What are the Symptoms of Adenoids, How is Adenoid Surgery Performed?
Adenoid is a lymphatic tissue located in the upper respiratory tract between your nose and throat.
Adenoid is a lymphatic tissue located in the upper respiratory tract between your nose and throat. Every healthy individual has adenoids. Adenoids are small but important glands that are responsible for our body’s defense mechanism. It is a soft, usually red tissue that is impossible to see with the naked eye. Adenoids, along with tonsils, are part of our immune system. It plays a role in body defense by keeping microbes that enter the body through the mouth and nose.
Adenoids mostly help children and babies fight infections and bacteria. Adenoids generally grow in babies and children. It begins to shrink in children over the age of 5 and ends completely by adulthood.
How Does Adenoid Enlargement Happen? Why Does It Happen? What are the symptoms?
The adenoid is among the tissues that form the Waldeyer ring. These tissues: adenoid, two tonsils, two tubal tonsils (located at the mouth of the eustachian canal) and one lingual tonsil (located at the root of the tongue). These structures, which form the Waldeyer ring, play an important role in the immune system. Microorganisms coming from outside to these tissues, which include the adenoid, cause the adenoid to enlarge.
Adenoid enlargement means swelling of the adenoid. Adenoid enlargement is a condition we mostly encounter in children. In general, as children’s immunity strengthens and their methods of fighting diseases improve, their adenoids begin to shrink. But in some cases, the adenoid continues to grow.
Factors affecting the growth of adenoids:
Allergies: flu, cold, allergic rhinitis, spring allergies cause adenoids to enlarge.
Respiratory tract infections: viruses settled here affect the throat and cause the adenoids to enlarge.
Excessive exposure to chemicals: Excessive exposure to dusty areas, areas with chemical agents, and environments with cigarette smoke may cause adenoids to enlarge.
Genetics: There may be adenoids that grow from the womb and continue to grow after birth.
Enlarged adenoids show themselves with some symptoms.
- mouth breathing
- Making wheezing sounds while sleeping, snoring
- sleeping with mouth open
- Nasal congestion, nasal speech
- runny nose, postnasal drip
- bad breath
- fullness in the ears
People with adenoid enlargement may experience difficulties in breathing during the day or during sleep, wheezing, and choking when speaking, during periods when they have an upper respiratory tract infection.
In addition, the incidence of sleep apnea increases in children with upper respiratory tract obstruction due to adenoid swelling. This reduces the secretion of growth hormone. Because growth hormone is associated with the sleep-wake cycle. Therefore, growth and development delays are likely to occur in children.
The diseases commonly caused by adenoids are as follows:
- Frequent respiratory infections
- otitis media
- Deterioration in mouth and teeth structure due to sleeping with mouth open
- growth failure
Adenoid Enlargement Treatment and Adenoid Surgery
Doctors may perform a physical examination, sleep studies, nasal endoscopy, and culture tests to diagnose adenoids.
During the physical examination, he checks the person’s throat, ears, neck and questions his medical history. When enlarged adenoids cause sleep problems and snoring, sleep studies need to be performed. With nasal endoscopy, the size and inflammation status of the person is checked by entering the person’s nose through a tube through the nasal cavity, and the type of bacteria found is evaluated by studying the samples taken from the area.
As a result of the examination, adenoid is diagnosed and the general condition of the patient is evaluated. The use of antihistamines or nasal corticosteroid spray is recommended for people who are exposed to factors that may cause adenoid swelling in daily life. Antibiotic treatment is applied to adenoids that are swollen due to a bacterial infection.
If the medications used do not cause the adenoid to shrink, or if adenoid swelling occurs frequently, and if the person does not experience clinical improvement, adenoid surgery may be required. This procedure is called adenoidectomy.
For adenoid removal, certain conditions must be observed in the person. These:
- Sleep apnea
- long-term nasal congestion
- Sinusitis
- Having difficulty breathing
If conditions such as these occur for a long time, adenoid surgery is used.
Adenoid surgery is currently performed on all age groups. This surgery is usually performed together with tonsillectomy. It is the most common surgical procedure performed on children.
Adenoid surgery is performed under general anesthesia. It takes approximately 30-40 minutes. The adenoid will be reached and cleaned from the person’s mouth with the help of an instrument. Although there are generally no complications after the surgery, some people may experience bleeding, sore throat, and nasal congestion.
On the day of surgery, the person should consume liquid foods such as milk, water and fruit juice.
Day 1 after surgery: the person can add soft foods such as puree, yoghurt and pudding to his/her diet.
Day 2 after surgery: the person can consume soft foods such as boiled vegetables and pasta.
Day 3 after surgery: the person can start eating normally, although not too hard.
Day 4 after surgery: the person can start eating normally.
Blowing your nose and doing strenuous sports should be avoided for a week after the surgery.
If you experience symptoms such as high fever, vomiting, nosebleeds lasting more than 10 minutes, severe pain in the neck, and inability to move the neck after the surgery, a doctor should be called.
Adenoids in Children
Adenoids (adenoids) begin to form from the 3rd month of fetal life. It completes its development in the 7th month. Adenoids reach their largest size between the ages of 4-6. When he becomes an adult, it disappears completely. The adenoid grows due to factors such as bacteria and viruses that it is exposed to from childhood and frequently causes upper respiratory tract disorders in children. Adenoid enlargement causes respiratory disorders as well as anomalies in the development stages of the head, neck and face in children. Since the adenoid that grows from a young age affects nasal and pharyngeal breathing, it can cause problems in the mouth and dental structure, causing cardiopulmonary pathologies, lung congestion and sleep apnea.
Since large adenoids obstruct breathing, it causes mouth breathing in children, which causes the formation of a typical adenoid face. Long and thin facial structure, forward growth of the upper jaw, high palate, malformed teeth, and depressions around the eyes reveal the adenoid facial structure. Adenoids, which have been present since the womb, cause many conditions such as growth and developmental delay and mental retardation in children. In children, nasal speech, inability to control breathing while reading aloud books or singing, and chronic nasal congestion are signs of adenoid enlargement. In babies, wheezing, runny nose, difficulty breathing while sucking breast milk or drinking formula from a bottle may indicate adenoid enlargement. Parents who encounter these symptoms should consult an ear, nose and throat doctor without waiting. Adenoid surgery (adenoidectomy) is now performed in all age groups when properly diagnosed.
In conclusion; The adenoid is a gland that does a great job in the body. It is a lymph tissue that fights against external threats to our body and helps us maintain our health. Adenoid enlargement problems that are noticed, prevented and treated improve the person’s quality of life. It affects the completion of development in children. It contributes to the prevention of diseases that may be encountered in the future.
