Symptoms and treatment of adenoids in children

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

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 can diagnose "adenoiditis". The article discusses what adenoids are in children, symptoms, treatment and prevention.

Pharyngeal tonsil, its functions

Tonsils in the human nasopharynx are an accumulation of lymphoid tissue. With pathological processes, its growth occurs. In this case, doctors diagnose "adenoiditis". Treatment of adenoids in children can be conservative or surgical.

Total 6 tonsils in the body:

• palatine - 2 pieces;
• pipe - 2 pieces;
• linguistic;
• pharyngeal.

All tonsils, together with lymphoid granules, form a lymphatic pharyngeal ring that surrounds the entrance to the respiratory and digestive tracts.

The pharyngeal tonsil serves to protect the body from pathogenic objects. It acts as a barrier. It is also in the tonsils that lymphocytes are formed. These cells are supposed to be responsible forprotecting the body from viruses, bacteria and other biological agents.

Why do adenoids appear

Enlarged nasopharyngeal tonsil causes symptoms of adenoids in a child's nose. Treatment of pathological growth begins after recovery from the underlying disease. Adenoids are usually caused by:

• past viral infection (influenza, measles, acute respiratory infections);
• frequent diseases of the upper respiratory tract (laryngitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis, sinusitis);
• heredity;
• malnutrition;
• bad environment (presence of gases, dust, chemicals).

If the body is fighting infection, the tonsils increase in size and actively produce lymphocytes. After recovery, they return to their normal state. But if the child falls ill again within 2-3 weeks after the infection, then the tonsils, not returning to their original size, increase again. This process leads to ever-increasing inflammation, growth and coarsening of the lymphoid tissue.

Adenoid appearance statistics

Statistics show that about half of patients turn to an ENT doctor for help with symptoms of adenoids in children. 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 adolescence (13-14 years), the lymphoid tissue of the tonsils itself decreases to normalsizes and does not cause any more inconvenience.

There are isolated cases of diagnosis of adenoiditis in infants and newborns. It was also found that the disease does not depend on the sex of the child. Girls and boys get sick equally often.

The disease 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:

• Spicy. It usually manifests itself with respiratory diseases and periods of elevated temperature up to 39 ºС. Lasts for 5-7 days.
• Subacute. Lasts about 3 weeks. It usually results from a previously untreated infection. May be accompanied by subfebrile temperature.
• Chronic. The duration of inflammation differs from six months. As a rule, not only the tonsils become inflamed, but also the nearby organs of hearing (otitis media), respiration (tracheitis, bronchitis) and air sinuses (frontal sinusitis).

The disease can take 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, the tonsil usually covers no more than 1/3 of the vomer;
• 2 degree - the tonsil covers almost half of the bone of the nasal septum;
• 3 degree - tonsil overlapscoulter at 2/3;
• 4 degree - with it, the nasal passages are practically closed, nasal breathing is difficult.

Depending on the degree of adenoids in children, treatment is carried out by a doctor on an individual basis.

Symptoms in children

Usually, the reason for going to the doctor is not complaints about adenoids, but changes in the child's behavior: capriciousness, irritability, lethargy, fatigue.

The appearance of the following symptoms in a child indicates a disease:

• difficulty breathing during the day, which can lead to poor articulation;
• snoring at night;
• there are frequent colds and an incessant runny nose, which can occur both with abundant discharge from the nose, and vice versa, with a small amount of them;
• paroxysmal cough, which occurs more often 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;
• increased body temperature;
• hearing loss or ear pain;
• pain in the subcervical lymph nodes on palpation;
• in severe cases - changes in the size of the bones of the chest (occurs as a result of a violation of the volume of inhalation and exhalation).

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

Beforestart of treatment ENT spends:

• inspection;
• gathering anamnesis;
• instrumental inspection.

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 growth of adenoids in children. Treatment is prescribed after examination.

Besides the throat, the doctor examines the nasal passages. The procedure is called an anterior rhinoscopy. During the 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 the adenoids to fluctuate.

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. Its working principle is:

1. Introduction into the nasal cavity through the nostril.
2. View all sections of the nasal passage and nasopharynx on the monitor screen.

Medication treatment

Treatment of adenoids in children must be carried out, because due to constant breathing through the mouth, the chest develops incorrectly, the growth of facial bones is disturbed, and anemia can also occur. First of all, if any of the symptoms is detected, you should seek the advice of an otolaryngologist. If he puts 1 degree of adenoids, then you cancarry out conservative treatment. In this case, assign:

• drops for vasoconstriction (for example, Galazolin, Naphthyzin);
• antihistamines ("Suprastin", "Fenistil");
• anti-inflammatory nasal sprays (eg Flix);
• local antiseptics ("Protargol", "Albucid");
• saline solutions for the nasal cavity ("Marimer", "Humer");
• taking vitamins;
• homeopathic medicines.

