Adenoids in a child give parents a lot of trouble and anxiety. The main question is whether it is necessary to have an operation or conservative treatment can be dispensed with. Parents ask whether it is necessary to give the child a lot of pharmacy medicines or adenoids can be cured at home using alternative medicine. We will try to answer this question.
Symptoms and Signs
Adenoids are an enlargement of the nasopharyngeal tonsil, which is also called the palatine. This ailment causes disturbances in nasal breathing, up to the complete inability to breathe through the nose. Often, adenoids cause pathological hearing loss in a child.
The nasopharyngeal tonsil consists of lymphoid tissue, the main purpose of which is to participate in immune processes. In other words, it should be a kind of “barrier” on the way of viruses and other unpleasant “guests” that most often enter the body through the nasopharynx.
Children more often than adults get sick with viral infections, since their immunity is not fully formed, it is immature. It is clear that the adenoids, which are at the forefront of the body's natural defenses, "get" more than other participants in the immune process. This explains the widespread prevalence of the disease among children, especially between the ages of 3 to 7 years.
Inflammation causes the proliferation of lymphoid tissue, the tonsil thickens. By the extent to which it is modified, doctors determine the degree of the disease.
- First degree. The amygdala is enlarged, the growth is insignificant, does not exceed half of the lumen. Nasal breathing is slightly impaired.
- Second degree. The nasopharyngeal tonsil has grown so much that it closes two or three lumens. Nasal breathing is significantly impaired.
- Third degree. The pharyngeal tonsil is inflamed and enlarged, nasal breathing is absent, since it closes the lumen almost entirely.
Adenoitis in acute form is accompanied by fever, sometimes mucous or purulent discharge from the nose appears, but attentive parents will never miss the first and main symptom - the child's nose does not breathe. The chronic form of the disease is accompanied by a chronic dry cough, unproductive (without sputum secretion), aggravated at night. In all cases, the child's voice changes, he begins to "nasal". In most cases, the child's facial expressions change, an "adenoid mask" appears, which is characterized by an open mouth, relaxation of the facial muscles, and drooling.
The pharyngeal tonsil in absolutely all children performs a barrier function, but not every baby gets inflamed. Doctors say that children have a certain predisposition to adenitis. Most often, ENT doctors diagnose babies who have a hereditary predisposition to allergies (mom or dad are chronic allergy sufferers). Often, adenoids torment children with reduced immunity, especially those living in ecologically unfavorable areas, often suffering from acute respiratory viral infections and influenza. Often this disease is a consequence of improper treatment of rhinitis, tracheitis, tonsillitis and other ENT diseases.
Very rarely, the disease is congenital, when the growth of the amygdala occurred while still in the womb. According to medical statistics, the likelihood of such a pathology increases in pregnant women who smoke and in mothers who, while carrying a baby, continue to work in hazardous industries or use drugs uncontrollably.
The adenoids themselves are treated in different ways. Most doctors tend to recommend an adenotomy, which is the name of surgery to remove a growth. But not always, but only when the child is given a 2-3 degree, if the amygdala has closed more than two-thirds of the lumen.
Doctor Komarovsky will tell you what difficulties arise with children's adenoid and how to be treated in this case in the next video.
If the baby has chronic adenoids, they are treated mainly conservatively with the use of rinsing for the nose and throat, instillation of medications - glucocorticoids. In this case, the child is recommended a special diet, special climate conditions, as well as physiotherapy procedures.
What is the danger
With an almost constantly stuffy nose with adenoids, the child breathes through the mouth. At first glance, this is not scary. In fact, with oral breathing, the baby's mucous membranes dry out. This becomes the cause of frequent morbidity, inflammatory processes in the respiratory system. Difficulties with normal breathing also lead to the fact that the child's body chronically receives less oxygen, which is so important for it, there is oxygen starvation of the brain, and this is a very dangerous condition for children.
Sometimes the growths can close the Eustachian tube, which connects the pharynx to the ear. As a result, otitis media develops, and mucus stagnation significantly reduces the child's hearing. "Adenoid mask" - a change in the facial skeleton, it is not safe. If the cause of its appearance (adenoids) is not eliminated in time, then the child develops an incorrect bite and at an early age there is a high predisposition to caries.
