Why are adenoids in a child dangerous and should they be removed?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

They can cause depression and malocclusion, and medications are not always effective. But the problem can be solved.

What are adenoids

In the mouth of a person there are special organs - the tonsils, which protect us from bacteria and viruses. There are only six of them and they are located in a circle at the entrance to the respiratory tract.

One of them - the pharyngeal or adenoid - is located in the throat above the nasal opening. It exists in children from birth, but decreases over time and disappears during adolescence.

Where do adenoids come from?

Sometimes the adenoids become inflamed and enlarged. Doctors call this condition adenoiditis.

If the inflammation lasts a very long time or repeats too often, then over time, the pharyngeal tonsil grows and blocks the exit from the nasal cavity - hypertrophy of the adenoids occurs. In everyday life, this is what is called adenoids.

Most often, an increase in adenoids is caused by Adenoid Hypertrophy, a viral infection, such as influenza or other acute respiratory viral infections.

However, there may be other reasons for this condition:

• Bacterial infections of the ENT organs.
• Allergy.
• Cigarette smoke.
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease is when stomach acid is pumped up the esophagus and heartburn occurs.

How adenoids manifest

Children with adenoids constantly walk with their mouths open, breathe noisily, complain of dry mouth. At night, the child snores, sometimes there are short-term breath holdings, so he sleeps restlessly.

Sometimes hearing is impaired, there is noise or crackling in the ears.

What happens if the adenoids are left untreated?

An enlarged pharyngeal tonsil makes it difficult to breathe through the nose, and the baby takes in air through the mouth. This causes a lot of problems:

• Little air enters the lungs and the brain receives insufficient oxygen. As a result, mental and physical development is disrupted, normal sleep disappears. For the same reason, mental disorders such as depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder occur.
• The air passing through the mouth is not humidified or cleaned of dust and bacteria. Therefore, the child is more likely to develop infections, in particular inflammation of the sinuses.
• The bite and the shape of the face change due to the constantly open mouth.

In addition, overgrown adenoids block the auditory tubes, which leads to hearing impairment and otitis media.

Don't wait for these complications.

Go to the otolaryngologist as soon as you notice that the child is breathing through the mouth.

The adenoids are easy to spot on examination of the throat.

When you can get by with drugs

If the overgrowth of the adenoids is small or there are no complications.

For a bacterial infection, the child is prescribed antibiotics. If the enlargement of the adenoids is associated with allergies, doctors recommend antihistamines.

Steroid sprays Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the role of mometasone in adenoid hypertrophy in children slightly reduce the size of the pharyngeal tonsil. However, if you stop using them, the adenoids increase again. Adenoidectomy Treatment & Management.

When to have surgery

It used to be thought that removing the adenoids lowers immunity. Therefore, they tried to operate only in extreme cases. However, a recent study of Short- and long-term impacts of adenoidectomy with / without tonsillectomy on immune function of young children <3 years of age: A cohort study by Chinese scientists dispelled this myth.

Removal of the adenoids does not affect the immunity of children and does not increase the risk of infectious diseases.

The operation is performed in the following cases:

• The child cannot breathe through the nose, and there is a delay in breathing during sleep.
• Complications such as ear or sinus infections develop.
• Treatment with drugs does not help.

The operation is contraindicated if the baby is allergic to anesthetic agents.

How is the operation going

Before the procedure, you should not eat or drink for several hours to avoid vomiting. If a child has poor blood clotting, drugs are administered to him to protect against bleeding.

The operation takes place under general anesthesia and lasts an average of half an hour. The surgeon cuts off the adenoids with a special knife through the mouth, and then cauterizes the remnants with a laser or electric scalpel. It is important to remove all the particles of the amygdala to the maximum so that it does not grow again. If there are no complications, the child will be able to go home in a few hours.

After surgery, sometimes there is nasal congestion, sore throat, or low fever. Your doctor may prescribe pain relievers and antipyretics, but these symptoms usually resolve on their own within a few days.

Complications from surgery are very rare. Adenoidectomy Treatment & Management. Bleeding occurs in 0.4% of cases, velopharyngeal insufficiency (manifested by a nasal voice) - in 0.03% –0.06% of all operations.

How to avoid the occurrence of adenoids

Fight the reasons for their appearance:

• Protect your baby from influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections.
• Treat allergies or gastroesophageal reflux disease with a specialist doctor.
• Protect your child from cigarette smoke.

The sooner you refer to the ENT, the safer it is to treat adenoids and the less chance of complications.