The nasal cavity serves as an inlet not only for inhaled air, but infections - viral and bacterial - enter the body through the nose. The left and right parts are interconnected, so if the mucous membrane in one nostril becomes inflamed, the inflammation immediately 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 as well.
The first sign that an infection has entered the body is the appearance of a runny nose. It never appears as an independent phenomenon. Rhinitis - from the Greek. rhinos - nose + itis - inflammation - always means an infectious lesion of the mucous membrane.
You can not ignore the appearance of mucus in the nose, because often a runny nose causes inflammation in the ear (otitis media), maxillary sinuses, sinusitis and can go into a chronic stage. It is especially dangerous to ignore the appearance of the first symptoms of the disease in children of early age.age. Children do not know how to clean the nasal cavity on their own, as adults do, mucus accumulates, and inflammation sinks much faster down into the larynx and bronchi.
The stages of a runny nose quickly replace one another, so the treatment of the disease must be started at a very early stage, without delay, and in no case should the disease be left to chance. In the article, we will consider how the infection passes 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:
- Respiratory. Allows air to pass into the respiratory tract and removes carbon dioxide from the body during exhalation.
- 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 enter, begin to push them out. Mucus envelops microelements unnecessary for the body and removes them through the larynx, the ciliary epithelium also clears the bronchi of mucus, which serves as a drainage of the upper respiratory tract. An important component of cleansing the nose of foreign matter is the process of sneezing.
- Moisturizing. Everyone knows that the nose is constantly wet, but not everyone knows that to moisturize the mucous membrane per day, the body releases up to 0.5 liters of interstitial fluid. 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.
- Temperature control. Air passing throughnasal cavity, warmed by many blood vessels and capillaries.
- Olfactory. At any stage of a runny nose, everyone can feel a violation of the olfactory function of the nose.
- Resonator. Since the nasal cavity has many hollow paranasal sinuses, when talking, the air resonates in these voids, creating a special sonority to the voice, giving it a special timbre, tone and color. Any person can be identified by the sound of the voice, since each has its own structural features. With a runny nose, the voice becomes nasal.
Causes of a runny nose
Rhinitis can have different causes. It is infectious, that is, a runny nose is a protective reaction of the body to the ingress 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 release 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, be it a speck of dust or a bacterium.
Rhinitis stages
Like any other disease, rhinitis has its own stages of development, each of which has its own characteristics, time intervals. The duration of each stage depends on immunityperson. With hypothermia of the body, a person with strong immunity copes with the problem in 2-3 days. People with a weak immune system get sick much longer, even with inflammation of the mucous membrane as a result of hypothermia, a secondary bacterial infection can join, which will greatly complicate the recovery process.
Usually, the stages of the common cold are divided into three main stages of development:
- initial stage or reflex;
- catarrhal, second stage;
- the last stage has two branches: recovery or the addition of a secondary infection.
Let's consider each stage in more detail, what symptoms can be seen in children and adults, what can be done so that the runny nose goes away as quickly as possible and does not develop into a chronic form.
Onset of illness
The initial stage of a runny nose or reflex is characterized by a rapid period of leakage. For some people it may take a few hours, for others it may take a couple of days. Therefore, it is very important to notice the early stage of the common cold in order to start treatment procedures as early as possible. If rhinitis appears in adults, then the person feels dryness in the nasal cavity, great sensitivity when inhaling, a burning sensation, itching of the mucous membrane appears in the nasal passages, one wants to scratch the nose, sometimes sneezing occurs, congestion appears. These feelings cannot be ignored, 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 already when nasal discharge appears. 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, lethargy appears.
A runny nose at an early stage is accompanied by pallor of the mucous membrane, as vasoconstriction occurs. Because of this, the cilia of the epithelium cease to secrete a mucous secret, which is why dryness in the nose is felt. If you do not start treatment in the first hours of the onset of discomfort, then the disease passes to the second stage.
Catarrhal stage
The next stage of a runny nose in children can be determined even by the voice of the baby. At this stage, vasodilation occurs, which causes severe swelling not only of the nasal cavities on both sides, completely blocking the access of air to the nose, but also swelling of the vocal cords and the membrane of the eye (therefore, profuse lacrimation may appear). The duration of the period lasts from 2 to 3 days. Children develop abundant mucus in the nose - rhinorrhea, the child breathes heavily through the nose, often breathing through the mouth, the body temperature may rise to 37.5 ° C during this period.
At this stage of the common cold in adults, there is a violation of the sense of smell and taste of food, you can feel tinnitus, fluid is constantly released from the nose, a nasal voice appears.
Recovery
If the correct treatment was carried out in the early stages of the onset of rhinitis, then after the second stage recovery occurs within 2 days. Gradually, the patient's condition improves, the edema subsides, the mucosa returns to normal, the discharge disappears, normal breathing appears, and the sense of smell is restored.
The person feels fine, the activity of the epithelial cells of the mucosa is completely normal. But the scenario for the development of events may be completely different, since in the third stage of the disease, instead of recovery, there may be an attachment of a bacterial infection. Consider this option for the passage of the disease.
Accession of infection
At the last stage, the person's condition first improves, stops constantly flowing from the nose, you might think that the disease recedes, but in the case of a bacterial infection, the condition improves temporarily. Very soon you can observe the appearance of thick discharge, usually they have a greenish color. This is due to the presence of dead bacteria in the mucus. In this case, the inflammatory process descends down the respiratory tract and captures the area of the bronchi. Often in children, untreated rhinitis in time ends with bronchitis.
Also, if left untreated, a runny nose can become chronic. 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, treatment is carried out differently. At the first detected symptoms, you need to act immediately. If you are overcooled in the winter, then when you come home, do warming procedures. He recommends steaming the feet (or up 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 down in a warm bed and drink hot tea with raspberries, linden or rosehip infusion. A good result is putting on warm socks at night, in which dry mustard is poured.
In the initial stages of the disease, inhalation with mint oil, tea tree oil or plain soda will help. If a runny nose is caused by an allergic reaction, then the first thing to do is take an antihistamine pill, there are excellent nasal drops for allergy sufferers, for example, Edem-rino or Allergodil.
Cure disease
A runny nose never occurs 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. These can be antivirals or antibiotics, antihistamines or antifungals.
Additionally help to cope with the problem of vitamin C, drugs that increase immunity, tea with echinacea. S alt solutions, sprays based on sea s alt help to free the nasal cavity from mucus. They not only cleanse the nose, but also moisturize the mucous membrane.
Be careful with vasoconstrictor drugs, it is advisable for children under two years of age not to use such sprays at all. Adultspeople are advised to use them infrequently as they have side effects.
Conclusion
The passage of different stages of the common cold in children by day should be kept under control, to prevent the transition of the disease into a chronic form. You need to start treatment from the first hours, do not let the runny nose take its course. Frequent rhinitis leads to sinusitis, sinusitis, polyps, adenoids grow in children, which leads to surgical operations, ear complications, and the development of deafness. Take care of your he alth and the he alth of your children!
