Adenoid tissue is located at the back of the nose, above the palate. The purpose of the tissue is to help the body develop immunity in the first few years of life. The adenoid tissue can grow to block the nose. If the child is symptomatic then surgery to remove the adenoids is offered. Adenoidectomy is day surgery procedure performed under a full general anaesthetic with a camera through the nose and powered instruments like microdebrider through the mouth. Usually the child is sore for 3 to 4 days and off school for 5 days.

The nose lining can get inflamed for various reasons most commonly from either allergy or viral infection (colds and flus). When the allergy is longstanding the inferior turbinates swell and can block the nose. Initial treatment for a blocked nose includes saline and nasal steroid spray. Allergy management including allergy avoidance and immunotherapy may be useful. Surgery to reduce the size of the turbinates including either turbinate cautery or turbinoplasty (used in older children) is used if the medical measures do not work.

The bone and cartilage in the midline of the nose divides it into right and left. The division is called the nasal septum. In a small percentage of children as their nose grows the bone and/or cartilage can twist and block the nose. Another common cause of deviated septum in children is following a broken nose. Generally unless the child is struggling with sleep and diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea, the deviated septum is not fixed until the age of around 16 when the nose has stopped growing. This is because surgery on the septum when the child is growing can affect the external nose shape.

Many other rarer causes are present for blocked noses in children including a lack of formation of the nasal airway on one side (unilateral choanal atresia), cysts, antrochoanal polyp, congenital birth defects (dermoids, encephaloceles) and other rare conditions.

We will assess the causes of your child’s blocked nose and offer the appropriate treatment option.