Often, parents seek advice from an otolaryngologist with complaints of inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsil and redness of the throat. As a result of the examination, the doctor may make a diagnosis of adenoiditis. The article discusses what are adenoids in children, symptoms, treatment and prevention.
Pharyngeal tonsil, its functions
Tonsils in the nasopharynx of a person is an accumulation of lymphoid tissue. With pathological processes, its proliferation occurs. In this case, doctors diagnose adenoiditis. Treatment of adenoids in children can occur conservatively or surgically.
In total, the body has 6 tonsils:
- palatine - 2 pieces;
- pipe - 2 pieces;
- lingual;
- pharyngeal.
All tonsils together with lymphoid granules form a lymphatic pharyngeal ring, which surrounds the entrance to the respiratory and digestive tracts.
The pharyngeal tonsil serves to protect the body from the ingestion of pathogenic objects. It serves as a barrier. Also in the tonsils are lymphocytes formed. These cells are called upon to protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and other biological agents.
Why do adenoids appear
An enlarged nasopharyngeal tonsil causes symptoms of adenoids in the nose of a child. Treatment of pathological growth begins after recovery from the underlying disease. The cause of adenoids are usually:
- previous viral infection (influenza, measles, acute respiratory infections);
- frequent diseases of the upper respiratory tract (laryngitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis, sinusitis);
- heredity;
- malnutrition;
- poor environment (gas, dust, chemistry).
If the body is fighting infection, then the tonsils increase in size and actively produce lymphocytes. After recovery, they return to their normal state. But if the child re-falls ill within 2-3 weeks after the infection, then the tonsils, not returning to their original sizes, increase again. Such a process leads to constantly growing inflammation, growth and coarsening of lymphoid tissue.
Adenoid statistics
Statistics show that approximately half of patients turn to the ENT doctor for help with symptoms of adenoids in children. The treatment of this disease is carried out strictly under the supervision of a specialist.
Most often, this problem occurs in children of the preschool group (age up to 7 years) and primary school age (7-13 years). By the teenage period (13-14 years), the lymphoid tissue of the tonsils itself decreases to normal sizes and does not cause any more inconvenience.
There are isolated cases of the diagnosis of adenoiditis in infants and newborns. It was also found that the disease does not depend on the gender of the child. Girls and boys get sick equally often.
An illness can also bother an adult. There are many reasons for this, one of which is insufficient treatment (or lack thereof) in childhood.
Classification and degree of disease
Adenoiditis according to the extent of the disease can be divided into:
- Acute. It usually manifests itself in respiratory diseases and periods of elevated temperature up to 39 º. Lasts for 5-7 days.
- Subacute. It lasts about 3 weeks. Usually a consequence of a previously untreated infection. May be accompanied by low-grade fever.
- Chronic. The duration of inflammation differs from six months. As a rule, not only tonsils become inflamed, but also the nearby organs of hearing (otitis media), respiration (tracheitis, bronchitis) and sinuses (frontal sinusitis, sinusitis).
The disease can occur in the following forms:
- catarrhal;
- purulent;
- exudative serous.
Depending on the size of the nasopharyngeal tonsil, the doctor determines the degree of adenoids:
- 1 degree - with it, usually the tonsil overlaps no more than 1/3 of the opener;
- 2 degree - the tonsil covers almost half of the bone of the nasal septum;
- 3 degree - the tonsil overlaps the opener by 2/3;
- Grade 4 - with her nasal passages are almost closed, nasal breathing is difficult.
Depending on the degree of adenoids in children, treatment is carried out by a doctor individually.
Symptoms in children
Usually, the reason for going to the doctor is not complaints about adenoids, but changes in the child’s behavior: moodiness, irritability, lethargy, fatigue.
The appearance of the following symptoms in a child indicates a disease:
- difficulty breathing in the daytime, which can lead to impaired articulation;
- snoring at night;
- frequent colds and a continuous runny nose appear, which can occur both with copious discharge from the nose, and vice versa, with an insignificant amount of them;
- paroxysmal cough, which often occurs at night and in the second half of the night;
- pain in the depths of the nose, can be both intense and pressing, provoking a headache;
- increase in body temperature;
- hearing loss or ear pain;
- soreness of the cervical lymph nodes during palpation;
- in severe cases - changes in the size of the bones of the chest (occurs as a result of violation of the volume of inspiration and expiration).
To diagnose and start adequate procedures, it is enough to detect one symptom. Treatment of adenoids in children begins with the removal of edema and the normalization of respiratory function.
Diagnostic Methods
Before starting treatment, the ENT performs:
- inspection;
- history taking;
- instrumental examination.
During a routine examination of the oral cavity and larynx, adenoids cannot be seen. To see them, the otolaryngologist uses a special mirror. The procedure is called posterior rhinoscopy. It is highly informative, but can provoke a gag reflex.
This method allows you to accurately determine the degree of proliferation of adenoids in children. Treatment is prescribed after examination.
In addition to the throat, the doctor examines the nasal passages. The procedure is called anterior rhinoscopy. Upon examination, the doctor will ask the child to swallow saliva or say “lamp”. This will allow you to see the contraction of the soft palate, which causes oscillations of the adenoids.
For a better examination and the most accurate diagnosis, specialists use an endoscope. This is an optical device, which is a flexible tube with a camera at the end. The principle of its work is:
- The introduction into the nasal cavity through the nostril.
- Viewing on the monitor screen all sections of the nasal passage and nasopharynx.