Very often, adenoids are the main cause of tracheitis, laryngitis and bronchitis. And coughing attacks with adenitis can trigger the mechanism of bronchial asthma in the child's body.
Can folk remedies help
Folk remedies in the treatment of an enlarged pharyngeal tonsil are considered an effective way to cope with the disease, but only in cases where the degree of the disease does not require mandatory surgical intervention. Although easy to prepare and non-toxic folk recipes can help in the recovery phase after a surgeon performed adenotomy.
If you are thinking about treating adenoids in a child using traditional medicine, the first thing to do is to consult with your doctor. If the doctor doesn't mind, you can proceed.
The options for treating adenoid with aromatherapy can be viewed in the following video.
With any treatment of this ailment, both with medication and with home non-medicinal, it is important to follow the principles of such therapy and the procedure:
- Removal of inflammation, puffiness, elimination of mucus from the nasal passages.
- Restoration of nasal breathing.
- Strengthening the immune system.
- Physiotherapy procedures (if allowed in a particular case by a doctor).
- Creation of a favorable microclimate.
- Breathing exercises.
We wash the nose
You can prepare a remedy for these purposes according to one of the following recipes:
Salt. Every housewife can find common table salt. To make a nasal rinse, you need to take a teaspoon of salt and a glass of boiled water, pre-cooled to room temperature. Stir the salt thoroughly, rinse both nasal passages every 2-3 hours.
- pharmaceutical camomile... The herbal collection of this useful plant can be bought at any pharmacy. To prepare a gargle, you will need 1 teaspoon of plant materials and 100 ml. water. For about a quarter of an hour, everything is cooked in a water bath, and then infused under the lid until completely cooled. Before rinsing, the broth must be carefully filtered to avoid the smallest particles of plant fragments entering the nasal cavity.
- Calendula... Dried flowers and crushed calendula leaves in the amount of a teaspoon should be brewed with boiling water (1 glass). Pour the infusion into a thermos and keep there for about an hour. Then cool, strain through several layers of gauze and rinse the nasal passages with this tool. The product can also be used to gargle.
Remove puffiness and inflammation
This will help natural remedies that have a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect:
- Aloe... The cut leaf of a houseplant needs to be kept in the refrigerator for several hours, after which cuts are made on it and the juice is squeezed out with gauze. To bury it in the nose, the child needs 3-5 drops in each nasal passage. For small children, aloe juice can be diluted with boiled water or saline in half. Fresh juice is prepared before each digging.
- Eucalyptus essential oil... It is an illustrious remedy for adenoids. In its pure form, essential oil, of course, cannot be dripped into the nose. To make the drops, you will need another base oil. You can take petroleum jelly. For a teaspoon of "base" you will need about 3 drops of the essential ingredient. The resulting mixture should be instilled into the nose 2-3 times a day. After the procedure, the child should lie down with his head thrown back so that the drops can envelop the tonsil as best as possible.
- Propolis... This powerful anti-inflammatory agent can be used by children after 5 years of age and provided that they are not allergic in general and to bee products in particular. When preparing an ointment that is effective against adenoids, you will need a teaspoon of propolis (not tincture), and 10 tablespoons of the same butter. Put everything in glass or ceramic dishes, put in a water bath, wait until the ingredients are completely dissolved. Stir and cool. Store the ointment in the refrigerator, apply to the nasal mucosa twice a day using cotton wool or a cotton swab.
- Carnation... This spice not only improves the taste of culinary delights, but also helps to cope with adenoids. Dip ten buds in half a glass of boiling water and leave under the lid for an hour. Then strain the product, cool and drip into the nose up to 4 times a day. Clove perfectly relieves inflammation and reduces swelling of the enlarged pharyngeal tonsil.
We strengthen the immune system
For these purposes, you can use the time-tested recipes for herbal and berry teas. Tea made from black currant leaves and berries works very well for adenoids. It not only strengthens the immune system as a whole, but also prevents the further growth of the palatine tonsil.
