Guide-notes for post-operative care within the framework of one-day surgery
Cold. Blocked and permanently runny nose. Fortunately the common cold is over within a few days. But what to do if the symptoms last for months or even years? Restricted breathing is not just annoying but also has an impact on sports performance and quality of sleep and can cause snoring. Can we actually treat chronic cold?
What is causing chronic cold and what action should sufferers take to tackle the problem?
The main symptom of a chronic cold is a nasal blockage or congestion along with a nasal secretion in some cases. When the air doesn’t flow correctly and sufficiently through the nasal airway undertaking an examination in a specialized medical center (equipped not just with lasers but also endoscopic instruments) should be encouraged. After establishing the cause of your cold we can progress to a relevant treatment.
So there are many factors which can cause cold?
Absolutely. The most common reason is swelling of the nasal tissue in which case chronic cold can be easily treated by laser intervention performed under local anesthesia. Often we come across polyps, up to now these were treated by repeated mitigating interventions only. However in our clinic we are able to solve the problem of recurring polyps permanently, using the most advanced endoscopic laser equipment. Aside from the above, cold can be caused by other reasons too.
What are other symptoms of cold aside a blocked nose?
Again, the solution for patients suffering from recurrent nasal cavity inflammations is an endoscopic laser operation. Other symptoms of cold include headache, loss of smell or leaking of secretion into the throat. A nasal blockage may result in snoring, sleep disorders and poor job/school performance. A common feature of cold/rhinitis is a runny nose.
Endoscopic laser surgery in detail:
The intervention is carried out without a need for hospitalization and it is painless. A laser fiber is inserted under local anesthesia and by evaporating of a connective tissue under mucous membrane and subsequent healing, a space in the nose is created allowing unrestricted breathing. The whole procedure is noninvasive. After the surgery the patient has a cold-like feeling, but usually no pain and the intervention doesn’t require using of a nasal tamponade either. The patient is able to return to work the day after. Compared to old methods the patient´s discomfort is minimal, there is no need for further interventions in the nasal cavity and also complications such as a crust formation are avoided. First after a couple of weeks we evaluate the lasting effect, and we are happy to say that results are in most cases excellent. We have at our disposal Radio-frequency and PLASMA as well, however the use of laser has proved to be the best method in this case.
And polyps?
In general, we remove polyps under general anesthesia followed by one day hospitalization. As a laser is very gentle towards the nasal tissue, patient´s discomfort is usually minimal. The use of analgesics or antibiotics is rarely needed.