Many parents face adenoids in a child. According to statistics, problems with nasal breathing occur in every second baby between the ages of two and six. This becomes one of the reasons for contacting an otolaryngologist and pediatrician. During the visit to the doctor, mom and dad expect to receive effective and efficient advice necessary to relieve the child from the torment associated with adenoids forever. The safety of the treatment and the mood of the baby are also important so that the procedures are painless. Thuja oil perfectly meets the above criteria.
What are adenoids?
Everyone imagines what "tonsils" are. This is another name for the palatine tonsils. In scientific terms, these are accumulations of lymphoid tissue, where immune cells are produced that protect the body from disease. The nasopharynx also has such a congestion called the pharyngeal tonsil.
The tonsils are the first barrier that pathogens will encounter when entering the body from the outside. These are a kind of filters on which everything that will be dangerous for the child's body settles. The palatine tonsils filter what enters the mouth, and the pharyngeal tonsils filter the inhaled air.
At about three years of age, most toddlers first start attending kindergarten, where they encounter a huge amount of new bacteria and viruses. The immune system has not yet become acquainted with them and has not developed protective antibodies. The first barrier in their path will be the pharyngeal tonsil. Constantly functioning, producing protective cells, it grows (hypertrophies). As it heals, the amygdala decreases in size in about one to two weeks.
But babies sometimes get sick very often. The pharyngeal tonsil, growing, no longer has time to decrease. The overgrown tonsil in this case is called adenoids, and its inflammation is called adenoiditis.
After about seven years of age, the adenoids themselves begin to decrease in size, finally atrophy during puberty, and disappear completely in adults. During this period, powerful immunity is finally formed. The body no longer needs tonsils.
Why are adenoids dangerous?
It would seem that you can safely wait up to seven years, and the adenoids will decrease on their own. But very often the growth of the pharyngeal tonsil begins to negatively affect the health and development of the baby within a few months after its appearance.
- The enlarged adenoids make it difficult or completely impossible for nasal breathing. With their strong growth, the baby constantly breathes with an open mouth, and a night's sleep is accompanied by snoring. The child's voice, due to a constantly blocked nose, loses its sonority, takes on a dull tinge - nasal. As a result of breathing through the mouth, the mucous membranes of the pharynx dry out, and a dry cough appears. Unheated and untreated air causes diseases of the lower respiratory tract - tracheitis and bronchitis.
- The constant lack of air causes lack of sleep and restless sleep, nightmares, fatigue, irritability, and inattention in the child.
In some children, an overgrowth of the pharyngeal tonsil leads to so-called obstructive sleep apnea. This is a cessation of breathing lasting more than ten seconds. This phenomenon is an indication for an early consultation with an otolaryngologist and removal of adenoid vegetations, as it can lead to very serious consequences.
- The auditory, or Eustachian, tubes open into the nasal cavity and connect to the middle ear cavity. Adenoid vegetation closes their openings, thereby disrupting the ventilation of the auditory tubes. Therefore, children with adenoids often develop purulent otitis media. They often become chronic and lead to hearing impairment. In babies, as a result of this pathology, speech disorders, delayed speech development are often added.
- Constant inflammation of the adenoids (adenoiditis) leads to the fact that mucus constantly accumulates in the nasal cavity. It makes breathing more difficult, flows into the larynx, irritating the receptors (postnasal flow). As a result, the baby develops a persistent cough. With a large accumulation of mucus, recurrent sinusitis develops.
- As a result of the fact that nasal breathing becomes difficult, and the child's mouth is constantly open, deformities of the bones of the facial skull are formed. The oval of the face is gradually extended, the growth and formation of the hard palate is disrupted. As a result, the upper jaw and nasal passages are narrowed. The bite is deformed. The baby has a so-called adenoid face.
With age, the adenoids will decrease, but deformities of the bones of the skull, hearing and speech impairments, and chronic inflammation of the ear and sinuses will remain with the child for life.
- With a prolonged course of the disease, as a result of improper breathing, deformation of the chest can even form. This leads to recurrence of acute bronchitis and tracheitis.
- With the growth of the palatine tonsil, there are often prolonged nosebleeds. Malignant transformation of lymphoid tissue is possible.
How are adenoids treated?
When the baby has the above symptoms, consultation with an otolaryngologist is imperative. With the help of special examinations (manually or with the help of a lamp, endoscopy, computed or magnetic resonance imaging), the doctor will confirm the presence of adenoid vegetations, determine to what extent they are enlarged, and choose the method of treatment.
Depending on the size of the adenoid vegetations, clinical manifestations and the degree of respiratory impairment, the doctor may recommend conservative treatment or surgical removal of the overgrown tonsil.
Indications for urgent removal of the adenoids are prolonged nosebleeds and sleep apnea. In other cases, conservative treatment can be tried.