Echinacea effectively stimulates the immune system of the child. This plant is contraindicated in children under one year old. You can use a pharmacy tincture, or you can prepare it yourself. For 100 gr. chopped herbs will need about a glass of hot water. For fifteen minutes, the product is kept in a steam bath, and then cooled and filtered. The child is given to drink 50-60 ml several times a day.
You can mix a teaspoon of aloe juice into tea or compote chad, we talked about it above. Another powerful natural immune stimulant is honey. It can also be given in pure form or added to drinks if the child is not allergic and is already 3 years old.
Ginger, rose hips, cranberry juice and garlic, which can be introduced into the child's diet, will help to raise the child's immunity. In addition, make it a rule to walk with your child more often and longer, send him to the sports section so that he moves as much as possible.
Physiotherapy
As for inhalations and warming compresses on the nasal cavity, you should be extremely careful here. Not all children diagnosed with adenoids are allowed such procedures. Only with the permission of a doctor can inhalations be done with saline, with fir and eucalyptus oil, with infusion of pine buds, calcined salt and mineral water. Warming compresses with honey and mustard cakes are made on the nose. Breathing hot steam with adenoids is strictly prohibited.
Microclimate
Children with enlarged tonsils need sea air... Optimally, if they are often transported to the sea. But even if this is not possible, parents can create a "correct" microclimate at home, contributing to recovery. Firstly, the air temperature in the room where the baby lives should be at least 18 and not higher than 20 degrees. Secondly, you need to pay attention to air humidity. This is a very important parameter for children with respiratory diseases.
The air should not be too dry or too humid. Moisture values in the range of 50-70% are considered optimal. A special device - a humidifier - will help to create such a microclimate. However, it is not cheap. If it is not possible to purchase, you can place basins of water at home, hang up wet towels and make sure that they do not dry out. You can additionally buy a small aquarium with fish.
It is also useful to get a home quartz lamp.
Breathing exercises
Usually, children are prescribed gymnastics according to the Strelnikova method. There are quite a few different exercises in the system aimed at a variety of pathologies.
How to properly do breathing exercises according to the Strelnikova method can be seen in the following video.
The danger of self-medication
Without consulting a doctor, treatment of adenoids can worsen the child's condition. Indeed, at home it is impossible to carry out the entire range of diagnostic actions, which in this case are mandatory.
It happens that parents refuse surgery and prefer to treat a child with third-degree adenoids with traditional medicine. Of course, the refusal of surgical intervention is the legal right of moms and dads, but they also bear responsibility for the consequences of such treatment, and first of all to their own child.
For those in doubt, I can cite interesting statistics that were derived by ENT doctors at one of the Moscow children's clinics: more than half of the diagnoses of "third-degree adenoids" occur in children, who were previously treated for a long time and to no avail with folk remedies and with the help of homeopathy at home. Almost 70% of them, in the end, still had to undergo surgery, because the disease at the time of treatment was extremely neglected.
What not to do
- If a child is diagnosed with adenoids, he should eat properly. You can not feed the child salty food, pickled and canned foods, sour berries and fruits, as acid strongly irritates the inflamed pharyngeal tonsil and contributes to the progression of the disease.
- The child should not be hypothermic, drink too cold or too hot drinks.
- Parents should not try to treat the affected and enlarged tonsil on their own with antiseptics. All the advice that you can cauterize it and stop the growth with iodine is fatal to the child.
- In case of exacerbation of adenitis, you should not take the child to the bathhouse, sauna and swimming pool.
Tips
- Try to follow the therapeutic procedure: before instilling drops in the nose, the passages must be rinsed. If there are dry crusts, they should be removed. After the first day of treatment, you need to enter funds for immunostimulation. Then physiotherapy, if allowed by the doctor. Respiratory gymnastics can be switched only when nasal breathing is restored.
- It is better to carry out inhalations using special devices - an inhaler or nebulizer.... If a child inhales hot vapors of a medicinal decoction from a saucepan, covering himself with a towel over his head, he may burn the mucous membrane of the nose, larynx, trachea and bronchi. With such a diagnosis, hot vapors are contraindicated, and otherwise you will not be able to inhale medicinal formulations without a device. Avoid inhalation and warming compresses if your child has a fever.
