Table of Contents
What causes inferior turbinates to swell?
The inferior turbinate tissue is composed of rich groups of blood vessels, and can become swollen due to a variety of factors including allergies, colds and upper respiratory infections, inflammation, from exposure to certain medications, pregnancy, or for unknown reasons.
What does inferior turbinate mean?
What Are Inferior Turbinates? Inferior nasal turbinates are located inside your nose on either side of your nasal septum. They are bone covered with erectile soft tissue that helps create turbulence inside the nose to warm, purify and humidify the air that we breathe.
How is inferior turbinate hypertrophy treated?
Nasal steroids, nasal antihistamines and decongestants can be used to treat inferior turbinate hypertrophy. These medications help to reduce the swelling and improve nasal breathing. If you do not respond to medications, it may be necessary to perform a simple surgery to reduce the size of your inferior turbinates.
What is the inferior nasal turbinate?
The inferior nasal turbinate is an important structure located in the nasal cavity. Often described as a “finger-like projection”, the inferior nasal turbinate extends from deep inside the nose towards the anterior (front) nasal cavity. It is one of three pairs of nasal turbinates that are orientated in “shelf-like” fashion within the nose.
How are the grades of turbinate size classified?
Camacho et al. [7] classified the inferior turbinate’s size as four grades based on its position in the total nasal airway space as visualized on nasoendoscopic assessment. When the inferior turbinate occupies 0 to 25% of total airway space, it is grade 1, grade 2 is 26% to 50%, grade 3 is 51% to 75%, and grade 4 is 76% to 100% (Figure 1).
What does it mean when your turbinates are too big?
Sometimes the turbinates are large enough to cause difficulty with nasal breathing. This condition is called, “inferior turbinate hypertrophy”. Enlarged nasal turbinates can be caused by a variety of issues, including seasonal allergies, chronic sinusitis, or anatomical factors such as a deviated nasal septum.
What can be done to reduce the size of turbinates?
Occasionally, the inferior turbinates could be bulky, and this could lead to nasal obstructive issues. In patients who have not otherwise responded to medical therapy, a surgical intervention to reduce the bulk and the size of the inferior turbinates might be appropriate.