Nasal polyps is one of the most common diseases, not only appearing in adults but also children who are susceptible to this disease. There are many causes of nasal polyps in children, the disease, although not directly life-threatening, causes unpleasant symptoms that persist for a long time, if not promptly treated, it can lead to dangerous complications. . If you are wondering about childhood polyps and how to treat it, do not ignore the information below.
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What is nasal polyps in children?
Nasal polyps is a common disease, can occur in all subjects and of course including children. Understandably, nasal polyps is a benign tumor, usually appear in the nasal cavity or sinuses in the face, nose. In fact, the nature of nasal polyps is not a tumor, but rather a degeneration of the stromal lining of the nasal or sinus lining. Children’s nasal polyps are usually soft, smooth, pale pink in color, and transparent. Often an external structure is the inner epithelial layer that is an organization that connects to fibrous cells containing mucus.
Nasal polyps in children are difficult to recognize, easy to confuse with respiratory diseases. If parents do not carefully monitor their child’s symptoms, it is very difficult to detect the baby has nasal polyps. This is considered a common chronic inflammatory disease that affects the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses.
Causes of nasal polyps in children
The mechanism of forming nasal polyps in children is as follows: when the lining of the nose or sinuses becomes inflamed, the blood vessels in the mucosa absorb water, causing water to accumulate in the cells. If this condition persists, it will lead to the formation of round masses as the tissue is pulled down by the force. They will grow in bunches like grapes to form drops of water-drop nasal polyps. Although not painful, it affects the respiratory tract.
Some of the causes of nasal polyps in children can be mentioned as:
- The resistance is weak and incomplete, making the body unable to resist the invasion of bacteria and viruses that cause disease.
- The immune system is weakened, the digestive system is not stable, the intestinal tract is poor, leading to the inability of the body to fully absorb the necessary nutrients, affecting health, causing the body’s protective barrier not to function well.
- Young body is still quite sensitive and immature, unable to adapt to external factors such as climate, environment, and pathogenic bacteria.
- Common respiratory diseases such as colds, sore throats cause a stuffy nose, but are not treated completely, causing damage to the sinuses and nose, making the baby more susceptible to disease.
The risk factors for forming nasal polyps can be mentioned as:
- Fungal allergic sinus disease
- Chronic sinusitis
- Asthma causes the airways to become inflamed and blocked
- Inherited disorders cause the abnormal production and secretion of mucus from the nasal membranes and sinuses
- Churg-Strauss syndrome (a disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels)
- Hypersensitivity to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin
- Genetic factors
Symptoms of nasal polyps in children
Nasal polyps in children are easy to confuse with allergic rhinitis or sinusitis. Symptoms of this disease in children are quite similar to that of adults, but in some children there will be less obvious symptoms. This sometimes makes mothers think they have rhinitis or a common runny nose when the weather changes without even relating to nasal polyps. Therefore, mothers need to understand the symptoms of the disease and carefully check the signs in the baby to judge whether the baby has this disease or not.
Some of the symptoms of nasal polyps in children can be mentioned as:
- In the child’s nasal passages, a small, pale pink, succulent tumor is observed
- Children often have stuffy nose, difficulty breathing, when sleeping there are signs of wheezing or even breathing through the mouth
- Frequent runny nose, usually a clear runny nose but changes when it is dark yellow or green, has a bad smell
- Children have poor smells, even lose the ability of people
- Constantly yelling headache, feeling of negative pain i
- Children may sometimes have a fever, a high body temperature, and snoring.
Are nasal polyps in children dangerous?
Nasal polyps in children are dangerous or causing complications is not a common question of many parents. Although the disease is not life-threatening, it affects the baby’s health. If not treated in time, it can cause a number of conditions such as:
- Children with physical weakness, malnutrition, lethargy, tired, or fussy, especially babies
- May cause persistent acute or chronic sinusitis, affecting the respiratory system
- Risks of sleep apnea if the polyps are large, which is a dangerous condition that causes patients to stop breathing and re-breathe repeatedly while sleeping.
- May cause facial deformity, facial structure change, abnormally distant baby’s eyes or double vision. This is an easy complication in babies with nasal polyps related to cystic fibrosis.
Diagnosis of nasal polyps in children
When the baby shows signs of nasal polyps, to determine whether the baby has this disease or not and the extent of the disease, first of all, the mother needs to bring the baby to the medical facility for examination, diagnosis and treatment. fit. Methods of diagnosis can be mentioned as:
- Imaging test: The doctor will conduct a CT scan with thin slices in the jaw-face position, the cross-section image combined with the vertical cut through the sinuses. To find out the cause of the disease, additional MRI scan may be performed.
