Tonsillitis

Tonsil is the lymphoid tissue at the oropharynx. It can be seen in the back of the throat. It is the guard of our upper respiratory tract. Tonsillitis is the inflammation of the tonsils, which is commonly caused by bacteria or virus.



Symptoms of Tonsillitis
Fever, sore throat, pain on swallowing are the common symptom of tonsillitis.



Treatment of Tonsillitis
Treatment includes symptomatic treatment with medications to reduce the pain and the fever. Antibiotic will be prescribed in case of bacterial tonsillitis.


Tonsillectomy is the removal of tonsil. The procedure is performed under general anaesthesia. The indications of the operation include repeated episodes of tonsillitis, recurrent peritonsillar abscess, sleep apnea. The morbidity rate associated with tonsillectomy is 2% to 4% due to post-operative bleeding.

Patients need to stay in the hospital for one or two days after surgery. Sore throat will persist for around two weeks after the operation, and analgesic will be prescribed. Proper hydration is very important, as dehydration can increase throat pain, leading to a vicious circle of poor fluid intake. Recovery can take from 7 to 10 days, and patients are good to resume daily activities.

Removal of the tonsils does not reduce the immunity of the body in any significant way. There are many other lymphoid tissues that also perform the same function. There is enough scientific evidence to show that the immunity of the body does not reduce after a tonsillectomy.






Reference information: www.ent-hk.com/
The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult ENT Specialists before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.

流鼻血, 鼻水, 鼻涕與鼻塞

流鼻血的成因有很多,如鼻中隔骨彎曲,天氣乾燥,創傷,或挖鼻亦可以。但在香港,成人流鼻血最擔心的是鼻咽癌。除了鼻血,會有鼻塞,頸部淋巴漲大,及聽力減退等情況出現


除此之外,一些全身性的疾病, 如高血壓,血友病,白血病,亦可引起鼻血。另外,一些藥物,如薄血丸,亦會引起容易流鼻血。流鼻血是一個令人警惕的病徵,應盡快找耳鼻喉科醫生檢查。


鼻塞與鼻痕, 都是鼻敏感的徵象。

日常應注意,環境衛生,減少致敏原(如塵埃螨)的接觸。床單,被鋪應憑勤換,空調的隔塵網應定時清潔。植物,寵物,毛公仔亦可引起敏感,應盡量避免。

每天用鹽水清洗鼻腔,可減少徵狀。


如情況持續,可使用藥物治療,一般鼻敏感藥(抗組織胺劑)都可以控制情況。另外,消炎噴劑亦是很有效的治療方法,雖然含有類固醇,但劑量少及吸收量低,很少有副作用。另外,一些含偽麻黃素的噴劑,雖然通鼻能力很好,但只能作短期的治療,一般不能使用超過一星期,否則會有後遺症。


現時,一些微創技術,如射頻術,在診所內以局部麻醉進行,亦可有效治療鼻塞。如鼻塞嚴重,有可能需要外科手術,包括鼻中隔成形術及下鼻甲切除術,把鼻塞徹底治療。





參考資料: http://www.ent-hk.com/
以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，
應向自己的耳鼻喉專科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

持續鼻塞多因鼻敏感

近日天氣反覆，一夜之間氣溫可大跌10度，鼻塞個案也大增一半。不少人都以為鼻塞是因為「感冒未清」，其實傷風感冒引起的鼻塞最多只會持續一至兩個星期，鼻涕更會出現黃綠色，患者更可能同時出現流鼻血、多痰等病徵；鼻塞一旦纏繞2-4星期或以上、鼻涕清澈的話，多是因為鼻敏感引起。

鼻敏感在天氣轉變的時候最易發作，此時亦是鼻塞的高峰期。鼻塞看起來對身體沒有什麼大影響，可是長期鼻塞又不處理的話，不單會影響睡眠質素，更會因氧氣不足出現容易疲累及難以集中精神等問題，更會對上呼吸道造成嚴重影響。要知道，鼻子有過濾空氣污染物、暖化空氣及濕潤空氣的功能，一旦鼻塞，我們便會逼不得已用口呼吸，寒冷的空氣得不到暖化，就會刺激氣管，引發敏感或下呼吸道問題。

另外，未經過鼻子過濾的空氣亦會帶著大量細菌跑進肺部，引發氣管炎和肺炎；長期吸入乾燥的冷空氣亦會令喉嚨疼痛，所謂的「慢性咽喉炎」很多時都是因此引起。

何峯耳鼻喉專科醫生

參考資料: www.ent-hk.com

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，

應向自己的耳鼻喉專科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。