Are you tired of constant congestion, pressure, or sneezing that never seems to go away? Chronic sinus and allergy issues can make even simple daily tasks uncomfortable. If medications and home remedies haven’t provided lasting relief, it may be time to explore professional nose, sinus, and allergy services designed to target the root cause of your symptoms.
At Rancho Ear, Nose & Throat, our board-certified otolaryngologists, Dr. Ashish Wadhwa and Dr. Jennifer MacEwan, specialize in diagnosing and treating complex nasal and sinus conditions. Serving patients throughout Poway and the greater San Diego area, our team combines advanced medical expertise with personalized care to help you breathe easier and feel your best.
How the Nose Functions
Understanding the nose and the problems affecting it, while simple on the surface, is actually a complex process of understanding numerous medical and surgical conditions. The nose must both function well and have the right shape, as well as interact with the environment in a correct way to work correctly. In addition to understanding the nose itself, we must also grasp a fundamental understanding of its neighbor, the sinuses, which are airspaces above and below the eyes which communicate air and mucous to the nose.
When we discuss the nose, we need to understand the nose’s primary purpose is to help bring in air to the lungs. In so doing, it must also warm and humidify the air by passing through the nasal lining, warming the cold or dry air before it gets to the lungs. The nasal lining has a large amount of blood flowing through it to accomplish this task. The nose is also responsible for allowing a sampling of the air that passes through it to reach the smell receptors high up near to the brain to give us our sense of smell.
Purposes of the Sinuses
The sinuses, in contrast to the nose, have a very unclear purpose. Some theorize the sinus spaces are a fancy crumple zone for injury while others think the sinuses lighten the head to make it more mobile on our necks. Irrespective of their purpose or lack thereof, when the plumbing to the sinuses takes a turn for the worse it produces significant pain, headaches and drainage. Billions of dollars a year are spent on medications and treatments trying to correct the impacts of malfunctioning sinuses and abnormally functioning nasal lining, or troubles breathing through the nose.
Sinus and Allergy Diagnosis
When you come to the doctor, the first challenge is effectively communicating what is your actual concern. Keep the following in mind when you visit the Poway sinus care specialist at Rancho ENT: I have ‘sinus’ or ‘congestion’ or ‘allergies’ means something distinct to your physician, but it may mean something different to you. Using simple terms to describe your concerns such as ‘I feel like I cannot breathe’, ‘I feel like I have mucous draining down my throat”, or ‘I get pressure and pain in my head’, may be more effective than misusing the equating terms of congestion, postnasal drip, and sinus headaches which may paint a different picture if misused.
Many people come to our Rancho Bernardo ENT doctor complaining of ‘allergies’, which may or may not be the culprit for any or all of the above symptoms. Allergy is a complex topic in of itself, but in short, can be thought of as an overactive body defense response to something harmless. Liken this to calling the fire department out for simple cooking smoke. Many conditions, including allergies, can cause the symptoms of sinus pressure, nasal drainage, or trouble breathing. Examples of non-allergic conditions that can contribute include a distorted shape of the nose, infectious problems or simple environmental irritation, to name a few.
Treatment of Nose, Sinus, and Allergy Issues
Understanding your concern is the beginning of the road to finding a treatment for your condition. As ENT physicians at Rancho Ear Nose and Throat, we are uniquely able to address all aspects of nasal and sinus care. We are able to provide every facet of nasal treatment, ranging from simple education, medications, allergy treatment, therapy and counselling, to surgical intervention on your nose and sinuses. Additionally, we are able to address many cosmetic or aesthetic concerns for your nose.
Having all the tools available to treat you allows us to pick the right treatment in the least invasive fashion. If medications are needed we can prescribe antibiotics if they are needed, as well as recommend over the counter prescriptions allergy and sinus relief treatments tailored to your nose’s need. If allergies are suspected, we can perform allergy testing so we can help counsel you on avoidance measures, or prescribe you allergy medications to limit the impact of allergy symptoms on you. We can also prescribe immunotherapy, a course of desensitization treatment, through allergy shots, or newly available allergy drops (home sublingual immunotherapy) to help retrain your nose and immune system to be less reactive to what you are allergic to.
Why Choose Rancho ENT
At Rancho Ear, Nose & Throat, our physicians are not only experienced ENT specialists—they are also highly skilled surgeons. We offer advanced expertise in treating sinus disease and nasal obstruction, including procedures to drain sinus infections and restore healthy nasal airflow. Surgical options may include septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and endoscopic sinus surgery, when appropriate.
Accurate diagnosis is the foundation of effective sinus care. That’s why Rancho ENT offers advanced in-office point-of-care CT imaging, allowing patients to receive high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging during the same visit. This technology provides detailed insight into sinus anatomy with low radiation exposure, enabling our specialists to identify structural abnormalities, chronic inflammation, nasal polyps, and other conditions without delays or referrals to outside imaging centers. Same-day imaging allows for more precise diagnoses, personalized treatment planning, and improved surgical precision when procedures such as balloon sinusplasty are being considered.
We are proud to be at the forefront of minimally invasive ENT care, offering the latest advancements in technology, including in-office and operating room balloon sinusplasty, steroid-eluting stent therapy (PROPEL® stents), and computerized surgical navigation to enhance accuracy and minimize surgical risk. For patients interested in aesthetic enhancement, we also offer cosmetic rhinoplasty to improve both form and function.
Just as importantly, we believe surgery is not always the answer. Our physicians are committed to honest, patient-centered care and will recommend medical management or allergy therapy when those options are the most appropriate and effective choice.
Rancho Ear, Nose & Throat provides comprehensive care for nasal, sinus, and allergy conditions. Our years of training and experience across medical, surgical, and allergy-based treatment allow us to deliver thoughtful, individualized care designed to achieve the best possible outcomes.
At Rancho Ear, Nose & Throat, you can expect:
Breathe Easier with Expert Nose and Sinus Care in Poway, CA
Rediscover the comfort of clear, easy breathing with Rancho ENT. Our experienced team provides personalized solutions for sinus, nasal, and allergy conditions, helping you find lasting relief and improve your quality of life. Whether you’re struggling with congestion, sinus infections, or seasonal allergies, we’re here to help you breathe, sleep, and live better every day.
Call 858-674-1165 today to schedule your consultation.
