Recently, a patient named Duan, male, 20 years old, was diagnosed with right nasal cavity obstruction, dizziness, and snoring for more than a year. Despite seeking treatment at an external hospital or purchasing medication at a pharmacy, there was no significant improvement. After undergoing an endoscopic examination of the ear, nose, and throat at the hospital for treatment, it was found that his right nasal cavity was congested. And diagnosed as nasal polyps.
When it comes to nasal polyps, many people think that there is just a piece of flesh growing in the nose, it's not a big deal. But in fact, nasal polyps are not simple.
What is nasal polyp?
Nasal polyps are a common disease in the nose, which is caused by long-term inflammatory reactions of the nasal mucosa leading to tissue edema. Nasal polyps often originate from the middle nasal meatus, nasal complex, and ethmoid sinus. Highly edematous nasal mucosa protrudes and droops from the middle nasal meatus and sinus towards the nasal cavity.
Who is prone to nasal polyps?
1. Asthma. 2. Allergic to aspirin or other painkillers. 3. Patients with allergic rhinitis (main symptoms include nasal congestion, itching, sneezing, and runny nose). 4. Chronic sinus infections, such as sinusitis patients. 5. Allergic fungal sinusitis (allergic to airborne fungi). 6. Other acute or chronic infections of the nose.
What are the symptoms of nasal polyps?
1. Persistent nasal congestion: Patients with nasal polyps may experience prolonged nasal congestion, which is caused by poor circulation of capillaries in the nasal cavity, leading to capillary dilation. The use of vasoconstrictors for nasal drops has no significant therapeutic effect. Patients with nasal congestion may also experience reduced sense of smell, obstructive nasal sounds, sleep snoring, and mouth breathing, which can lead to chronic pharyngitis over time.
2. Difficulty breathing and dizziness: If the condition is not detected in a timely manner, nasal polyps will continue to grow, making nasal congestion significantly worse, which can cause headaches or dizziness, reduced sense of smell, and even loss of function. If polyps block the posterior nostril or even protrude into the nasopharynx, it can cause hearing loss and widen the back of the nose, forming a "frog nose".
3. runny nose: In the early stage of nasal polyps, patients may feel a lot of mucus in the nasal cavity, mostly in the form of mucus. If infection occurs, there may be purulent secretions. Patients rarely sneeze, but if there is allergic inflammation of the nasal mucosa, they may also sneeze.
4. Bleeding: Hemorrhagic polyps (less common) have a smooth surface, congestion, and are soft and prone to bleeding when touched.
5. Fibrous polyps: Fibrous polyps are gray white in color, with a smooth surface, and are relatively firm to the touch, making them less prone to bleeding.
6. Mucous polyps: resembling peeled grape or fresh lychee flesh, with a smooth and semi transparent surface, pink in color, and with frenulum mostly from the middle nasal passage, soft and active when touched.
7. Nasal polyps can compress surrounding tissues, leading to the phenomenon of a large nose.
The harm of nasal polyps
1. Formation of frog nose
Frog nose, as the name suggests, refers to a significant widening of the nasal back, loss of normal shape, and appearance resembling that of a frog's nose. If left untreated after suffering from nasal polyps, the condition can worsen, with the polyps growing longer and larger until they fill the entire nasal cavity, ultimately causing the nose to deform, the back of the nose to widen, and forming a "frog nose".
2. Causes various complications
(1) Secretory otitis media: If nasal polyps are not treated in a timely manner or treated improperly, the polyp volume will increase. When the volume of polyps increases or sinusitis occurs, it can cause compression or inflammatory stimulation of the pharyngeal opening of the Eustachian tube, leading to dysfunction of the Eustachian tube and the occurrence of secretory otitis media.
(2) Sinusitis: If the middle nasal passage and sinus mucosa are blocked by polyps at the sinus opening, sinusitis is prone to occur, causing swelling and thickening of the sinus mucosa. If secondary infection occurs, it may also cause purulent inflammation. In addition, nasal polyps that grow rapidly and have a large volume can compress and damage the sinus wall or nasal top wall, followed by invasion of the eye socket, frontal sinus, anterior cranial fossa, sphenoid sinus, and middle cranial fossa, and even lead to malignant transformation.
(3) Pharyngitis and bronchial asthma: Nasal polyps cause pressure on the pharyngeal mucosa, leading to repeated edema and chronic pharyngitis. At the same time, they cause lower respiratory tract lesions, which in turn trigger asthma.
(4) Heart, brain and lung diseases: nasal polyps block the nasal cavity, leading to insufficient blood and oxygen supply in the body, which will cause damage to the functions of the heart, lungs and other important organs, lead to chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and even shock. Due to insufficient blood oxygen supply, the brain may also experience hypoxia, leading to memory loss, brain nerve damage, and the possibility of developing dementia in middle-aged and elderly patients.
How to prevent nasal polyps?
1. Self prevention
Strengthen one's physical fitness and resistance ability, exercise regularly, wash one's face with cold water, and enhance the ability of the nose to keep warm; Colds must be treated in a timely manner, as many patients with nasal polyps develop early on due to the continuous deterioration of their cold condition; If you discover ear, nose, or throat diseases, you must go to a regular ear, nose, and throat hospital for thorough treatment as soon as possible. The ear, nose, and throat are interconnected, and a disease in one organ can cause inflammation, infection, and spread, leading to nasal polyps.
2. External prevention
Eat less spicy food, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption; Wear a mask when going out to reduce the entry of harmful substances from the air into the nasal cavity; Do not blindly take medication, it must be taken under the guidance of a doctor. In addition, long-term use of drugs such as vasoconstrictors poses significant risks; Long term nose picking can cause damage to the nasal mucosa. Do not blow your nose too hard to reduce dilation of the nasal blood vessels.