Acute rhinitis in infants and young children

Acute rhinitis in infants and young children is a much more severe disorder than in adults. Swelling of the nasal mucosa - a characteristic feature of this disease - results in partial or complete restriction of nasal patency, which in turn leads to impaired breathing and food intake. Sometimes local complications may occur, such as an orbital abscess.

Acute rhinitis in infants and young children - definition

This ailment is one of the most common diseases occurring in childhood and is much more severe than in adults. A characteristic symptom of acute rhinitis is swelling of the nasal mucosa, which causes even complete obstruction of the nose, and thus problems with breathing and food intake. It is said that over 80% of children have had this type of infection at least several times in their lives. The incidence of this disease decreases with age.

Symptoms of acute rhinitis

The infection develops within 3-5 days and can spread through the air-droplet, that is even contact with another child with a runny nose can cause infection. The characteristic symptoms of this ailment include:

• sneezing,
• watery nasal secretion,
• nasal obstruction,
• slight cough,
• sore throat,
• increased body temperature (in younger children),
• enlarged lymph nodes (in infants).

Some infants in the first months of life can breathe only through the nose, so a runny nose does not often lead to trouble with breathing or sleeping. In most children, rhinitis does not cause any complications and usually disappears spontaneously. In the case of general symptoms in the form of dyspnoea, severe cough or generally poor condition of the child, additional diagnostic tests should be performed. Viral infections can block the pathway of bacterial infections, which in turn leads to inflammation of the middle ear or lung.

Acute rhinitis in infants and young children usually lasts 4-7 days, while the virus in nasal secretion is excreted into the environment throughout the duration of the symptoms. Adenoviruses can even be excreted with the stool, therefore there is a risk of faecal-oral infections in young children.

Sometimes local complications occur as a consequence of the passage of infection from the nose to the eye socket. An abscess of the eye socket develops, and its first symptoms are redness and swelling of the eyelids, exophthalmos. The infection can also pass through the nasal part of the throat to the oral part, causing an abscessary abscess.

Three phases of acute rhinitis in infants and young children

• Phase I - is called edema-exudate because it releases histamine, nitric oxide and acetycholine. This results in congestion and swelling and abundant serous exudate, which is manifested by nasal obstruction and discharge of secretions.
• Phase II - is characterized by secretion in large amounts of viscous and thick mucus, which is difficult to evacuate. There is swelling of the stroma and vasodilatation, which causes the released blood flow, which in turn promotes adhesion of the leukocytes to the intraepithelium and migration of these cells out of the vessels.
• Phase III - results from a bacterial infection and is characterized by oil production, which is manifested by a yellow cold. In addition, there are general symptoms in the form of cough, high temperature and poor general condition of the patient. The most common bacteria are Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis.

Causes of acute rhinitis in infants and young children

Acute rhinitis is usually caused by viruses in the form of:

• coronaviruses,
• nosoviruses (affecting the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, usually not causing inflammation of the lower respiratory tract),
• parainfluenza viruses (they can cause bronchitis),
• enteroviruses,
• RS viruses,
• adenoviruses,
• influenza viruses (A and B).

The causes may also be bacteria, such as staphylococcus and streptococcus. Most often they respond to the occurrence of chronic rhinitis.

Acute rhinitis symptom appears in many infectious diseases, and sometimes is their first symptom. Rhinitis can be accompanied by:

•                     measles,

•                     scarlet,

•                     pertussis,

•                     chickenpox.

Acute rhinitis with flu often occurs with nosebleeds, it happens that the blood vessel damage is very heavy.

Factors conducive to acute rhinitis:

• no walks with the child,
• overheating of the child,
• too short breastfeeding period,
• unsuitable child nutrition,
• ailments of the cardiovascular system and respiratory system,
• allergy,
• the occurrence of cystic fibrosis,
• immunological defects,
• staying in cigarette smoke,
• polluted environment,
• inappropriate housing conditions,
• spending time in large groups of people, eg kindergarten, nursery,
• narrow and short airways in a child, which are lined with an easily permeable mucosa,
• insufficient ciliary apparatus.

Acute rhinitis in infants and children - treatment

The treatment of acute rhinitis is mainly based on the relief of symptoms. There are several things that are important, including:

• adequate air humidification that prevents drying of the mucous membrane and clogging of the airways. You can use an air humidifier or wet towels for the radiator. The room temperature should not exceed 20 ° C;
• it is important to be in the open air;
• make sure the child is properly irrigated;
• you can apply nasal drops that have to shrink the vessels. They should be used 2-3 times a day, the use of more and for a long period of time may cause secondary swelling of the nasal mucosa;
• you must not give your child ointment and nose drops, which were created on the basis of mineral oils, because they can be the cause of aspiration pneumonia,
• if a child develops a fever - give antipyretic and anti-inflammatory preparations;
• you can give your child antihistamines, which alleviate swelling and improve the patency of the nasal passages;
• do not block the child's coughing reflex, do not give antitussives - a safe drug is butamirate, which works centrally and is well absorbed.

Complications of acute rhinitis

Although the condition disappears spontaneously after about 10 days, some complications may appear. The most common of them are:

• subglottic inflammation of the larynx,
• infections of sinuses,
• bronchitis,
• pneumonia.