallowing food. Many people with Sjogren's develop cavities and oral infections.
Nonallergic rhinitis
Environmental: Stress, exposure to smoke, paint fumes or spicy food are examples of substances that can cause nasal congestion. Medications: You can develop nasal congestion if you take certain medications for high blood pressure or pain.
Most Common Sjögren's Syndrome Symptoms
The severity of the disease can vary widely, but the most common symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth. Dry eyes. Due to decreased tear production, your eyes may feel extremely dry. They may also itch or burn, leading to excessive blinking.
Infections — such as colds, flu or sinusitis — and allergies often cause stuffy and runny noses. Irritants in the air, such as tobacco smoke, perfume, dust and car exhaust, also can cause these symptoms.
It is common for SS patients to exhibit symptoms of recurrent sinusitis, or allergy such as "post-nasal" drip or frequent "throat clearing" with mucus [15]. Many patients with these complaints have acid reflux that results in laryngotracheal irritation, that stimulates vagal responses that mimic sinusitis.
The pulmonary manifestations of primary Sjögren's syndrome include airway abnormalities, interstitial pneumonia and lymphoproliferative disorders (table 1). Interstitial pneumonia and airway abnormalities often coexist. Infections and drug-induced pneumonia should always be considered and ruled out first.
Start with five minutes of aerobic exercise daily (e.g. walking, biking, running, elliptical, treadmill) and increase the duration by an additional two-to-three minutes each month up to a maximum of 25 minutes daily. If you have a heart or lung condition, consult your doctor first.
Patients with Sjögren's frequently suffer from decreased mucus/nasal secretions and dryness of the nose and sinuses.
Anti-Inflammatory Eye Drops
For severe dry eye syndrome, your ophthalmologist may prescribe cyclosporine eye drops twice a day. Commonly known as Restasis®, these drops decrease inflammation in the lacrimal glands, which produce tears, and can be used long term.
It has been reported that more than 400 drugs can exacerbate the dryness symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome, including antihypertensives, diuretics, antidepressants, antiparkinson drugs, antipsychotics, antihistamines, centrally acting analgesics, and anticholinergics [6], [13], [14], [15].
Other symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome can include:
Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease that targets exocrine glands, leading to exocrine dysfunction. Due to its propensity to infect epithelial and B cells, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is hypothesized to be related with pSS.
Several celebrities have continued their careers while raising awareness for Sjogren's syndrome, including tennis champion Venus Williams, Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba, musician Solange Knowles, and artist Halsey, who openly discuss their experiences with this condition, helping to reduce stigma and ...
Antinuclear Antibody (ANA): The ANA test is positive in the majority of Sjögren's disease patients. However, a positive ANA test is also common in healthy individuals. The ANA test is most commonly performed using a technique that involves immunofluorescent staining of human cells grown in tissue culture (Figure 3).
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) occurs in approximately 2.7 - 9.8% of SS patients, with a greater risk than the normal population (Table 1); such patients are also at an increased risk for other autoimmune diseases [4–24].
Sjögren Syndrome is a chronic disease that progresses very slowly over time. Because of this, there may be a period of up to 10 years between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis of the disease.