The nasal cavity serves as an inlet not only for inhaled air, but also viral and bacterial infections enter the body through the nose. The left and right parts are interconnected, so if the mucous membrane in one nostril becomes inflamed, then inflammation passes to the other side. And since the nasal cavity further descends into the larynx and passes into the upper respiratory tract - the bronchi, painful manifestations appear in them.
The first sign that an infection has entered the body is the appearance of a runny nose. It never arises as an independent phenomenon. Rhinitis - from the Greek. rhinos - nose + itis - inflammation - always means an infectious lesion of the mucosa.
The appearance of mucus in the nose cannot be ignored, because often a runny nose causes inflammation in the ear (otitis media), maxillary sinuses, sinusitis and can go into the chronic stage. It is especially dangerous to ignore the appearance of the first symptoms of the disease in young children. Children do not know how to cleanse their nasal cavity on their own, as adults do, mucus accumulates, and inflammation goes down much faster in the larynx and bronchi.
The stages of the common cold quickly succeed one another, so the treatment of the disease must be started at the very early stage, without delay, and in no case should the disease be allowed to drift. In the article, we will consider how infection gets through the respiratory tract, why it is so important to breathe through the nose, what to do at first, how the advanced stage of rhinitis is treated.
Functions of the nasal cavity
The nasal cavity performs many useful functions:
- Breathing It allows air to pass into the respiratory tract and removes carbon dioxide from the body during expiration.
- Protective. The structure of the nasal cavity is quite complex: the mucous membrane has many cilia, which, when dust or small particles of other substances get in, begin to push them out. Mucus envelops microelements unnecessary for the body and removes them through the larynx, ciliary epithelium also clears mucus from the bronchi, which serves as drainage of the upper respiratory tract. An important component of cleansing the nose of foreign substances is the process of sneezing.
- Moisturizing. Everyone knows that the nose is constantly moist, but not everyone knows that up to 0.5 l of interstitial fluid is released by the body to moisten the mucous membrane per day. Moisture wets the cilia of the epithelium. With inflammation of the nasal cavity, the body releases much more moisture - up to 2 liters per day.
- Thermoregulatory. Air passing through the nasal cavity is warmed by many blood vessels and capillaries.
- Olfactory. At any stage of the common cold, everyone can feel a violation of the olfactory function of the nose.
- Resonant. Since the nasal cavity has many hollow paranasal sinuses, when talking, air resonates in these voids, creating a special sonicity to the voice, giving it a special timbre, tonality and color. By the sound of the voice, you can identify any person, since everyone has their own structural features. With a runny nose, the voice becomes nasal.
Causes of the common cold
Rhinitis can have different causes. It is infectious, that is, a runny nose is a protective reaction of the body to the ingestion of microbes, bacteria, fungi, viruses that attacked the body. Also, a runny nose can be caused by allergic reactions, trauma to the nasal passages, the ingress of foreign bodies or gases - dust, smoke, etc.
When a foreign body enters the mucous membrane in the cavity of the nasal passages, the first reaction of the body will be the secretion of mucus, which envelops the foreign substance from all sides. Further, the cilia of the epithelium begin to move and push this mucus outward, transporting it from the nasal cavity. Thus, our body fights with foreign bodies, whether it is a speck of dust or a bacterium.
Stages of the common cold
Like any other disease, rhinitis has its own developmental stages, each of which has its own characteristics, time periods of the course. The duration of each stage depends on the human immunity. With hypothermia, a person with strong immunity can cope with the problem in 2-3 days. People with a weak immune system get sick much longer, even with mucosal inflammation as a result of hypothermia, a secondary bacterial infection can join, which will greatly complicate the healing process.
Usually, the common cold stages are divided into three main stages of development:
- initial stage or reflex;
- catarrhal, second stage;
- the last stage has two branches: recovery or attachment of a secondary infection.
Let us consider each stage in more detail, what symptoms can be seen in children and adults, what can be done to make the runny nose go away as quickly as possible and not develop into a chronic form.
Disease onset
The initial stage of the common cold or reflex is characterized by a rapid period of course. Some people can go in a few hours, others can take a couple of days. Therefore, it is very important to notice the early stage of the common cold in order to begin treatment procedures as early as possible. If rhinitis appears in adults, then a person feels dry in the nasal cavity, greater sensitivity when inhaling, in the nasal passages there is a burning sensation, itching of the mucous membrane, I want to scratch my nose, sometimes sneezing occurs, congestion appears. One cannot ignore these sensations, which are especially vivid when the ambient temperature changes, for example, when a person enters a warm room from a cold street. Often the condition is accompanied by a headache.
