Adenoids of 1-2 degrees in children: causes, symptoms, treatment
The content of the article:
- Causes and risk factors
- The degree of development of adenoids
- Signs of adenoids 1 degree
- Diagnostics
- Treatment of grade 1 adenoids in children
- Treatment with folk remedies
- Possible consequences
- Video
Grade 1 adenoids in children are the initial stage of the disease, in which the symptoms are practically not pronounced.
Adenoids are called hypertrophied nasopharyngeal tonsil, which can impede nasal breathing, as well as cause the development of the inflammatory process and other complications. Synonyms - adenoid vegetation, adenoid growths.
The nasopharyngeal tonsil consists of lymphoid tissue and belongs to the organs of the immune defense, its task is to prevent the penetration of an infection into the body that enters the respiratory tract. When an infectious agent enters the upper respiratory tract, the tonsil increases, and then returns to its normal size. However, sometimes there is no reduction, and the lymphoid tissue remains hypertrophied. This happens especially often in children whose tissues are prone to hyperplasia (pathological proliferation).
With adenoids of 1-2 degrees in children, due to the absence of pronounced symptoms, the disease can be ignored by parents, revealing itself only at a deeper stage - when pronounced symptoms attract attention.
In the photo you can see that grade 1 adenoids practically do not interfere with breathing.
Adenoids, gradually expanding, block the nasal passages
Causes and risk factors
Most often, adenoids are diagnosed in children in the age group from 3 to 6 years. They can occur in older children, adolescents, and even adults, however, as a rule, this is a consequence of a pathological process that began at the most vulnerable age.
Hypertrophy of the nasopharyngeal tonsil occurs in response to frequent inflammation, which can be of an infectious or allergic nature. The following factors contribute to this:
- features of the immune system in children (immature immunity), due to which the lymphoid tissue becomes inflamed;
- the narrowness of the nasal passages, undeveloped sinuses and the proximity of other structures (eustachian tube, middle ear), also prone to inflammation;
- the child's inability to describe not too pronounced sensations with overgrown lymphoid tissue, which leads to the progression of the process.
Risk factors also include living in industrial regions, pathological course of pregnancy in the mother of the child, hereditary predisposition.
The degree of development of adenoids
According to the degree of proliferation of the adenoid tissue, three stages of the disease are distinguished. The degrees are determined depending on how the hypertrophied nasopharyngeal tonsil overlaps the height of the nasal passages or vomer.
With adenoids of the first degree in children, adenoid vegetation covers 1/3 of the opener. In the second degree, the nasopharyngeal tonsil blocks from 1/3 to 2/3 of the height of the opener, and in the third, it closes the opener almost completely (more than 2/3).
Thus, grade 1 adenoids represent the earliest stage of the disease.
Signs of adenoids 1 degree
With grade 1 adenoids in a child, the disease is usually diagnosed during a routine examination by an otolaryngologist. As a rule, parents learn about this from the doctor, because at this stage the manifestations of the disease are weak and do not attract attention.
However, the following symptoms can sometimes be found:
- violation of nasal breathing, manifested by puffing, noisy nasal breathing (especially after exercise), snoring, loud breathing and / or an open mouth during sleep;
- frequent (or, as parents sometimes say, persistent) runny nose.
It is characteristic that at this initial stage of the disease, breathing disorders appear mainly when the child takes a horizontal position.
Since the hypertrophied tonsil does not cope well with its functions to protect the respiratory tract, children with adenoids are more susceptible to respiratory diseases than others. Due to the narrowing of the lumen of the auditory tube, the child also often has inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media) and the tube itself (eustachitis), hearing may decrease.
In the case of the addition of a secondary infection and the development of inflammation of the adenoids (adenoiditis), the body temperature rises, the symptoms of the disease resemble acute respiratory infections. Often, the child develops a reflex cough, which is caused by mucus flowing down the back of the nasopharynx and its irritation, nasal voice. Discharge from the nose becomes purulent or mucopurulent. With the spread of inflammation to the tonsils, which is often found, adenoiditis is accompanied by tonsillitis.
Diagnostics
Grade 1 adenoids in children, as a rule, are an accidental diagnostic finding during a preventive examination or when contacting an ENT for a respiratory disease.
