Introduction to the Symptoms of Pediatric Acute and Chronic Sinusitis
Category: Pediatrics
Date: September 28, 2011
Experts from Chengdu Gospel ENT Specialty Hospital point out that sinusitis is one of the common diseases among children and has received significant attention in recent years. Due to the considerable harm sinusitis poses to children, parents must pay close attention. Every parent hopes for their child's healthy and happy growth, and understanding the symptoms of pediatric sinusitis allows for early diagnosis and treatment, avoiding the potential hazards of sinusitis.
The clinical manifestations of pediatric sinusitis are similar to those in adults and can be divided into acute and chronic categories. However, the symptoms of pediatric sinusitis tend to be more severe than in adults. What are the symptoms of pediatric sinusitis?
Symptoms of Acute Pediatric Sinusitis:
1. Local Symptoms: Patients may experience nasal congestion, purulent discharge from one or both nostrils, etc. Older children can describe headache characteristics; sometimes they feel forehead distension pain, which worsens with coughing or blowing the nose. Examination of the frontal sinuses reveals obvious tenderness, hypertrophic rhinitis, some children report toothache or cheek pain on one side.
2. Systemic Symptoms: Manifested as high fever, dehydration, lethargy, rapid breathing, refusal to eat, severe cases may show restlessness, convulsions. It is often accompanied by respiratory infection symptoms such as sore throat and cough. Most children cannot accurately describe symptoms nor blow their noses, causing mucus to flow back into the trachea and bronchi, leading to aspiration pneumonia.
3. The anterior wall bone of the child's frontal sinus is very thin, so during acute maxillary sinusitis, there may be swelling of the cheek on the affected side; if the infection is severe, it may affect the orbit causing eyelid conjunctiva edema, resulting in downward displacement of the eyeball. In acute ethmoid sinusitis, local symptoms are mostly not obvious. If the infection is severe, there may be redness and swelling at the inner corner of the eye.
Symptoms of Chronic Pediatric Sinusitis:
1. Local Symptoms: There is intermittent or persistent nasal obstruction, with mucopurulent or mucoid discharge, often hanging down on the upper lip. Sometimes the nasal discharge flows back into the pharynx, so there is no apparent nasal discharge symptom. Occasionally, there may be nosebleeds, headaches, and olfactory disorders are less common.
2. Systemic Symptoms: Children may have mental exhaustion, irritability, poor appetite, weight loss, developmental problems, low-grade fever, etc. Due to the downward flow or swallowing of purulent secretions from the nose, children may exhibit coughing and gastrointestinal dysfunction symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
3. Complications or Secondary Disease Symptoms: Due to persistent nasal obstruction, children breathe through their mouths, long-term mouth breathing affects the development of the face and chest. Children's development is incomplete, and sinus infections easily spread; inflammation invading adjacent organs can lead to maxillary osteomyelitis, pharyngitis, chronic otitis media, etc.; due to poor protective function of the throat, secretions can easily be aspirated into the trachea and bronchi, leading to lower respiratory tract infections.
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