Facilitates the situation by washing the nasopharynx with herbal decoctions, saline solutions or medications. It is advisable to carry out instillation after washing the nose, since the mucous membrane will be freed from accumulated secretions, this will add to the effectiveness of the treatment.

Treatment with homeopathic remedies

Homeopathy treatment is advisable only at the first stage of adenoids. This process is lengthy and not suitable for progressive disease. When prescribed 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 on the treatment of adenoids in children, the following drugs have proven themselves positively:

• granules "JOB-Baby";
• Adenosan;
• Tuya-GF oil;
• Euphorbium Compositum nose spray.

Patients note that with timely prevention, the risk of the disease returning is significantly reduced.

Traditional medicine

Treatment of adenoids in children with folk remedies is advisable after consultation with a doctor and at the first stage of the disease. If the adenoids are accompanied by complications, then this method should not be used.

The most popular is nasal lavage with these remedies:

• sea s alt;
• decoction of oak bark;
• decoction of chamomile, calendula, eucalyptus leaves.

Such decoctions have anti-inflammatory properties, have an antiseptic effect.

Physiotherapy in the treatment of disease

Drug treatment of adenoids in the nose of a child is carried out in conjunction with physiotherapy. It significantly increases the efficiency of the first method.

The following procedures are assigned:

• Laser therapy. The course includes 10 sessions, the doctor may prescribe repeated procedures in courses up to 3 times a year. Such treatment reduces swelling and inflammation, normalizes breathing and the work of adjacent tissues.
• UV irradiation and UHF of the nasal area.
• Ozone therapy.
• Medicated electrophoresis.

In addition to physiotherapy, children are offered to do breathing exercises, visit resort sanatoriums, breathe sea air.

Adenotomy

Surgery in the treatment of adenoids in children is called adenotomy. Surgery is indicated for:

• extensive proliferation of tissues of the pharyngeal tonsil (2-3 degree adenoids);
• inflammation of the tonsils up to four times a year;
• whendevelopment of complications;
• in the absence of positive dynamics of the disease even after treatment;
• lack of nasal breathing or sleep apnea;
• hearing impaired;
• deformities of the bones of the face.

Adenotomy can be performed both in the hospital and on an outpatient basis. The optimal age of the child is 5-7 years. Local anesthesia or endotracheal anesthesia is used. Operations performed in a hospital have a number of 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 control the process in real time.

Surgical instruments have changed and improved greatly. Currently, the most relevant and modern of them is a shaver - an electromechanical device with a rotating blade. Its tip has a cavity to which a suction hose is connected, through which the removed part of the adenoids is crushed and removed. The surgeon can turn the cutting element on and off, as well as change the direction of its rotation. A shaver is inserted into one nostril, an endoscope into the other, after manipulations to remove adenoid tissue, the devices are reversed. The recovery period after surgery usually lasts 5-10 days. The first day you need to follow the home regimen, then limit physical activity, do not give hot irritating food. If the postoperative period passed without complications, then the child can go to an educational institution (school, kindergarten) already on the fifthday after adenotomy.

Contraindications are:

• anomalies in the development of the sky;
• bleeding tendency;
• pathology of the cardiovascular system;
• purulent process in the adenoids.

Complications of adenoids

Treatment of adenoids in children at home is not acceptable. It is the lack of specific knowledge of parents that is often the reason for untimely seeking help.

Among the most common complications:

• chronic forms of upper respiratory diseases;
• susceptibility to acute respiratory infections;
• "adenoid face";
• hearing loss and impaired middle ear ventilation;
• frequent otitis media accompanied by purulent complications;
• speech disorder.

If left untreated, adenoids can cause mental retardation and 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. So that the condition of a child at risk does not worsen, doctors prescribe preventive measures.

Among them:

• taking prescribed medications;
• limitation of the child's social circle during the period of illness and a week after its end;
• active outdoor walks;
• occupationsports that train the respiratory organs (swimming, tennis);
• maintaining the required level of humidity and temperature in the room where the child spends the most time;
• consumption of vitamins and minerals.

When symptoms of adenoids appear in children, treatment should only be prescribed by a specialist in this field. Such a disease is dangerous, and parents should understand the risk of not receiving medical care.