As a rule, rhinoscopy is sufficient for diagnosis. A number of laboratory tests are also prescribed to detect the inflammatory process (general analysis of blood and urine), with a persistent runny nose, a bacteriological study of nasal discharge is carried out.
Treatment of grade 1 adenoids in children
How to treat adenoids at an early stage of development? Do I need to have surgery?
Some doctors of the old school believe that the presence of adenoids is an indication for their surgical removal, regardless of the degree, because they cannot be treated with conservative methods. This opinion may have been correct for its time, but now most experts consider surgical removal of only the third degree adenoids justified. The well-known Ukrainian pediatrician Yevgeniy Olegovich Komarovsky is of the same opinion.
So, the treatment is carried out by conservative methods, and sometimes observational tactics can be chosen. No surgical intervention is required.
UFO (ultraviolet irradiation) is used in the treatment of initial adenoids
If there is no inflammation (adenoiditis), local therapy is limited. Rinsing the nose with saline solutions has a good therapeutic effect. 1/2 teaspoon of salt is dissolved in a glass of boiled water cooled to body temperature. For rinsing, use a disposable syringe without a needle or a rubber syringe of the smallest size. You can also use seawater-based pharmaceutical sprays. Also, locally, anti-inflammatory and vasoconstrictor drugs can be prescribed (the latter - in a short course). Anti-inflammatory and drying agents can be delivered to adenoid vegetations by inhalation - using a nebulizer. Attention! Hot steam inhalation is prohibited!
Physiotherapy is used: UHF therapy, magnetotherapy, laser therapy, electrophoresis of drugs, endonasal ultraviolet irradiation.
With adenoiditis, it may be necessary to use systemic drugs. These are antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and, if necessary, antibacterial drugs. If the pathological process is caused by allergies, as well as in the case of chronic inflammation, antihistamines are indicated.
Therapy must necessarily be accompanied by the sanitation of foci of chronic infection, primarily the treatment of carious teeth, as well as other inflammatory diseases. It is necessary to strengthen the child's immunity. Tempering serves this purpose; proper balanced nutrition also plays an important role.
Treatment with folk remedies
According to the reviews of doctors and those who cured initial adenoids, alternative therapy can be quite effective. One of the popular folk remedies for the treatment of adenoids is thuja oil, which has an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect. For the treatment of children, not pure essential oil is used, which can cause a burn of the mucous membrane and an allergic reaction, but its 15% drug. Before using the oil, the child's nasal cavity is cleaned with a saline solution, then 2-3 drops of the agent are instilled into each nostril. The procedure is repeated 2-3 times a day. The course is from several months to six months.
Thuja oil is a popular traditional medicine for adenoids
You can also inhale alkaline mineral water (Borjomi, Essentuki-4, etc.) using a nebulizer.
When using traditional medicine, it should be borne in mind that they are not safe. Contrary to popular belief, medicinal plants, honey products and the like are highly allergenic. Therefore, with adenoids with an allergic component, such drugs are contraindicated.
Before using any medication, you should consult your pediatrician.
Possible consequences
The most dangerous consequence of grade 1 adenoids is their further growth. With the progression of the pathological process, children can develop a number of complications, including disorders of the cardiovascular, nervous, urinary systems, dysfunctions of the digestive tract, and joint pathology. Nocturnal enuresis is possible.
Against the background of insufficient oxygen supply to the body with significant difficulty in nasal breathing in children, mental and physical development may slow down. Due to the need to constantly breathe through the mouth, a typical "adenoid" face is formed - the lower jaw lengthens, the bite is disturbed. With constant mouth breathing, the susceptibility to colds increases, as the child inhales uncleaned and insufficiently warmed air. In turn, this enhances the proliferation of the adenoids.
Therefore, when adenoids are detected at the initial stage of their development, it is necessary to take their treatment as seriously and responsibly as possible, despite the absence of obvious signs of the disease.
Video
We offer for viewing a video on the topic of the article.
Anna Aksenova Medical journalist About the author
Education: 2004-2007 "First Kiev Medical College" specialty "Laboratory Diagnostics".
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