The initial stage of a runny nose in a child is harder to notice, since he cannot tell his parents what he feels. Usually, a mother can notice the appearance of rhinitis even when there is a discharge from the nose. But if you are more attentive to your baby, you will notice that the child begins to scratch his nose, becomes more restless, begins to breathe through his mouth, and lethargy appears.
Runny nose at an early stage is accompanied by pallor of the mucosa, as narrowing of the vessels occurs. Because of this, the cilia of the epithelium cease to secrete a mucous secret, and therefore dry nose is felt. If you do not start treatment in the first hours of unpleasant sensations, then the disease goes to the second stage.
Catarrhal stage
The next stage of the common cold in children can be determined even by the voice of the baby. At this stage, the expansion of blood vessels occurs, which causes severe swelling of not only the nasal cavities on both sides, completely blocking the access of air to the nose, but also swelling of the vocal cords and the lining of the eye (therefore, profuse lacrimation may appear). The duration of the period lasts from 2 to 3 days. In children, there is abundant mucus in the nose - rhinorrhea, the child breathes heavily with his nose, often breathing through the mouth, body temperature may rise to 37.5 ° C during this period.
At this stage of a runny nose in adults, there is a violation of the sense of smell and taste of food, you can feel tinnitus, fluid from the nose is constantly released, and a nasal voice appears.
Recovery
If the correct treatment was carried out in the early stages of rhinitis, then after the second stage, recovery occurs within 2 days. Gradually, the patient's condition improves, swelling subsides, the mucous membrane returns to normal, the discharge disappears, normal breathing appears, the sense of smell is restored.
The person feels great, the activity of the epithelial cells of the mucosa is completely normal. But the scenario of the development of events may be completely different, since at the third stage of the disease, instead of recovering, there may be an attachment of a bacterial infection. Consider this option for the passage of the disease.
Infection
At the last stage, the person’s condition first improves, ceases to flow constantly from the nose, you might think that the disease recedes, but if a bacterial infection attaches, the condition improves temporarily. Very soon you can see the appearance of thick secretions, usually they have a greenish color. This is due to the presence of dead bacteria in the mucus. In this case, the inflammatory process lowers down the respiratory tract and captures the area of the bronchi. Often in children, untreated rhinitis ends in bronchitis on time.
Also, if untreated, a runny nose can turn into a chronic form. At the third stage of the disease, a high temperature can rise - up to 39 ° C. Therefore, it is very important to start treatment as soon as possible.
How to treat a runny nose
At all stages of the common cold, various treatments are carried out. At the first detected symptoms, you need to act immediately. If you are cold in the winter, then, having arrived home, do warming procedures. It recommends steaming your feet (or even to the knee) with dry mustard. The temperature of the solution should be about 40 ° C, and the duration of heating should be 10 minutes. After the procedure, you need to lie in a warm bed and drink hot tea with raspberries, linden or rosehip infusion. Putting on warm socks overnight with dry mustard gives a good result.
In the initial stages of the disease, inhalation with peppermint oil, tea tree or plain soda will help. If a runny nose is caused by an allergic reaction, then the first thing you need to do is take a pill of an antihistamine, there are perfectly acting drops in the nose for allergy sufferers, for example, Edenrino or Allergodil.
Disease treatment
A runny nose never arises on its own. Usually, this is a consequence of another disease, so the treatment of rhinitis should be combined with the treatment of the underlying disease. It can be antiviral drugs or antibiotics, antihistamines or antifungal drugs.
Additionally, vitamin C, immunity enhancing drugs, tea with echinacea will help to cope with the problem. Salt solutions, sprays based on sea salt help to release the nasal cavity from mucus. They not only cleanse the nose, but also moisturize the mucous membrane.
Be careful with vasoconstrictor drugs, children under two years of age should preferably not use such sprays. Adults are not recommended to use them often, as they have side effects.
Conclusion
The passage of different stages of the common cold in children by day needs to be controlled, to prevent the transition of the disease into a chronic form. You need to start treatment from the first hours, do not let the cold run by chance. Frequent rhinitis leads to sinusitis, sinusitis, polyps and adenoids grow in children, which leads to surgical operations, ear complications, and deafness. Take care of your health and the health of your children!