Should adenoids be removed?

A child has an endlessly stuffy nose, he snores in his sleep and coughs, but there is no temperature? Or maybe the baby became inattentive, constantly questioning and showing unreasonable aggression? These are not symptoms of SARS and not another age crisis, most likely, the baby is worried about adenoids. Delete! There is no other way out, we hear from everywhere, but adenoids are not always an operation.



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Parents, often faced with no alternative, are afraid of the common childhood diagnosis of plague, but adenoids can be successfully treated without a surgical knife. "Site" shares the professional opinion of Evgeny Komarovsky on the problem of adenoids and their removal.

Normally, pharyngeal amygdala is a natural defense of the body against viruses and infections, but sometimes it itself can provoke serious diseases. Adenoids can be treated conservatively, but there are direct indications for their removal. In any case, do not wait until the child outgrows!

Complications can be much more dangerous not always useful drugs, surgery or anesthesia, because the overgrown tonsils can lead to oxygen starvation of the brain, and this, for a minute, is fraught with a delay in development.

How dangerous are adenoids
  1. Frequent colds and inflammatory diseases
    Normally, the mucous membrane of the cavity and sinuses of the nose produces a secret that cleanses the cavity of bacteria and viruses. If a child has an obstacle in the form of adenoids, the outflow of mucus is difficult, and favorable conditions are created in the nasal cavity for the occurrence of inflammatory diseases and the development of infection.
  2. Frequent otitis
    Adenoid growths block the mouth of the auditory tube and disrupt the normal functioning of the middle ear. At the same time, favorable conditions are created for the penetration of pathogens and the development of infection in the middle ear.


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  3. Hearing impairment
    Normally, the difference between the pressure in the middle ear cavity and external atmospheric pressure is regulated by the auditory tube. But when its mouth is blocked by adenoids of impressive size, the passage of air into the middle ear is difficult, as a result of which the eardrum loses its mobility and this affects the auditory sensations.
  4. Speech disturbance
    Does the child not pronounce individual letters or gnusavit? Perhaps the reason lies in the adenoids, which disrupt the growth of the facial skeleton, which extremely adversely affects the formation of speech.


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  5. adenoid cough
    Often, doctors do not notice adenoid growths in a child and associate an obsessive cough with a cold or flu. In fact, coughing is associated with reflexive irritation of the nerve endings of the nasopharynx and the posterior wall of the pharynx, and the cough itself does not cause pathological changes in the bronchi or lungs, as is the case with viral infections.
  6. Low academic performance
    A child who suffers from difficulty nasal breathing due to the growth of the nasopharyngeal amygdala, does not receive 12-18% of oxygen, hence the brain suffers.


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Whether to remove adenoids to the child? Treatment of adenoids is not always an operation. In the mildest cases, you can do only regime measures without the use of medications. For example, dust, dry and hot air, especially in the height of the heating season, can provoke swelling of the pharyngeal amygdala.

In such cases, it is enough to regularly wash the nose with saline solution, ventilate the room and moisten the air to avoid further spread of edema. If the problem is more pronounced, ENT may prescribe drug therapy without surgery. The best remedy in this situation is topical nasal sprays based on corticosteroids.

You should not be afraid of these drugs: most of them practically do not get into the blood, as happens with hormonal drugs in tablets or injections. 90-98% of the active substance remains exclusively in the mucous membrane, without affecting other organs and systems.



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If the problem is neglected, and conservative treatment has not given positive results, most often the child is shown the removal of adenoids.

“Indications for removal of adenoids are determined not by the size of the adenoid growths, but by specific symptoms. In the end, due to the specific anatomical features of a particular child, it also happens that adenoids of the III degree only moderately interfere with nasal breathing, and adenoids of the I degree lead to a significant decrease in hearing, explains Komarovsky.

Persistent disturbance of nasal breathing, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath at night, repeated otitis, hearing impairment, chronic sinusitis, deformity of the facial skeleton - in these cases, the operation is indicated necessarily!

What you need to know about the operation
  1. The essence of the operation is to remove the pathologically enlarged nasopharyngeal amygdala, and the process itself is carried out under both general and local anesthesia.
  2. Adenotomy is one of the shortest operations: 5-10 minutes in general, and the process of extracting adenoids is a matter of seconds. Specially designed for these purposes, an annular knife (adenotome) is inserted into the arch of the nasopharynx, gently pressed against it and captures the adenoids in the ring. A slight movement of the hand of an experienced otolaryngologist - and adenoids as did not happen.


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  3. Although complications during adenotomy are extremely rare, the simplicity of the operation is not evidence of its safety. It is possible damage to the palate, bleeding and complications associated with anesthesia.
  4. Adenotomy in children Planned operation, for which it is necessary to prepare in advance. It is highly undesirable to remove adenoids during an influenza epidemic or after a recent acute infectious or viral disease.


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  5. The recovery period after surgery usually proceeds quickly and without difficulties. For 3-10 days, depending on the instructions of the doctor, you should follow a diet with the exception of coarse, hard and hot foods from the diet. Usually immediately after surgery, there is a noticeable improvement in nasal breathing, but in the following days, nasalness and nasal congestion may occur. This is normal and is associated with the presence of postoperative edema, which in most cases passes in 7-10 days.

  6. No matter how high the qualifications of the surgeon, it is almost impossible to remove the pharyngeal amygdala completely - even a crumb, but it will remain. There is always a chance that the adenoids will reappear. By the way, the earlier the adenotomy is performed, the higher the likelihood of recurrence.


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“The reappearance of adenoids is a cause for serious parental reflection. And not at all that there was a bad doctor, but that the best doctors will not help if the child is surrounded by dust, dry and warm air, if the child is fed with persuasion, if the TV is more important than walking, if there is no physical exertion, if ...

“If it is easier for mom and dad to take the child to an otolaryngologist than to part with your favorite carpet, organize hardening or take the baby sports,” Komarovsky complains.

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Most moms, dads and grandmothers are convinced that the operation is a colossal trauma for the child, because many adults themselves carried unpleasant memories of removing adenoids throughout their lives. Some were tied by hands and feet, others were held in the entire department, and still others can not forgive parents for childhood trauma.

If the ENT prescribes an adenotomy without diagnosis because the child is often sick or "just in case," contact another doctor. Adenoids are not always an operation, there is a way out!

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