Every year, the second Saturday of April is National Rhinoplasty Day, and this year’s theme is “Nasal Health, Breathe Well”. Due to climate change, atmospheric pollution, living environment, health awareness and poor hygiene habits and other factors, the incidence of nasal diseases has increased year by year, and the prevalence rate is now as high as 15%-25%, which has become a major public health hazard.
The nasal cavity – the first line of defense of the respiratory system In recent years, the hazy climate has increased, PM2.5 respirable particulate matter has become a hot topic of discussion, PM2.5 particle size is small, rich in toxic and harmful substances, and has a great impact on human health and the quality of the atmosphere. The nasal cavity is the first line of defense to guard the human respiratory system. Professor Ruxin Zhang, chief physician and doctoral supervisor of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery of East China Hospital of Fudan University, told reporters that the nasal cavity not only has the function of breathing, but also has special functions such as filtering and cleaning, heating and humidifying, articulating and resonating, reflex protection and smell. There is a special epithelial tissue on the surface of the nasal cavity with a large number of microcilia, which have the function of self-cleaning. When the nasal cavity is inflamed, the epithelium of the nasal mucosa and its cilia are damaged and the self-cleaning defense function will be affected, which can further cause respiratory diseases.
What are the common nasal diseases in life and how to prevent them? In the interview, Professor Zhang answered some questions about the public’s concerns.
Concern one: nasal disease in the prevention Professor Zhang pointed out that due to climate change, atmospheric pollution, living environment, health awareness and poor health habits and other factors, the incidence of nasal disease has increased year by year, the prevalence rate is now up to 15-25%, has become a major public health hazard. Rhinology is the most common disease in ENT, mainly rhinitis and sinusitis, there are many types of rhinitis, such as allergic rhinitis, acute rhinitis, chronic rhinitis, and chronic rhinitis is divided into simple, hypertrophic, dry and atrophic rhinitis. For each type, there are mild, moderate and severe rhinitis, which need to be treated separately, so the treatment needs to advocate the principle of individualized treatment.
Strengthening physical fitness and preventing colds is the first link to prevent the development of rhinopathy, so you should pay attention to nasal hygiene, prevent colds, avoid overexertion, increase physical exercise, quit smoking and drinking, and eat less spicy food. In addition, proper nasal cleansing can improve the cleanliness of the nasal cavity and improve the physiological function of the nasal cavity. Nasal cleaning can be done with saline in a nasal rinse. In hazy weather or respiratory diseases, patients with allergic rhinitis and other nasal diseases can cleanse once in the morning and once in the evening or as prescribed by the doctor.
The second concern: the annoying “rhinitis” in the spring is now in full bloom, which is the high incidence of allergic rhinitis. Since the symptoms of allergic rhinitis are very similar to those of a cold, many people mistakenly treat allergic rhinitis as a cold, but they are not cured for a long time, which is very harmful.
So how to distinguish rhinitis from the cold? Professor Zhang said, in general, the cold is often caused by fatigue, decreased resistance, virus invasion, the onset is often accompanied by sore throat, cough, generally 3-5 days more can be self-healing. Allergic rhinitis, on the other hand, often occurs due to allergies and exposure to allergens, and has perennial and seasonal characteristics, and is not accompanied by sore throat, fever, cough and sputum and other symptoms, often intermittent episodes, or delayed existence, the course of the disease varies from a few weeks, months to years. If you want to confirm the diagnosis, you need a specialist examination, and treatment should not be mixed, and it is obviously not advisable to treat rhinitis with cold medicine.
It is recommended that patients with allergic rhinitis take early precautions to stay away from allergens, such as dust mites, pets, plant pollen, fungi, etc. Drug treatment currently does not advocate the systemic application of glucocorticoids, can be nasal local medication, the use of local antihistamines is also very effective. For a part of patients with clear allergens, can also be treated with desensitization therapy under the guidance of a doctor.
Concern three: sinusitis can not abuse antibiotics Acute and chronic rhinitis, sinusitis is the most common nasal disease. A cold or flu often complicates sinus infections, manifesting as nasal congestion, runny nose and other symptoms. Some patients ask for antibiotics as a matter of course, or use steroidal nasal sprays and other drugs on their own. Professor Zhang believes that if you have symptoms of rhinitis or sinusitis, such as nasal obstruction, runny nose, headache and swelling, and loss of smell, you should seek treatment guidance from a professional doctor at the ear, nose and throat department as soon as possible. Obtain the necessary examination and clear diagnosis, and adopt the necessary standardized treatment, instead of blindly using medication or taking antibiotics or cold medicine at will, or inappropriate nasal drops, because the abuse of antibiotics is more harmful, and the random use of nasal drops under an unknown diagnosis often causes drug rhinitis.
At present, for acute sinusitis and chronic mild sinusitis, drug therapy is preferred. If it is not cured after three months of standardized medication, it can be treated with endoscopic sinus surgery. Postoperative standardized nasal medication and postoperative medication change is the key to prevent recurrence.
Concern 4: Be alert to unexplained headache and nasal bleeding The common symptoms of nasal disease include: nasal obstruction, runny nose, nasal itching, sneezing, nasal bleeding, olfactory disturbance, as well as headache and head swelling, facial numbness, ear stuffiness and swelling, returning aspiration of blood, diplopia, toothache, neck lump, memory loss, difficulty in concentration and anxiety. Among them, nasal obstruction can be continuous, intermittent and alternating; nasal runny nose can be divided into clear water, mucous snot, mucous-purulent snot and pus; nasal bleeding can be divided into acute, chronic, blood in the snot and aspirated snot and blood.
Professor Zhang said that the various characteristics of the symptoms can suggest various nasal diseases. For example, headache and swelling often indicate the presence of sinus inflammation. Unexplained headaches are often mistaken for neurological headaches, when in fact, in many cases, they are caused by sinusitis, sinus tumors or nasal septal deviation. So for unexplained headache, especially if headache is the only symptom, do not forget the common cause of rhinogenic headache.
In case of returning aspiration of blood, ear stuffiness and swelling, facial numbness, diplopia and painless neck mass, be alert to the possibility of nasal tumor and nasopharyngeal lesion. Some patients have only a little intermittent nasal bleeding or blood in the snot, which is often not taken seriously and delayed for a long time, missing the best time for treatment, so unexplained nasal bleeding must not be ignored.