Jess, what you say makes sense. Damage done in the nose has a hard time healing as long as the crusties keep jabbing at it and irritating it and causing more crusties, a never ending cycle. Humidification is probably the key, all right, and I wouldn't worry about what others think about a desktop humidifier.

Alysia, I have a hard time thinking that bleeding and crusting cause a saddle nose. As I understand it, the saddle nose is caused by erosion of the septum, from Wegs eating away at it. The bleeding and crusting are a symptom of similar destructive processes taking place in other tissues of the nose and sinuses. I would think that both things were happening independently over that long period of time that you weren't properly treated, and when enough septum erosion had taken place, the saddle nose went. That is what happened with me, too, only it was only 2.5 years. I had lots of sinus discharge but didn't notice much crusting or bleeding until after the saddle nose dropped and I was already being treated for Wegs. Lung issues were what got me in for observation but the saddle nose was what made it clear I almost for sure had Wegs. Everyone's case is a little different, as we know. In both our cases, if we'd been treated earlier in the correct way, we wouldn't have saddle noses today.