respiratory health

I.Randi Nasal Vestibulitis

Generality

Nasal vestibulitis is an infectious disease that affects the nasal vestibules.

It is a bacterial type infection that can be the consequence of other infectious disorders that affect the nose, its mucous membranes and the upper airways, as it can be induced by wrong attitudes.

In principle, nasal vestibulitis is considered to be a relatively simple disorder to treat; however, it could lead to severe and, in some cases, potentially lethal complications. For this reason, the timeliness of the diagnosis - which must be placed by the doctor after an accurate visit - is fundamental in preventing its occurrence.

However, the treatment of nasal vestibulitis generally involves the local administration of drugs with antibiotic action.

What is that

What is Nasal Vestibulitis?

Nasal vestibulitis is an infectious disease that affects the vestibules of the nose. In most cases, this infection is supported by generally methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Nasal vestibulitis is a disorder that can affect both adults and children and can give rise to annoying symptoms that can hinder normal breathing.

Brief Review: what is the Nasal Vestibule?

The nasal vestibules represent one of the anatomical regions that make up the nasal cavities. Considering the nostrils as the initial "portion" of the inner nose, the vestibules represent the very first part of the nasal cavities. They are provided with a characteristic mucous lining and, in adult individuals, they represent the region of the inner nose from which the nasal hairs originate.

Causes

What are the Causes of Nasal Vestibulitis?

As mentioned, the nasal vestibulitis manifests itself following the infection of the nasal vestibules supported by bacterial strains of S. aureus . There are many factors that can cause and / or predispose to the onset of this infection. In many cases, it occurs as a result of injuries to the nasal vestibules due to:

  • To the continuous and excessive act of blowing the nose;
  • To the habit of sticking the fingers in the nose (it is a typical habit - but unfortunately not exclusive - of children);
  • At the tearing of nose hair.

In addition, the onset of nasal vestibulitis can be favored by the presence of chronic rhinorrhea, as can occur following other infectious diseases affecting the inner nose and its mucous membranes.

Finally, we recall that, although less frequently, the presence of upper airway infections could also cause the appearance of the pathology in question.

Did you know that ...

Also the presence of a nose piercing is a factor capable of favoring the appearance of nasal vestibulitis.

Symptoms

Manifestations and Symptoms of Nasal Vestibulitis

The presence of the infection sustained by S. aureus in the nasal vestibules can give rise to very annoying manifestations and symptoms.

More in detail, the nasal vestibulitis is characterized by the appearance of:

  • Redness;
  • Swelling;
  • Dry nose;
  • Pimple formation;
  • folliculitis;
  • Scabs in the nose;
  • Nosebleed (a symptom that generally manifests itself due to the rupture of the crusts mentioned above).

In severe cases, the pimples and folliculitis can expand and invade the skin outside the nasal cavities. In this way, the aforementioned manifestations and the aforementioned symptoms can also involve the outer skin of the nose.

Clearly, the presence of boils and the formation of crusts can cause discomfort, itching and / or pain, difficulty in blowing the nose and breathing difficulties due to the possible obstruction of the nasal cavities.

Complications

What Complications Can Nasal Vestibulitis Bring?

If undiagnosed and, consequently, treated in a timely manner, or if treated inadequately, nasal vestibulitis can become complicated, giving rise to much more serious disorders.

Nasal Cellulite

The nasal pimples that appear in the nasal vestibulitis can evolve into so-called nasal cellulite . This last is nothing but a form of infectious cellulite, caused by the infection of the subcutaneous tissues at the level of the nose. It is characterized by the appearance of various symptoms, among which we mention: warm, red and soft to the touch skin, swelling, pain, blistering and fever. If not properly and promptly treated, nasal cellulitis can in turn give rise to serious complications.

Cavernous sinus thrombosis

Cavernous sinus thrombosis (a large vein at the base of the skull) is a complication that can originate from infectious diseases that affect the skin of the face, the skin of the nose, the paranasal sinuses, the orbits and even the teeth. Therefore, nasal vestibulitis - characterized by an infection sustained by S. aureus - can potentially give rise to the thrombosis in question. This occurs when the bacterial infection spreads from the skin of the nose and from the vestibules to the bloodstream, reaching precisely the cavernous sinus.

The symptoms induced by the aforementioned thrombosis consist of: proptosis, palpebral edema, severe headache, double vision, loss of vision, high fever. In the most serious cases you can even get to the coma and the implications can turn out to be tragic despite the antibiotic treatment.

Fortunately, the complication of the nasal vestibulitis in cavernous sinus thrombosis is a rare occurrence, but which cannot be completely ruled out. For this reason, under no circumstances should nasal vestibulitis be underestimated.

Did you know that ...

Cavernous sinus thrombosis is one of the complications that nasal cellulite can experience. Therefore, if the vestibulitis becomes complicated in nasal cellulitis, it is possible that the latter complicates itself, giving rise to the cavernous sinus thrombosis.

Diagnosis

How to diagnose Nasal Vestibulitis?

The diagnosis of nasal vestibulitis must necessarily be made by the doctor after a thorough visit. First of all, it must provide for the collection of anamnestic data, informing the patient about the type and duration of the symptoms manifested by it and the presence of other possible pathologies. If desired, the doctor can also prescribe the execution of specific analyzes in order to determine which pathogen has caused the infection of the nasal vestibules. As mentioned above, in the vast majority of cases, the infection that gives rise to the nasal vestibulitis is supported by Staphylococcus aureus strains - usually but not exclusively - methicillin-sensitive.

Care and Treatment

What are the Cure and Treatments Against Nasal Vestibulitis?

Being a disease triggered by a bacterial infection, the treatment of nasal vestibulitis involves the administration of antibiotic drugs topically .

In detail, for the treatment of the pathology in question, there are specific ointments suitable for intranasal application based on the active principle mupirocin (Bactroban Nasale®). The drug should be applied inside the nose twice a day for at least 5 days. However, the total treatment should not exceed ten days.

To mitigate the discomfort induced by the symptoms of nasal vestibulitis and to soften the crusts that are formed, on the other hand, it could be useful to make hot wet compresses lasting 10-15 minutes, two to three times a day. In any case, it is always good to ask your doctor for advice.

Treatment and Treatment of Complications

The complications that nasal vestibulitis may give rise to, however, require more intense treatments. In particular, infectious cellulite usually requires the administration of oral antibiotic drugs and possibly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for the symptomatic treatment of pain; while cavernous sinus thrombosis requires the administration of high doses of intravenous antibiotics and possibly the administration of corticosteroid drugs.

In any case, given the seriousness of these complications, should symptoms appear which could predict the presence of any nasal vestibulitis, it is absolutely necessary to seek medical attention as soon as possible.