Nasal Polyps

Nasal polyps are teardrop-shaped growths that form inside the nose where the sinuses open into the nasal cavity. These growths tend to be a common problem within a family’s genetics and are most often noncancerous; often times allergic inflammation plays a key role as well. Nasal polyps are most common in adults, and are twice as likely to affect men as women.

Most people with nasal polyps will experience some sort of runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, loss of smell, and chronic sinus infections. Smaller nasal polyps often go unnoticed considering they rarely cause any problems or issues.

However, larger nasal polyps can inhibit the normal operation of the sinus and hinder normal drainage from occurring. Patients that suffer from large nasal polyps will often experience continuous sinus infections due to the lack of drainage which leads to frequent infections / inflammation inside the nose.

Nasal polyps can be cured with medications or surgery, however they are very likely to keep occurring due to family genetics or other underlying medical conditions so continued medical therapy is almost always needed.

Your ENT doctor will be able to see if you have nasal polyps by looking into the patient’s nose with a nasal endoscope. Most treatment options will usually include using a nasal corticosteroid spray. In severe cases, the doctor may prescribe the patient a weeklong treatment of oral corticosteroids such as prednisone.

Since nasal polyps will continue to occur in a patient, it is important to have regular screening with your ENT and might have to continue using a corticosteroid spray to prevent the nasal polyps from returning. Unfortunately, medications such as antihistamines and decongestants do not help much in managing nasal polyps. It is common to be prescribed antibiotics if the patient develops another serious sinus infection.

If the patient’s nasal polyps are too large to effectively manage with medications surgery may be an option. Surgical removals of nasal polyps are performed at an ambulatory surgery center on an outpatient basis, where the ENT uses a small nasal telescope that removes nasal polyps while preserving normal tissue.