Subatrophic pharyngitis
Subatrophic pharyngitis is a chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the throat, accompanied by pain, soreness and a feeling of discomfort in it. Subatrophic pharyngitis is localized more often in the middle and lower part of the throat - in the oropharynx and laryngopharynx. With the disease, a diffuse lesion of the mucous membrane of the throat occurs with the onset of the process of tissue atrophy.
Subatrophic pharyngitis is considered by otolaryngologists as the initial stage of atrophic pharyngitis, which manifests itself after the hypertrophic form of the disease. Timely treatment of the disease at this stage is able to fully restore the functionality of the throat mucosa, and the lack of therapy leads to the progression of the pathological process with the development of complications (including the development of oncological processes).
Content:
- Causes of subatrophic pharyngitis
- Symptoms of subatrophic pharyngitis
- Treatment of subatrophic pharyngitis
Causes of subatrophic pharyngitis
The causes of subatrophic pharyngitis lie in the prolonged irritation of the throat mucosa.
This can be due to a number of factors:
- Exogenous causes of inflammation, including: exposure to dust, inhalation of dry and hot air, smoke in the air, the presence of chemicals in it.
- Constitutional features of the structure of the mucous membrane of the throat and the gastrointestinal tract as a whole.
- Violation of nasal breathing, its complete absence. Negatively affects the effect on the mucous membrane of the throat of vasoconstrictor drugs used to reduce nasal congestion.
- Bad habits - drinking strong alcoholic beverages, smoking.
- Allergic reactions of the body.
- Endocrine diseases, including menopause.
- Lack of vitamin A.
- Renal, heart and lung failure, diabetes mellitus.
- Autoimmune diseases, such as Sjogren's syndrome, which is characterized by enlarged salivary glands and dry gastrointestinal mucosa.
- Diseases of the digestive system, in which the acidic contents of the stomach irritate the mucous membrane of the respiratory system. This can happen with esophageal reflux, gastritis, stomach ulcers, etc.
Symptoms of subatrophic pharyngitis
The symptoms of subatrophic pharyngitis are reduced to the following manifestations:
- The throat feels dry and sore. Patients complain of a lump in the throat.
- The feeling of a foreign body in the throat makes a person want to clear his throat, to clear it.
- The cough is dry and persistent. Such a cough is easily differentiated from a cough with tracheobronchitis.
- A thick, viscous mucus constantly accumulates on the back of the throat. It is very difficult for a patient to get rid of it, since it often forms crusts.
- The surface of the throat is pale and dry. This makes the patient constantly want to take a sip of water.
- Possible visualization of swollen tubopharyngeal ridges, the presence of foci of hyperplastic lymphoid tissue.
- As the disease progresses, there is an increasing thinning of the mucous membrane, increased soreness and discomfort in the throat.
- There may be an unpleasant odor from the patient's mouth.
- Due to constant discomfort in the throat, the patient's sleep is disturbed, irritability and nervousness increase.
-
Body temperature, as a rule, remains within the normal range, general well-being is not disturbed.
Treatment of subatrophic pharyngitis
Treatment of subatrophic pharyngitis should be based on what exactly caused the disease. It is necessary to eliminate all chronic respiratory infections, thoroughly sanitize the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, and normalize nasal breathing if it has been impaired. If necessary, conservative or surgical treatment of tonsillitis should be performed.
It is important to quit smoking, eliminate harmful industrial and household factors that contribute to the maintenance of inflammation of the throat mucosa. A prerequisite is adherence to a diet with the exclusion of food that irritates a sore throat. This applies to spicy, salty, sour, hot dishes.
If the general condition of a person is not severely disturbed, then it is enough to do with symptomatic treatment of inflammation. To do this, make hot foot baths, carry out regular gargling, inhalation using a nebulizer. With regard to conservative therapy, local antibacterial and antiseptic agents should be used. It is important that the drugs not only disinfect a sore throat, but also have a softening, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic effect.
For local treatment, the following drugs can be used:
- For throat irrigation, dosed aerosol Hexoral, Hexasprey, Ingalipt, Yoks, IRS 19, Camphomen, Proposol, Stopangin, Tantum Verde.
- As a solution for rinsing and irrigating the throat: Vokadin, Miramistin, Rotokan, Octenisept, Povidone-iodine, Furacilin, Eucalimin, etc.
- Lozenges Anti-angina, Hexaliz, Imudon, Sebidin, Septogal, Faringosept, etc.
- Lozenges for sucking Drill, Septolete.
Patients with subatrophic pharyngitis need to be careful when using drugs containing sulfanilamide, propolis and iodine. These substances have an irritating effect on the mucous membrane of the throat and are able to dry it out, which will not cure the disease, but will only aggravate its course.
Physiotherapy should not be ruled out. Such techniques as ultrasound, microwave therapy, phonophoresis of the throat, and UV irradiation have proven themselves well.
As for the intake of systemic antibacterial drugs, they are prescribed only if pathogenic flora is detected in a throat swab according to the results of a bacteriological study.
A patient with a detected subatrophic pharyngitis must be examined without fail for the detection of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, since the relationship of these diseases has been proven. Often, getting rid of chronic pharyngitis is impossible until the disease of the stomach or intestines is eliminated.
As a rule, the prognosis for the recovery of patients with subatrophic pharyngitis is favorable, provided that the etiological factor that led to the development of inflammation is identified and eliminated.
The author of the article: Lazarev Oleg Vladimirovich | ENT
Education: In 2009, he received a diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" at the Petrozavodsk State University. After completing an internship at the Murmansk Regional Clinical Hospital, he received a diploma in Otorhinolaryngology (2010)
