Nathan's Nose

I don't think I mentioned this, but last month I took Nathan to see Dr. P, our pediatrician, because of a sinus infection. Nathan never really seems to be able to breathe and he's always plugged up. Lots of sneezing in the morning. He has been on Allegra twice daily for 18 months now.

Dr. P decided to do a sinus x-ray to see what was going on. The sinus cavity below his right eye was 100% packed and the other was 75% packed. He was put on a very strong antibiotic (Cleocin) 3 times a day for 3 weeks. Nathan was on this same regimen last year for the same problem.

If the sinus infection didn't clear up, we'd be headed to an ENT.

Thankfully, it did clear up. This past week, I took Nathan back in and had a follow up x-ray taken. Although he wasn't congested, he still couldn't breathe really well through his nose. The x-ray showed why... there is is some sort of polyp or cyst or something that has grown in his right sinus cavity. It fills 1/4 - 1/3 of the cavity! Dr. P gave Nathan a steroid nasal spray and switched him to Zyrtec because I felt like the Allegra wasn't working for him. The remaining instructions are to return mid-July for another x-ray (if Nathan makes it that far without getting another infection). Oh joy.

Wanting to be an informed mother, I dutifully google sinus polyps when I get home. Here's the highlighted paragraph that lead me to stress:

It should be noted that although nasal and sinus polyps are rare in children, they should be taken very seriously. Any child with nasal and sinus polyps should be screened for cystic fibrosis, Kartagener's syndrome, and allergic fungal sinusitis.

Again more googling.

The characteristics for cystic fibrosis generally include: No bowel movements in first 24 to 48 hours of life, Stools that are pale or clay colored , foul smelling, or that float, Infants may have salty-tasting skin, Recurrent respiratory infections such as pneumonia or sinusitis, Coughing or wheezing, Weight loss, or failure to gain weight normally in childhood, Diarrhea, Delayed growth, Fatigue

Thankfully, he only exhibits the that I've highlighted in red.

As for the list of common symptoms of Kartagener's Syndrome:

• chronic rhinitis
• recurrent or chronic sinusitis
• recurrent or chronic bronchitis
• bronchiectasis
• olfactory impairment
• infertility

Characteristic features of fungal sinusitis are signs or symptoms of chronic sinusitis unresponsive to antibiotic therapy. Well, that's ruled out, too. It might take some strong antibiotics t knock out his sinus infections, but at least they do respond.

Now, I must point out that Dr. P did not mention any of this. Sometimes I think the internet gives us too much information. Dr. P only said that the "growth" was unusual and that if the steroidal spray did not reduce or remove it that we'd need to go to an ENT.

Now five days later after his appointmetn, Nathan's nose is starting to run again. The sneezing has decreased, so I think the Zyrtec is doing a better job than the Allegra, but he's still not breathing normally. I don't think we'll make it to July and truthfully, that's ok with me because I'd like to get this taken care of so my little boy can be comfortable. Poor little guy. :(

Say a little prayer for Nathan, please!