- Biochemical test: If your baby has nasal polyps with allergic rhinitis, the doctor will take blood to test the serum, and also test the skin for allergens. If your baby has many benign nasal polyps, then conduct tests to measure the concentration of Chlorine in sweat to find cystic fibrosis disease and genetic tests.
Treatments for nasal polyps
To treat nasal polyps for children, mothers should bring their babies to see a doctor to determine the disease status and take appropriate measures. Usually, when infected with this disease, there will be the following treatment directions:
Drug treatment
If the child has mild nasal polyps, he or she will be treated according to the prescription of the doctor. In addition, the doctor may prescribe oral corticosteroids or sprays to shrink tumors. In addition, there are also nasal drops that can help reduce chronic inflammation of the nasal area, assist in atrophy of benign tumors in the sinuses, nasal passages. Remember, mothers should treat the baby according to the regimen and prescription drugs of the doctor, absolutely do not buy it at the pharmacy without a prescription to avoid side effects affecting the baby’s health. .
Surgical treatment
Usually applied to cases of baby with severe nasal polyps, large soft tumors that seriously affect the baby’s airway. Depending on the case, the doctor will decide whether to perform surgery to remove nasal polyps or to perform laparoscopic surgery. Inside:
- Nasal polyps: Suitable for small, single polyps, which can be easily removed with a mechanical tool for suction or a micro-filter. However, after cutting, to eliminate inflammation, antibiotics and drugs containing oral corticosteroids will be used.
- Sinusoscopic surgery: Suitable for sinus congestion and inflammation, when performed, the doctor will use a small, soft endoscope, with a camera, a small instrument at the tip to quickly insert into the sick nose polyps and other structures. This method is done quickly, because only a small incision should cause less pain, the incision also heals faster.
Advice when caring for a child with nasal polyps
When the baby has nasal polyps, mothers need to pay attention to the following issues to avoid danger to the baby. Specifically:
- Can prevent the development of nasal polyps such as using saline nasal and sinus hygiene or nasal steam. Specifically, salt water can help dry mucus, reduce rhinitis, slow down the process of the inflammatory agent, adiponectin in the body. Or try a steam bath to clear airways and thin mucus. Consider adding a few drops of essential oil such as eucalyptus or peppermint essential oil to increase the effect.
- Do not wash the nose too many times, too much washing the nose will make the natural mucus in the nasal cavity go away, which can damage the child’s nose. Therefore, the nose should only be sprayed and the nose should be washed for children 2-3 times / day
- To limit the breakage of polyps, avoid infection, the mother absolutely does not pick the baby’s nose. At the same time when the weather turns cold, mothers should pay attention to keep the baby dog warm to avoid increased mucus and edema, making the baby easily choking
- Absolutely do not arbitrarily apply folk remedies such as using garlic onions, small honey … into the baby’s nose because it is easy to damage the nasal mucosa
- Do not smoke too many times, nor should you arbitrarily use antibacterial drugs, medicines for your baby without doctor’s instructions.
- Building a scientifically balanced diet, you need to add all the necessary nutrients for your baby to enhance the health of the immune system. What foods to eat and avoid should be discussed with your doctor in order to develop a suitable menu. Try to get vitamin C from foods like oranges, guava, strawberries, lemons, papaya, kiwi …
- For your baby to get enough sleep, you should not stay up late because it will affect the activity of the immune system.
Precautions
Instead of letting the disease appear, the mother should pay attention to prevent the disease and take timely measures, specifically:
- If your baby has symptoms such as shortness of breath, shortness of breath, swollen nose, high fever, etc., the mother should quickly consult the doctor to find out the cause
- Regularly check the child’s health, not only check the height and weight, but also pay attention to the brain structure, head circumference, ear, nose, and throat.
- Do not neglect to wash the nose with normal saline for children, absolutely do not use the mouth to suck the baby’s nose, this can cause the risk of nasal polyps in children.
- Do not let adults kiss the child’s cheeks and mouth because it will give the bacteria in the adult mouth a chance to attack the baby because the child’s immune system is not yet perfect, they cannot tell the baby against the attack of millions pathogen bacteria
- Clean up the living space, especially the baby’s bed area and play area to remove dirt and avoid the growth of fungi and bacteria.
- Use items such as coats, masks, and hats to protect children, avoid exposure to dust, chemicals, and pesticides.
- Limit contact with pets, teach children to wash their hands with soap after playing with toys.
Although childhood polyps is not a dangerous disease, it affects the baby’s health. Therefore, as soon as the baby has unusual symptoms, the mother should quickly take the child to a reputable medical facility for examination and treatment.
