Signs of manifestation of etmoiditis in adults and children and methods of treatment of pathology

1 Symptoms of the disease

Symptoms of ethmoiditis are very similar to those that occur with inflammation of the maxillary sinus( sinusitis).It all starts with an unobtrusive but constant headache, from which Paracetamol, Analgin, not TeraFlu and the like medicines can not get rid of. Next, the temperature rises( almost immediately to 40 ° C), and with it the pain centers around the bridge of the nose. Doctors say that the causative agent of the disease is most often pathogenic bacteria such as staphylococci, for which the mucosa is one of the best places for reproduction.

And in children the symptoms develop much faster. That is, if in adults the period of incubation of the disease is about 4-7 days, then in children the temperature rises after 1-2 days. And after 1-2 weeks, chronic ethmoiditis develops, unless you take any

. Patients complain of nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, mucus secretion with inclusions of pus( green or marsh color), an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth. Headache increases with a sharp tilt head forward or sideways. This is due to the flow of mucus in the maxillary sinuses and in the orbit.

Often the etmoiditis is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• appetite impairment;
• fistula formation in the eye and nasal arteries;
• signs of body intoxication;
• when you try to blow your nose, you feel a sharp pain in the nose;
• worsening of sleep.

Chronic etmoiditis is a consequence of acute and has less painful symptoms. All this is accompanied by a decrease in the sense of smell, a constant sensation of nasal congestion, since inflamed nourishing blood vessels.

A separate category is the so-called polyposive etmoiditis, in which polyps arise in the region of the cavity of the mucous membrane of the lattice. They are a mixture of mucus, the products of the vital activity of pathogenic bacteria, and stagnation of the contents of the sinuses. This is a kind of slimy plugs, the density of which only increases with time. It is they who cause the same etmoiditis.

2 Therapy of the disease in children

Treatment of the disease involves taking medications aimed at restoring the microflora in the area of ​​the maxillary sinuses. By the way, for this, not only medicines are used, but also all kinds of physical procedures: heating, "breakdown" of the cavity, inhalation. Etmoiditis in children is fairly easily eliminated with the help of broad-spectrum antibiotics. If, after their use, relief does not come, then, most likely, the culprits of inflammation of the mucous area of ​​the latticed bone are the pathogenic bacilli of the non-staphylococcal group. In this case, a laboratory analysis of the contents of mucus secreted from the nose is prescribed.

In the event that the outflow of mucus is completely disturbed and it is not possible to restore it quickly, a "breakdown" of the sinus channels is used. This is a surgical operation performed through the nasal aperture. Once the contents of the sinuses have been removed, the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics is again prescribed to prevent re-infection and inflammation of the mucosal trellis.

But for adults less radical methods of treatment are used. For the most part, this is the reception of antibiotics, inhalation through the nasal passage and physiotherapy. The latter implies the impact on the area of ​​the nasal septum and sinuses by radio waves of a certain length and frequency. With their help, the work of mucous membranes is stimulated, the process of outflow of mucous masses is accelerated.

The worst variant of the disease course is when the pus affects the latticed bone. The contents of the sinuses in this case falls into the orbit, where the pressure increases. Inside the visual apple, and at all possible in such a situation to detect blood blotches. Naturally, together with this, there is a total disturbance of the visual function, protrusion of the eyeball. Unfortunately, in this situation there is a considerable probability of complete loss of vision. Such a clinical picture is more common in adults and requires immediate surgical intervention( purification of the sinuses and the trellis bone from the pus will be performed manually).

Telling about the symptoms and treatment of ethmoiditis, it is worth mentioning that in children such a violation requires more rapid treatment. If the newborn does not have a normal outflow of mucus to the orbit, the cornea is simply overdried. This can lead to a complete loss of vision. In the most severe cases, drainage of the eyeball is prescribed. The procedure is rather unpleasant, but it's not worth it. The benefit of the equipment necessary for its implementation, there is almost any clinic. If you allow chronic etmoiditis, it is often the only possible treatment option. But one should also remember the high probability of recurrence of the disease.

3 Period of exacerbation of the disease

In the period of acute development of etmoiditis in children, cyanosis of the eyelids and their inflammation can appear. The area of ​​the eye sockets is completely inflamed, because of which only two small lobes can be seen on the spot of the eye, through which the light does not penetrate almost. The reaction to it is often absent, because of which the development of visual function is inhibited. Here the symptoms and treatment are inseparable. The first thing doctors are trying to do is to remove the swelling, after which a course of antibiotics is prescribed and, if necessary, a "breakdown" of the canals.

