[Medical Q&A] What are the symptoms of enlarged adenoids in children? Will it affect breathing and sleep?

Planner: Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Niu Chao, deputy chief physician, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University

The answer is yes.

Adenoids, also known as "pharyngeal tonsils", are located at the top of the nasopharynx and the posterior pharyngeal wall and belong to lymphatic tissue. Adenoid hypertrophy in children refers to the pathological proliferation of adenoids due to repeated stimulation of inflammation. Under normal physiological conditions, adenoids proliferate vigorously in children aged 2 to 6 years old, gradually shrink between 10 and 12 years old, and basically disappear in adults. However, if adenoids hypertrophy abnormally, it may cause a series of problems.

The symptoms of enlarged adenoids in children vary. The first symptoms that may appear are nasal congestion and runny nose. Because enlarged adenoids block the posterior nasal cavity, resulting in poor nasal ventilation, children may breathe through their mouths frequently and have runny nose, especially purulent runny nose. In addition, enlarged adenoids may cause secretions to flow back into the throat, irritate the throat mucosa, and cause discomfort, dryness, and a foreign body sensation in the throat. Children may therefore frequently clear their throats or cough, especially in the morning. In addition to nasal congestion, runny nose, and cough, hearing loss is also a common symptom of enlarged adenoids in children. Enlarged adenoids may compress the Eustachian tube, leading to abnormal Eustachian tube function, and then cause otitis media, manifested as stuffy ears, tinnitus, hearing loss and other symptoms. If not treated for a long time, middle ear effusion may even occur, seriously affecting the child's hearing development.

Adenoid hypertrophy in children not only affects the child's breathing, but may also have a serious impact on sleep. Due to the poor nasal ventilation caused by adenoid hypertrophy, children are prone to snoring, breath holding, apnea and other symptoms during sleep. These sleep abnormalities will seriously affect the child's sleep quality, causing the child to have systemic symptoms such as easy startling, drowsiness, and lack of concentration. In the long run, it may also affect the child's intellectual and physical development.

In addition, long-term mouth breathing is also a serious consequence of adenoid hypertrophy in children. Due to poor nasal ventilation, children have to breathe through their mouths for a long time, which will affect the development of maxillofacial bones and lead to adenoid facies. Adenoid facies are manifested as elongated maxilla, protruding upper incisors, thick upper lip, high arched hard palate, etc., which seriously affect the beauty of children's faces.

If a child is found to have enlarged adenoids, parents should take the child to see a doctor in time and understand the extent and symptoms of adenoids hypertrophy through professional examination and diagnosis. For children with mild symptoms, parents should strengthen their daily care for their children, pay attention to personal hygiene, and avoid upper respiratory tract infections such as colds. At the same time, you can use normal saline to clean the nasal cavity as prescribed by the doctor, and use topical glucocorticoid nasal sprays for treatment. If conservative treatment is ineffective and adenoids hypertrophy seriously affects the child's quality of life, surgical treatment can be considered.