Everyone faced a common cold. However, in some cases, thick mucus comes out of the nose instead of fluid. There is a feeling that the nose is clogged, it is not possible to blow your nose normally. Atrophic rhinitis is an inflammatory pathology of the nasal mucosa, characterized by a number of sclerotic changes. The most obvious symptom: painful drying of the nasal mucosa, the appearance of scabs and bleeding.
Causes of pathology
An experienced otolaryngologist will be able to establish the correct cause of atrophic rhinitis, based on a thorough examination and patient test results. Pathological sources include fungal cultures or bacteria. In addition, a runny nose may be genetic. In some cases, atrophic rhinitis is formed due to:
- An imbalance of hormones, in particular disorders of the endocrine system, occurring in the human body during puberty.
- Surgical interventions, especially during operations to correct the septum of the nose and change its shape.
- With a deficiency of iron and vitamin D in the human body.
Symptoms of atrophic rhinitis in adults in acute form may appear due to the penetration of chemicals in the nasal passages in high concentration or after sudden climatic changes.
The nature and types of atrophic rhinitis
The concept of “atrophy” means a pathological condition, accompanied by severe thinning of the skin, mucous membranes and organs, which can be located in different places of the body.
Atrophic rhinitis is an inflammatory chronic disease that affects the nasal mucosa and leads to its thinning. In the process of the development of the disease, the functional state of other structures localized in the mucous membrane is also disrupted. These include: sensitive nerve endings that are responsible for the sense of smell, microcirculatory vessels, glands that produce mucus, which protects the nasal cavity from drying out. Also, in some cases, pathology can affect bone and cartilage.
Depending on the causes and developmental features, two main types of chronic atrophic rhinitis are distinguished:
- primary, which is characterized by the development of thinning of the nasal mucosa and all structures that are part of it, after which the process of inflammation is added to them;
- secondary rhinitis, the development of which occurs on the contrary: prolonged inflammation, which has occurred due to various reasons, atrophies the mucous membrane.
The primary form has the name Ozena, that is, a fetid runny nose. The disease always accompanies the appearance of putrefactive processes, when breathing, an unpleasant smell is felt. If it stays for a long time, the center of the brain, which is responsible for the sense of smell, "gets used" to this state and no longer notices it. However, people around you will always feel this smell.
Symptoms of the disease
Atrophic rhinitis has quite specific symptoms, so the disease is difficult to confuse with other pathological processes in the nasal cavity. The patient may feel anxious due to abnormalities such as:
- sudden lightening of the nasal mucosa ;
- the appearance in the nose of dry green-yellow crusts;
- dry sensation in the sinus passages;
- clots of mucus are secreted with blood.
Bad smell
If you ignore the symptoms of atrophic rhinitis for a long time, then a strong unpleasant odor from the nose may appear (especially if the cause was a bacterial infection). In especially advanced situations, significant deformities of the nose may appear. Also, the necrotic process is able to spread to the membrane surrounding the brain. In the vast majority of cases, this form of rhinitis is not life threatening, however, less than 1% of patients have died from this disease. So what to do with the symptoms of atrophic rhinitis?
Diagnostic methods
Engaged in the diagnosis and further treatment of such rhinitis, an ENT doctor, that is, an otolaryngologist. The initial conclusion is based on typical clinical symptoms. In addition, after determining the specifics of the manifestation of the disease, differential diagnosis of atrophic rhinitis (primary and secondary) is carried out.
To determine the severity of the transformations of the mucous membrane, which includes its thinning, rhinoscopy is performed, which refers to instrumental diagnostic methods by which a specialist gives a visual assessment of the state of the walls of the nasal passages.
Establishing the cause
The establishment of the cause of the onset of the disease is carried out using a laboratory study, which involves the inoculation of biomaterial, that is, a smear from the nasal mucosa on special nutrient media.
In the presence of bacteria, colonies of microorganisms grow on them, then identified by antigenic, biochemical and morphological characteristics. In addition, thanks to the study, it is possible to identify the sensitivity of these microorganisms to certain antibiotics. Based on all diagnostic results, the specialist will prescribe an appropriate therapeutic regimen.
Treatment of atrophic rhinitis
The currently existing therapeutic methods are conditionally divided into conservative and surgical. Therapy begins with the constant use of glycerin drops and washing the sinus sinuses with a weak concentration of saline. What else involves the treatment of atrophic rhinitis in adults? Here are the methods of therapy:
- Washing. Used drugs will not be able to cope with the multiplication of bacteria and will not eliminate the real pathogenic source. The nose can be treated with a solution of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 3%. The procedure is quite simple: the patient needs to tilt his head on his side and slightly open his mouth. Through a syringe or pipette, 25-50 milliliters of fluid is injected into each nostril. In this case, you must ensure that the solution could not get into the throat. Treatment of atrophic rhinitis is best done under the supervision of a physician.
- Inhalation. Those who love folk treatment can be inhaled based on fresh garlic (a few cloves are simply grinded into gruel and then poured with a small amount of boiling water). This method can help the patient, because garlic has serious antibacterial properties.
- Tamponade. In addition, you can moisten a cotton swab with glycerin and iodine solution (2%), place in one of the nostrils and hold there for two to three hours. Crusts also come out of the sinuses along with the swab. After two or three procedures, the disappearance of an unpleasant odor during breathing becomes noticeable. What drugs are suitable for the treatment of atrophic rhinitis?
- Antibiotics. If treatment with home remedies fails, antibiotic therapy is required. The choice of local or oral medications depends on what the true cause of the disease is. But you can not use antibiotics on your own. In the case when rhinitis is provoked by vitamin deficiency or hormonal failure, drugs only exacerbate the situation. The otolaryngologist will prescribe aggressive agents only after he receives the results of tests that confirm the presence of gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria.
Atrophic rhinitis in adults can also be treated surgically.
Surgical intervention
Surgical action on the nasal structures is usually required in the absence of the effect of conservative methods or in the presence of anatomical abnormalities (curvature of the septum) that atrophy the mucosa.
Modern surgical therapy includes minimally invasive techniques that improve metabolic processes with cellular recovery (laser therapy). If the thinning is pronounced, then implantation is carried out, including the implantation of its cartilage tissue, which is taken from other parts of the body, for example, from the maxillary sinuses.
Only an ENT doctor can decide on a method for treating atrophic rhinitis and conducting prophylaxis, based on the diagnostic measures taken. Since the disease can temporarily eliminate the symptoms, independent actions when choosing drugs are not recommended.
Preventative measures
To prevent or improve the results with conservative treatment, you can put in your apartment a special humidifier.
In the presence of atrophic rhinitis, you need to rinse your nose with a salt solution and make glycerin-based tamponade in the hot months with minimal humidity.
The use of cotton swabs is allowed to lubricate the nostrils with sea buckthorn oil. If the disease develops into a chronic condition for patients living in a dry climate, it is advisable to consider moving to an area of the country with higher humidity.