Of the drugs in the treatment of adenoids, nasal glucocorticosteroids are widely used, which can, if not completely remove all unpleasant symptoms, then significantly reduce them and avoid surgery. Unfortunately, the drugs have side effects in the form of nosebleeds, dry mucous membranes, dizziness, drowsiness, and headaches. These drugs are not suitable for very young children under two years old. With the development of a viral infection against the background of adenoids, they can aggravate the situation and delay recovery.
The second most prescribed drug for reducing adenoid vegetation is thuja oil. This remedy is devoid of many of the disadvantages of hormone therapy.
What is thuja oil?
Thuja is called an evergreen tree of the cypress family, which in the 16th century was recognized by Europeans as the “tree of life”. This is a plant with valuable, strong and durable wood, high decorative qualities, which makes it popular among woodcarvers, furniture makers, landscape designers, gardeners.
But this unique tree also has excellent medicinal properties. Thuja began to be widely used in both folk and traditional medicine. The plant contains many useful vitamins, minerals and chemical components. The product contains tannins, resins, phytoncides, antioxidants, thanks to which the "tree of life" has antiviral, regenerating, anti-inflammatory properties.
The most valuable oil is squeezed out of the thuja cones and needles using special technologies. The next step is to dilute it to such a concentration at which the undesirable effects of the substances included in the oil are reduced, and the therapeutic effect is maximally preserved. In this form, thuja oil goes on sale in the pharmacy chain.
In pharmacies you can buy drugs "Tuya DN", "Thuja oil EDAS 801", "Tuya GF". All of them are produced in Russia and can be affordable for families of any income.
Thuja oil and adenoids
Thuja oil can also help a baby suffering from adenoids. Due to its metabolic action, it is able to quickly restore cells damaged by the infectious process. Due to resins, flavonoids, saponins, local chemical processes in the cells of the nasopharynx are normalized.
Due to the presence of antiseptic substances in thuja oil, the negative effect of pathogens on the lymphoid tissue of the nasopharynx is reduced, due to which the inflammatory process is stopped in acute and recurrent adenoiditis.
It has an oil and anti-inflammatory effect, blocking the release of inflammatory mediators in the cells of the tonsils. Thus, tissue damage is significantly reduced, respectively, the growth of adenoid vegetations is reduced or even inhibited.
The gentle and safe vasoconstrictor effect of thuja oil helps to restore nasal breathing. Unlike synthetic nose drops, oil can be instilled into a baby's nose as needed. It will not cause addiction or life-threatening side effects.
In no case should you use 100% pure thuja oil to treat a baby. It is very unpleasant to use, toxic and can cause many side effects. In medicine, 15% oil of this plant is used.
How to treat adenoids with thuja oil?
Parents should remember that the treatment regimen with this remedy is selected by the attending physician, based on the clinical picture of the disease and the degree of enlargement of the adenoids. Usually, the course of treatment is long and is at least six weeks, although the instructions for use say about two to three weeks.
In no case should you start treatment with thuja oil on your own, since, despite the relative safety, it is still a drug.
Before instilling thuja oil into the nose, it is imperative to clean the cavities from mucus. It complicates the contact of the drug with the mucous membrane, and there will be little sense from the drug. Before using thuja oil, any saline solution of sodium chloride (Quicks, Aqua Maris, Aqualor, Marimer) is instilled into the nose.
For young children, the nose is cleaned with an aspirator, and older children can blow their nose on their own.
For one application, two to five drops of thuja oil should be instilled into each nostril. It is used two to three times a day. To instill oil, the child must be seated on the lap of an adult with his head thrown back. Older children can sit on their own. After the medicine is injected into the nose, you need to lie down for 10-15 minutes.
After the end of the course of treatment, you can take a break for about a month, and then repeat it again.
Side effects and contraindications in the treatment of thuja oil
The treatment is usually well tolerated. As with any drug, side effects in the form of an allergic reaction can occur. It can show up as a rash or symptoms of a respiratory allergy (sneezing, watery eyes, nasal discharge, itching). All symptoms quickly disappear when the drug is discontinued. In extremely rare cases, a severe anaphylactic reaction is possible.
Contraindications to the use of thuja oil are allergic reactions to the components of the drug and epilepsy.
Thuja oil should not be used if the child suffers from pollinosis, allergic rhinitis, or atopic bronchial asthma. Although these diseases are not included in the list of contraindications in the instructions for use for the drug, in these cases, thuja oil can worsen the situation and cause an aggravation.
It should be remembered that the treatment of adenoids with thuja oil, although it has proven itself well, is still not quite a proven way to get rid of this scourge. There have not yet been large trials proving the effectiveness of this method.
Before using thuja oil, you must definitely consult with your pediatrician or otolaryngologist. If the doctor is categorically against, and the results of the examination indicate the need for surgery, there is no need to look for alternatives. Only strict adherence to the recommendations of a specialist will avoid the development of unpleasant consequences.
