Runny nose, acute rhinitis, rhinopharyngitis
Runny nose, acute rhinitis
A runny nose or coryza is a very common condition in children. In the etiology of a common cold or acute rhinitis, both general and local factors of decreased reactivity, hypothermia, activation of the microflora of the nasal cavity, and trauma are given importance.
Runny nose, acute rhinitis symptoms
From the very beginning of the disease, a runny nose or acute rhinitis appears sharply expressed hyperemia and swelling of the nasal mucosa, mucous, and then mucopurulent nasal discharge. With a runny nose or acute rhinitis, nasal breathing becomes difficult and sometimes completely turns off. Also, for a runny nose or acute rhinitis, fever, malaise, weakness, lack of appetite, and headache are characteristic.
Usually, after 1 week, the phenomena of acute rhinitis (rhinitis) subside. However, complications of acute rhinitis (rhinitis) are also possible: inflammation of the middle ear, sinusitis, less often a pharyngeal abscess.
Runny nose, acute rhinitis treatment
The main attention in the treatment of acute rhinitis (rhinitis) should be focused on preventing the transition of an acute process to chronic rhinitis, preventing possible complications (sinusitis, otitis media), and eliminating the above etiological factors of the disease. In the first days of illness at an elevated temperature, headache, a patient with acute rhinitis (runny nose) is shown bed rest, staying in a warm room.
During this period, in the absence or severe difficulty in breathing through the nose, appoint:
- physiotherapy
- warming
- UVRO on the area of the soles (erythemal dose)
- mustard plasters on calves
- hot and (better) mustard foot baths
- herbal medicine
In the treatment of acute rhinitis (rhinitis), vasoconstrictors are used: 1% boric acid solution (10 ml) with 0.1% adrenaline solution (10 drops), 3-6 drops in each half of the nose 3 times a day. Solutions of naphthyzin and sanorin (0.05% or 0.1%) are also prescribed, but their prolonged use can cause swelling of the nasal mucosa, allergy. Incorrect instillation (with the head thrown back) is not beneficial, since the child immediately spits out the medicine or swallows it.
If there is a lot of mucus in the nasal cavity, it is pre-aspirated with a rubber balloon. The crusts drying out at the entrance to the nose are softened with sterile boiled oil (olive, sunflower), petroleum jelly, or Oxycort and then carefully removed with a cotton wick.
In the treatment of acute rhinitis (rhinitis), insufflation of antibiotic powder, sulfonamides into the nose is prescribed. Children under 3 years of age are contraindicated in the appointment of cocaine (taking into account its toxicity) and menthol (due to a possible spasm of the glottis). Physiotherapeutic procedures are used: sollux, UHF currents, ozokerite.
Older children with abundant watery nasal discharge in the treatment of acute rhinitis (runny nose) can sometimes prescribe belladonna tincture to obtain a quick effect: 5 ml with valerian (10 ml), 10 drops up to 3 times a day, or belloid in the form of pills (up to 2 pieces per day). By lowering the tone of the parasympathetic nervous system and reducing the secretory function of the glands, these agents help to regress the inflammatory process and improve well-being.
It is not always necessary to recommend antipyretics (aspirin, etc.) at elevated temperatures, since they increase sweating, can predispose to various kinds of complications, and worsen the course of the disease, reducing the body's resistance to infectious aggression. The child's nutrition should be limited to salt and fluid restriction, be regular, complete, with a sufficient amount of vitamins.
Acute rhinitis (rhinopharyngitis)
Acute rhinitis (rhinopharyngitis) in newborns and infants develops due to the spread of the inflammatory process to the pharynx. The disease is difficult. It is due to less adaptation than in adults to changes in the external environment, both due to the functional and morphological features of the central nervous system and in connection with the immaturity of tissues.
The nasal passages in newborns and infants are very narrow, and slight swelling of the mucous membrane leads to severe breathing difficulties. As a result, breathing through the nose is disturbed, feeding becomes difficult since when sucking, the child is forced to periodically breathe through the mouth. During sleep, these children develop bouts of shortness of breath and suffocation, and due to the need for oral breathing, the deeper parts of the respiratory tract are affected (pneumonia). Acute rhinitis in infants is most often caused by a viral infection, but they have not yet developed immune mechanisms to fight it, which determines the severity of the disease. The temperature sometimes rises to 40° C.
Acute rhinitis (rhinopharyngitis) treatment
If a bacterial one joins a viral infection with acute rhinitis (rhinopharyngitis), antibacterial drugs are prescribed. Vasoconstrictor drugs for acute rhinitis (rhinopharyngitis) have a short-term effect and can be used only before feeding the baby. If there is abundant discharge in the nasal cavity, mucus aspiration is indicated before feeding. Treatment is the same as for acute rhinitis.
See also
Nasal cavity diseases:
- Runny nose, acute rhinitis, rhinopharyngitis
- Allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, vasomotor rhinitis
- Chlamydial and Trichomonas rhinitis
- Chronic rhinitis: catarrhal, hypertrophic, atrophic
- Deviated nasal septum (DNS) and nasal bones deformation
- Nosebleeds (Epistaxis)
- External nose diseases: furunculosis, eczema, sycosis, erysipelas, frostbite
- Gonococcal rhinitis
- Changes of the nasal mucosa in influenza, diphtheria, measles and scarlet fever
- Nasal foreign bodies (NFBs)
- Nasal septal cartilage perichondritis
- Nasal septal hematoma, nasal septal abscess
- Nose injuries
- Ozena (atrophic rhinitis)
- Post-traumatic nasal cavity synechiae and choanal atresia
- Nasal scabs removing
- Rhinitis-like conditions (runny nose) in adolescents and adults
- Rhinogenous neuroses in adolescents and adults
- Smell (olfaction) disorders
- Subatrophic, trophic rhinitis and related pathologies
- Nasal breathing and olfaction (sense of smell) disorders in young children
Paranasal sinuses diseases:
- Acute and chronic frontal sinusitis (frontitis)
- Acute and chronic sphenoid sinusitis (sphenoiditis)
- Acute ethmoiditis (ethmoid sinus inflammation)
- Acute maxillary sinusitis (rhinosinusitis)
- Chronic ethmoid sinusitis (ethmoiditis)
- Chronic maxillary sinusitis (rhinosinusitis)
- Infantile maxillary sinus osteomyelitis
- Nasal polyps
- Paranasal sinuses traumatic injuries
- Rhinogenic orbital and intracranial complications
- Tumors of the nose and paranasal sinuses, sarcoidosis