Why pregnant women have an enlarged nose: the doctor explained an unusual but common symptom

The hashtag #pregnantnose (#pregnantnose) has become particularly popular on TikTok. Users use it to show how their faces have changed while expecting a baby. It turned out that the shape and size of the nose during pregnancy has changed in a large number of women: in recent months, the hashtag has been mentioned more than 85 million times!

Of course, swelling and weight gain are standard pregnancy companions. However, neither is associated with a change in the shape of the nose, so it can only come as a surprise. And make you think about what is really the cause of such an unusual looking transformation.

According to Professor Adam Taylor, who specializes in clinical anatomy, changing the size of the nose should not worry pregnant women. This is completely normal: 1.5-2 months after childbirth, the nose will return to its usual shape.

“The reason why this happens is due to a significant increase in the level of hormones in the body, mainly estrogen. It relaxes the blood vessels in all tissues of the body and blood enters them more easily. And this phenomenon is especially noticeable on the nose,” explains the expert.

By the way, it is for this reason that pregnant women suffer from severe nasal congestion and runny nose more often than everyone else. In medicine, this phenomenon has even received the name “rhinitis of pregnant women”.

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