Most common ENT diseases in childhood

Depending on the age of the patient, different types of conditions will develop.

Between birth and two years, involvement in the ears, nose and throat area is not common; unless the patient or his or her older siblings are at school; In that case the flu symptoms will begin.

Between 2 and 4 years, the predominance of infections will be due to colds, associated with entering school and contact with other children.. AndThe first year of school on average they will have colds 3 out of every 4 weeks and the second year 2 out of every 4 weeks. During this period they will have recurrent episodes of runny nose and cough. The cough will be secondary to the secretion that occurs in the nose and goes down behind the nose towards the throat.

Between 2 and 6 years is the period of otitis media. This is due to the position of the Eustachian tube, which for this age is very narrow and lacks inclination.. The patient will typically present with intense pain in the ear, in small children they will wake up crying at night touching their ear and will often have a fever. In some cases the tympanic membrane could be perforated, presenting purulent discharge from the ear. These symptoms usually occur during or after a flu episode.

Also at the age of two, the first manifestations of nasal allergy will occur, in children who have susceptibility and environmental exposure to allergens, and often linked to a parent who also suffers from allergies. Allergy symptoms are itchy nose, frequent sneezing, and clear nasal discharge; but usually not all symptoms are present in the first years. Over time, the allergy can cause growth of the turbinates and the patient will have constant nasal congestion. In some patients, nasal allergy improves in adolescence, in others it persists throughout life. Nasal allergy symptoms can also be associated with bronchial asthma.

After 2 years and up to approximately 9 years, problems with tonsils and adenoids will begin. In the case of adenoids the symptom will be snoring when sleeping or always sleeping with the mouth open, the consequence of this oral breathing is the alteration of the growth of the face and in severe cases sleep apnea. Tonsils can have two different problems, one is repeated infection and the other is obstruction due to size. Tonsils that are becoming infected about 5 times per year or whose size obstructs more than 50% of the space in the mouth would be considered for surgery. This obstruction will lead to respiratory problems and, if they are very large, difficulty in eating some solid foods, with problems gaining weight and height.

Acute sinusitis, although it can occur in childhood, is not so common; in young children, otitis is much more common than sinusitis. However, in any patient with a flu-like illness that does not resolve within 2 weeks, sinusitis should be suspected. Symptoms will be yellow or green nasal discharge, pain in the face and often fever. Chronic sinusitis begins in adolescence, when the paranasal sinuses are developed. In general, there is no chronic sinusitis in childhood.

External otitis can occur at any age, since it depends on exposure to water with bacteria or the external ear retaining water after a swim in the pool. The symptom will be pain in the ear that worsens when traction on the pinna, unlike otitis media in which traction does not produce pain.

As we see, there are many different conditions in the area of ​​otorhinolaryngology to take into account depending on the age of the patient, and in many cases they require the evaluation and follow-up of a specialist.