If you admit defeat of the cranial bones, then there is a so-called arachnoiditis, meningitis or abscess of the brain tissue. Already at this stage there is a considerable risk of death. Only the installation of a sinus catheter, which stimulates the normal and timely circulation of mucus, the release of purulent masses, will help here. Together with this it is recommended for symptomatic treatment to use vasoconstrictive drops for the nose. They will help to get rid of the painful symptoms and accelerate the process of mucus outflow from the cavity of the maxillary sinuses. It is there that the multiplication of pathogenic bacteria is exacerbated.

Etmeditis, whose medication treatment does not produce the proper result, most likely passed into a chronic stage, in which the pathogen penetrates precisely into the cranial structure of the cranium. Reception of antibiotics in this case does not bring any result, since the active substance is not able to go beyond the blood. Here, in this case, either surgery or maintenance therapy will be required. This is a treatment in which nutritious serums are injected into the body in an enormous amount, aimed at stimulating the maximum possible productivity of immunity. The main thing here is to suppress the spread of bacteria and prevent inflammation of the cerebral cortex.

It is interesting that adults do not experience such an aggravation. Most often, it ends with a lesion of the mucous and sinuses. Damage to the latticed bone occurs only with absolute absence of treatment and any procedures to stabilize the patient's condition.

4 Medical measures

The main danger that chronic etmoiditis carries is an extremely high degree and probability of relapse, that is, repeated inflammation of the mucous membrane of the latticed bone and orbits. Allow the onset of these stages can be inaction while acute development of the primary ethmoidite. Further treatment is complex, that is, aimed at both eliminating the painful symptoms and stimulating the immune functions. If during the diagnosis it was found that the culprit of inflammation is staphylococcus, then it is allowed to use a ready-made solution of antibodies, which also stimulates the synthesis of other protein compounds in the body, aimed at combating etmoidite.

If the etmoiditis is diagnosed, the symptoms will determine the treatment. If the patient has signs of eye socket damage and visual function impairment, then he must be prescribed a consultation of an ophthalmologist( ophthalmologist).If the course of the disease is declared as moderate, then the most effective will be:

• electrophoresis;
• ultrafrequency action on the nose;
• breakdown by helium-neon laser;
• use of hydrocortisone.

In addition, the doctor necessarily recommends the treatment of all previously found chronic diseases of the respiratory system and pass a brain examination on a magnetic resonance tomograph.

The latter allows to reveal even the slightest deviations from the norm in the development of the brain, to detect foci of infectious damage to the tissues of the cortex.

In adults, the treatment of chronic etmoiditis is not due to any complications, but the children may be disturbed by the normal development process. And it is revealed too late, when the parents noticed the obvious: the child lags behind in development in comparison with peers. Here we are talking about the infectious damage of some of the parts of the brain tissue. Unfortunately, there is no reliable method by which you can accurately determine what exactly went wrong. Moreover, it is possible to restore the functions of the brain in only 20-30% of cases.

5 Forecasts and results of treatment

With timely diagnosis of ethmoiditis, the probability of complete cure without any consequences is about 80%.The remaining 20% ​​are minor and insignificant temporal complications: impaired sense of smell, hypersensitivity to the nasal mucosa( symptomatology is similar to allergy), hearing impairment. If you allow the transition of ethmoiditis to the chronic stage, the probability of cure is reduced to almost 40%.Here the forecast no doctor can give, since the positive outcome of treatment is completely dependent on the stage in which the diagnosis was carried out.

Positive prognosis for treatment of acute etmoiditis reaches 99%.And conservative therapy is used, mostly associated with the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. When it comes to chronic etmoiditis, it is extremely difficult to completely get rid of it. Doctors can only guarantee the transfer of the disease into a state of remission, that is, when an exacerbation is impossible. Threats to life is not a condition. The only negative of this "condition" is a high probability of infection with ARVI.

In any case, etmoiditis is extremely dangerous, albeit a rare disease. It is more often diagnosed in children under 1 year, although there is no clear pattern. Primary symptoms are headache and fever. A little later, there are purulent discharge from the nose, an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth. In the future, fistulas may appear, the purulent mass penetrates into the orbit, the trellis bone is damaged. Treatment, in principle, simple. Its result depends entirely on the stage of diagnosis of inflammation of the mucosal trellis.