Adenoid enlargements are a pathology characterized by hyperplasia of the lymphadenoid tissue of the nasopharyngeal tonsil. An increase in the size of the immune organ leads to blockage of the choans and dysfunction of nasal breathing. What are the causes of adenoids and why do they form in young children?
Adenoids are a common non-infectious disease of the upper airways, in which benign tumors from glandular tissue form in the fornix of the nasopharynx. Tonsil hyperplasia is diagnosed mainly in young children due to the high allergization of the body, endocrine disorders and the failure of the immune system. An accurate determination of the cause of the development of the disease allows you to prevent further growth of the immune organ and the development of complications.
Pathogenesis
Why are adenoids formed? The causes of hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil lie in the failure of the general and local immunity of the child. The immune organ prevents the multiplication of opportunistic agents inside the airways. However, a high infectious load on the immune system leads to an increase in the number of structural elements in the adenoid tissue. Thus, the body tries to increase the volume of the pharyngeal tonsil, in which immune cells are synthesized.
Pathological proliferation of glandular tissues entails a decrease in the immune activity of phagocytes, macrophages and other immune cells. The loss of one link of immunogenesis, due to the production of effector cells, leads to the fact that the hypertrophied amygdala cannot resist even a mildly aggressive pathogenic flora. As a result, regional lymph nodes are literally clogged with pathogenic microbes, as a result of which their drainage function is impaired. Stagnation of lymph in the pharyngeal tonsil and surrounding tissues entails a decrease in local immunity.
Immunopathological processes in lymphadenoid tissues turn the immune organ into a breeding ground for infection, which increases the risk of developing inflammation in the nasal cavity, laryngopharynx, auditory tubes and paranasal sinuses. The above phenomena lead to the appearance of adenoids in the fornix of the nasopharynx, which cannot protect the respiratory tract from the harmful effects of allergens, bacteria and viruses.
Important! Adenoid vegetations increase the risk of developing respiratory diseases in children by 5 times.
Etiology
Adenoid vegetations have a destructive effect on the functioning of the respiratory system and the child's immune system. The pharyngeal tonsil is located in the vault of the nasal cavity, therefore, its expansion entails a violation of the physiological properties of the auditory analyzer, speech apparatus and nasal breathing. A decrease in the body's reactivity leads to frequent relapses of ENT diseases, which can cause complications for the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and endocrine systems.
Hypertrophy of the tonsil in the nasopharynx occurs mainly in patients under the age of 12 years. During this period, the active development of the immune organ is observed, but by the age of 16-18 it almost completely atrophies. What is the reason for the appearance of adenoids?
Hyperplasia of the glandular tissues of the tonsils can be provoked by:
- immune disorders;
- pathology of pregnancy;
- allergization of the body;
- frequent relapses of infection;
- genetic predisposition;
- mental disorders;
- bad ecology.
Important! Untimely treatment or removal of a hypertrophied organ leads to the development of chronic inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.
Ignoring the problem is fraught with not only frequent relapses of diseases, but also deafness. Stagnant processes in the nasopharynx impede ventilation of the middle ear, which entails a decrease in pressure in the tympanic cavity and, as a result, the accumulation of effusion. A viscous secret destructively affects the condition of the mucous membrane of the middle ear and the auditory ossicles, which can lead to the development of conductive hearing loss or deafness.
Decreased immunity
What can cause the proliferation of glandular tissue in the nasopharyngeal tonsil? A decrease in the reactivity of the body is one of the key reasons for the formation of adenoid vegetations. Young children are more likely to get colds due to the failure of the immune system.
Adaptive immunity is developed only when lymphoid cells come into contact with individual antigens. At the first collision of the organism with pathogenic agents, the development of infection is observed, but due to the immunological memory during the repeated penetration of pathogens, the immune system quickly suppresses their development. Inflammation of the nasopharyngeal mucosa leads to an increase in the size of the pharyngeal tonsil, which indicates the active production of immunoglobulins. With regression of pathological processes, the immune organ regains its normal physiological dimensions.
