Nasal congestion is a condition where your nasal passages close up due to inflammation in the tissues lining them, with the result being mucus production, a stuffy nose, sinus pain, and difficulty breathing. Too much thick mucus will require you to blow your nose much more often.
The inflammation that causes it is typically triggered by your immune system responding to a threat like the common cold (which leads to allergic rhinitis) or a sinus infection. It can also stem from an allergy, which is why it so often troubles people in the spring when pollen levels rise.
In some cases, nasal congestion can result not from inflammation but from the appearance of nasal polyps, benign growths that can develop in nasal passages. Standard nasal congestion treatments may be able to shrink polyps, but in more serious situations they can need surgery.
Nasal congestion will usually clear up by itself if you wait long enough, but you may want to seek advice, diagnosis or treatment if it’s bothering you significantly and preventing you from enjoying your life or getting vital work done.