Drug treatment
Treatment of adenoids in children must be carried out, as the chest develops improperly due to constant breathing through the mouth, facial bone growth is impaired, and anemia can also occur. First of all, if any of the symptoms is detected, you need to consult an otolaryngologist. If he puts 1 degree of adenoids, then conservative treatment can be carried out. In this case, appoint:
- drops for narrowing of blood vessels (for example, “Galazolin”, “Naphthyzin”);
- antihistamines (Suprastin, Fenistil);
- anti-inflammatory nasal sprays (for example, "Flix");
- local antiseptics ("Protargol", "Albucid");
- saline solutions for the nasal cavity ("Marimer", "Humer");
- intake of vitamins;
- homeopathic remedies.
The situation is facilitated by rinsing the nasopharynx with herbal decoctions, saline solutions or medications. It is advisable to carry out the instillation precisely after washing the nose, since the mucous membrane will be freed from accumulated secretions, this will add to the effectiveness of the treatment.
Homeopathic treatment
Treatment with homeopathy is advisable only in the first stage of adenoids. This process is long and not suitable for a progressive disease. With appointments in the second and subsequent stages, natural remedies are ineffective and have no effect.
Also, homeopathy is often prescribed for prevention, after suffering a respiratory illness. According to reviews of the treatment of adenoids in children, such drugs have positively proven themselves:
- granules "Job-Kid";
- "Adenosan";
- oil "Thuja-GF";
- spray in the nose "Euphorbium Composite".
Patients note that with timely preventive measures, the risk of a return of the disease is significantly reduced.
ethnoscience
Treatment of adenoids in children with folk remedies is advisable after consulting a doctor and at the first stage of the disease. If adenoids are accompanied by complications, then this method should not be used.
The most popular is rinsing the nose with such means:
- sea salt;
- decoctions of oak bark;
- decoctions of chamomile, calendula, eucalyptus leaves.
Such decoctions have anti-inflammatory properties, have an antiseptic effect.
Physiotherapy in the treatment of the disease
Drug treatment of adenoids in the nose in a child is carried out in conjunction with physiotherapy. It significantly increases the effectiveness of the first method.
The following procedures are prescribed:
- Laser Therapy The course includes 10 sessions, the doctor can prescribe repeated procedures in courses up to 3 times a year. Such treatment reduces swelling and inflammation, normalizes respiration and the work of adjacent tissues.
- Ultraviolet irradiation and UHF of the nose.
- Ozone Therapy
- Electrophoresis with the use of drugs.
In addition to physiotherapy, children are offered to do breathing exercises, visit spa resorts, and breathe the sea air.
Adenotomy
The operation in the treatment of adenoids in children is called adenotomy. Surgical intervention is prescribed for:
- extensive proliferation of tissues of the pharyngeal tonsil (2-3 degree adenoids);
- inflammation of the tonsils up to four times a year;
- with the development of complications;
- in the absence of positive dynamics of the disease even after treatment;
- lack of nasal breathing or apnea;
- hearing impairment;
- deformation of the bones of the face.
Adenotomy can be performed both in the hospital and on an outpatient basis. The optimal age is 5-7 years old child. Local anesthesia is used or endotracheal anesthesia is used. Operations performed in the hospital have several advantages due to the use of modern devices. The surgeon uses an endoscope with a digital camera and monitors all his manipulations on a large monitor, this allows you to monitor the process in real time.
Surgical devices were greatly modified and improved. Currently, the most relevant and modern of them is a shaver - an electromechanical device with a rotating blade. At its tip there is a cavity to which a suction hose is connected, through it the removed part of the adenoids is crushed and removed. The surgeon can turn the cutting element on and off, and also change the direction of its rotation. The shaver is inserted into one nostril, the endoscope into the other; after manipulations to remove adenoid tissue, the devices are interchanged. The recovery period after surgery usually lasts 5-10 days. The first day you need to observe the home regimen, then limit physical activity, do not give hot irritating food. If the postoperative period has passed without complications, then the child can go to an educational institution (school, kindergarten) already on the fifth day after an adenotomy.
Contraindications are:
- anomalies in the development of the sky;
- tendency to bleeding;
- pathology of the cardiovascular system;
- purulent process in adenoids.
Adenoid Complications
Treatment of adenoids in children at home is not acceptable. It is the lack of specific knowledge among parents that often causes untimely seeking help.
Among the complications, the most common are:
- chronic forms of upper respiratory tract diseases;
- exposure to acute respiratory infections;
- "Adenoid face";
- hearing loss and impaired ventilation of the middle ear;
- frequent otitis media, accompanied by purulent complications;
- speech impairment.
If untreated, adenoids can provoke a lag in mental development, physical growth. Such complications appear due to insufficient breathing and, as a result, oxygen in the blood.
Prevention
Treatment of adenoids in children without surgery is possible only in the early stages of the disease. To prevent the condition of the child at risk, doctors prescribe preventive measures.
Among them:
- taking prescribed medications;
- limiting the child’s social circle during the period of the disease and another week after its termination;
- active walks in the fresh air;
- playing sports, which trains the respiratory organs (swimming, tennis);
- maintaining the necessary level of humidity and temperature in the room where the child spends the most time;
- the use of vitamins and minerals.
When symptoms of adenoids in children appear, treatment should be prescribed only by a specialist in this field. Such a disease is dangerous, and parents should understand the risk of lack of medical care.