"I waited 13 years to finish the surgery, " he says, wheezing through a busted septum.

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Blockages in the nose, such as having a deviated nasal septum, may also improve with surgery.

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Things that can predispose to chronic bacterial infection include allergies, oral infections, an anatomic blockage such as a deviated nasal septum, nasal polyps or enlarged tonsils, frequent swimming, intranasal cocaine use, immunodeficiency syndromes and diseases such as cystic fibrosis and diabetes.

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Some research associates use of citalopram, fluoxetine and sertraline with a rare but serious newborn lung problem (persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, or PPHN) when taken during the last half of pregnancy, as well as heart defects affecting the septum the wall of tissue that separates the left side of the heart from the right side of the heart.

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