A deviated septum within the nose is another common problem, and surgery to correct that is often done in conjunction with turbinate reduction, Bradley said.

Those who believe their obstruction is due to allergies, rather than structural problems within the nasal cavity, may avoid testing because they've heard about "the scratch tests on your back that take hours," Shah said.

A new technique called multi-testing involves applying allergens to the skin in a 30-second procedure that returns results within 10 to 15 minutes, he said.

"Rather than having to get one little pricking device and doing it 50 times, we can just do it quickly with 5-6 quick pokes," which feel much like a mosquito bite, Shah said. The tests can be done on children as young as 2 but are not recommended for pregnant women or people using beta blockers.

"The testing itself is a lot easier than it used to be, and sinus surgery is a lot better than what it used to be 20 years ago as well," he said.

Bradley said he and Shah now do image-guided surgery, which includes taking a CT scan of the patient in the office and plugging the scan into a computer in the emergency room.

They can then put a device on the patient's forehead that correlates the scan with the actual anatomy in their nose, allowing them to go through the nostrils using guided scopes that can access areas of the sinuses just millimeters from the eyes and brain.

Saturday's story: Household allergens, life-threatening allergies and future treatment options.

E-MAIL: carrie@desnews.com