A decrease in the reactivity of the body entails frequent relapses of respiratory diseases, as a result of which the lymphadenoid tissue proliferates. The main reasons for the decrease in immunity in children are:
- poor nutrition;
- chronic diseases;
- deficiency of vitamins in the body;
- helminthic invasions;
- Iron-deficiency anemia;
- hypodynamia;
- antibiotic abuse;
- renal proteinuria;
- bad ecology.
Secondary immunodeficiencies that occur against the background of the transfer of infectious diseases lead to a decrease in the number of neutrophilic leukocytes in the body. Replenishment of the loss of immunocompetent cells allows an increase in the area of glandular tissue. However, hypertrophy of the immune organ disrupts nasal breathing and leads to complications - otitis media, sinusitis, pharyngeal abscess, mastoiditis, etc.
Genetic predisposition
The appearance of adenoid vegetations may be associated with the child's genetic predisposition. If one of the parents suffered from adenoids in childhood, the risk of developing pathology in a child will be 35-40%. Hypertrophy of the immune organ is often caused by lymphatic-hypoplastic diathesis, in which there is hyperplasia of glandular tissues.
The following factors can provoke the development of pathology:
- pathological intrauterine development - severe pregnancy, intoxication caused by the development of infectious diseases;
- difficult delivery - birth trauma and fetal hypoxia;
- endocrine disorders - hormonal instability, dysfunction of the thymus gland.
Viral and bacterial infections in a woman in the first trimester of pregnancy negatively affect the development of the fetus. Overcoming the placental barrier, metabolites of pathogens enter the child's body, causing systemic pathologies and lymphatic-hypoplastic diathesis.
Psychogenic causes
Can mental disorders trigger the development of adenoids? Psychological reasons play one of the main roles in the mechanism of development of hyperplasia of adenoid tissues. Constant stress, irritability and emotional stress create an excessive load on the central nervous system, which eventually leads to malfunctions of the endocrine system.
Adenoid vegetation occurs more often in children living in families with an unfavorable psychoemotional atmosphere in the house.
Despite the fact that psychology is a metaphysical cause of the development of somatic diseases, according to statistics, ENT pathology is more often diagnosed in children from disadvantaged families.At the mental level, the occurrence of the problem is due to a lack of warmth and sympathy on the part of the parents, and the disease is one of the most effective ways to attract the attention of adults.
Allergic rhinitis
Hypertrophy of the nasopharyngeal tonsil may appear as a result of allergization of the child's body. Failures of the immune system in 75% of cases are associated with a deterioration in the environment and an increase in the number of allergens, leading to the development of allergic reactions. Swelling and inflammation of tissues in the respiratory organs leads to abnormal development of immune organs and hyperplasia of lymphadenoid accumulations.
Irrational intake of drugs and food diathesis can provoke the development of allergic rhinitis.
Every minute, foreign agents settle on the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity, which are evacuated from the respiratory system due to mucociliary clearance. However, with increased sensitivity (sensitization) of the body, allergens quickly penetrate the tissues, causing unwanted allergic reactions, which are characterized by the production of inflammatory mediators. The subsequent rhinitis and swelling of the mucous membrane leads to stagnation of pathological secretions in the nasopharynx, which negatively affects the functioning of the nasopharyngeal tonsil.
Respiratory Diseases
Most often, adenoid vegetation occurs due to septic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Reduced resistance of the body entails frequent relapses of ENT diseases, which provoke the proliferation of adenoid vegetations. As a rule, the growth of the amygdala is preceded by:
- sinusitis;
- acute tonsillitis;
- bacterial pharyngitis;
- laryngitis;
- chronic rhinitis;
- sinusitis;
- flu;
- rubella;
- diphtheria.
An important role in the formation of benign tumors in the nasopharynx is played by syphilitic disease and tuberculosis. Much less often, adenoid vegetation occurs as an independent pathology of glandular tissue. Constant inflammation and hypertrophy of the organ inevitably leads to an increase in the number of structural elements in the lymphadenoid clusters, which eventually block the airways.
A significant increase in the volume of lymphadenoid accumulations is accompanied by a violation of mucociliary clearance and, accordingly, the transport of nasal mucus, which subsequently leads to congestion and hypertrophy of soft tissues. Conditionally pathogenic microorganisms accumulating in the nasopharynx become triggers of inflammatory reactions and the development of adenoiditis.
