Aubrey Bailey, PT, DPT, CHT is a physical therapist with more than 20 years of experience in various healthcare environments.

John Carew, MD, is accredited by the Board of Otorhinolaryngology and is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University Medical Center.

Nasal polyps in children or pediatric polyps are harmless tissues that grow in the nasal cavity of a child. You may not even know they exist until they are long enough to cause problems.

Although these polyps may not have much effect on your child, they may reduce your child's sense of smell or make it difficult for your child to breathe by blocking the nostrils. When this happens, you can take some measures at home and take medications for nasal polyps that are safe for children.

Even if your child cannot tell you specifically what is bothering them, many symptoms of nasal polyps can be observed. If they are very large or very low in the nasal passages, you can see polyps by looking at your child's nose.

Common symptoms of nasal polyps include:

Nasal polyps are more common in adults than children. They can grow in one or both nostrils. They are also shaped like pears or grapes and usually grow in clusters.

Although nasal polyps are the most common cause of nasal congestion in children, there may also be other culprits, such as deviated nasal septum (when the nasal septum is off-center), enlarged adenoids (glands above the upper jaw, behind the nose), and tumors (cancer) Sexual and non-cancerous).

The exact cause of nasal polyps is unclear, but these hyperplasias are related to chronic inflammation of the nasal passages. When they develop in children, they often develop other diseases, such as:

The first step in diagnosing nasal polyps is a physical examination by your child's pediatrician using an otoscope. There is a light at the end of this magnifying device, originally designed to examine the ears, but it can also be inserted into the nostrils to find polyps.

If your child's pediatrician suspects nasal polyps, your child may be referred to a specialist, called an otolaryngologist or ENT.

Nasal endoscopy is also used to diagnose nasal polyps and is usually performed in the doctor's office. This process uses an endoscope, which is a long, flexible tube with a light at the end of the tube. Insert the tube into your child's nose and sinuses to look for potential polyps.

Less commonly, more imaging may be needed to diagnose nasal polyps. This may include CT (computed tomography) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Since nasal polyps often occur at the same time as other diseases, your doctor may also recommend that your child undergo an allergy test or other blood tests. Other diseases may behave similarly to nasal polyps, so it is always helpful to have an otolaryngologist examine the patient. For example, benign tumors called juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma can cause symptoms very similar to those of benign nasal polyps.

If your child has nasal polyps, there are several effective ways to treat the condition and reduce the symptoms of discomfort.

The initial treatment for nasal polyps is to reduce the size of the growth in your child's nose. Corticosteroid nasal sprays can reduce inflammation and swelling of the nose, thereby effectively reducing or even removing nasal polyps. Your child's doctor may also prescribe oral steroids.

Other drugs, such as antihistamines and decongestants, can improve their symptoms if your child also has allergies. Infections are usually treated with antibiotics. However, these drugs do not treat nasal polyps by themselves.

If steroid medications are not effective and your child continues to have serious side effects from nasal polyps, surgery may be required. This procedure is performed using nasal endoscopy-the same procedure used for diagnosis. Then use tools such as grasping forceps or minimally invasive tools to remove polyps.

The doctor may continue to give your child a corticosteroid nasal spray after the operation to help prevent nasal polyps from regrowing. Unfortunately, it is very common for nasal polyps to grow back.

Although nasal polyps are not harmful to your child, in some cases you will need to see a doctor. These include:

Home remedies can help reduce the side effects of nasal polyps. These interventions can also reduce inflammation in your child's nose to help prevent nasal polyps from recurring after they are removed.

Although nasal polyps are harmless, they will definitely make your child's life more difficult. Breathing problems can affect everything from energy levels to good sleep. Be proactive-discuss treatment options and ways to reduce your child’s symptoms with your child’s doctor.

will not. Nasal polyps will not disappear without treatment.

will not. Nasal polyps are abnormal growths in the nasal passages, but they are common in children with other diseases such as allergies or cystic fibrosis.

If nasal polyps do not cause breathing problems, they do not have to be removed. However, if it is not removed or treated with medication, large or multiple polyps can cause progressive problems.

Nasal polyps usually do not bleed, but they may bleed if they are irritated and inflamed.

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Johns Hopkins Medicine. Can nasal polyps be the cause of nasal congestion?

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. asthma. Updated on December 3, 2020.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. About cystic fibrosis.

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Aspirin aggravates respiratory disease (AERD). Updated on September 28, 2020.

Johns Hopkins Medicine. Nasal endoscopy.

Johns Hopkins Medicine. Nasal polyps.

Cleveland Clinic. Sinus infection (sinusitis). Updated on June 4, 2020.

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