A nasal polyp is a small non-cancerous growth that comes from the lining of the nasal passage. If the nasal polyp is small, you may not notice that you have it. However, even though they are benign (not harmful), they can continue to grow over time and can cause symptoms like difficulty breathing and smelling. The normal nasal passage is lined with mucus to catch unwanted substances and tiny hairs called cilia that help pass the substances forward and out of the nose. Nasal polyps come from the lining of the nasal passages. Chronic inflammation of the nasal passages, as happens with chronic sinusitis and allergies can lead to changes in the lining of the surfaces cells which can multiply to become polyps. Other conditions that can cause chronic inflammation include asthma, aspirin sensitivity, cystic fibrosis, and a rare condition of the blood vessels called Churg-Strauss Syndrome. Other risk factors for nasal polyps include increasing age and a family history of polyps. Medications can be used to treat the symptoms caused by nasal polyps, but they may also need to be removed surgically. Unfortunately, nasal polyps can often recur in people who are prone to getting them. Complications of nasal polyps include having frequent sinus infections, obstructive sleep apnea (a condition leading to decreased ability to breathe while sleeping), and even deformation of the face including wide set eyes (usually associated with those who have cystic fibrosis).
Stuffy feeling in nose, congestion, postnasal drip, decreased sense of taste, snoring, face pain, itching around the eyes, most often patients have no symptoms from their nasal polyps
The diagnosis of nasal polyps is usually made after a careful history and physical exam. When your doctor is doing the general examination, he or she will look in your nose with small light and feel your neck for any lymph nodes. If your symptoms do not resolve on their own, you will likely be referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor to have them look back into your nasal passages with a thin tube with a camera on the end. If the ENT doctor sees a mass or polyp, he or she will take a biopsy (small sample) of the mass to look at under a microscope to determine what the mass is and make sure it is not cancerous. You may also have a CT scan of your sinuses done to rule out cancer in the nasal cavity. You may have testing done by an allergist if you have chronic allergies to find out what allergies you have. If a child has nasal polyps, testing may be done for cystic fibrosis as well.
Many treatment options exist for nasal polyps. Goals of treatment include decreasing symptoms of nasal polyps by decreasing their size as well as treating the underlying conditions that contribute to nasal polyps, like allergies. Medications that may be used include nasal corticosteroids (to decrease inflammation), oral corticosteroids (if nasal steroids don’t work), antihistamines (which decrease allergy symptoms), and antibiotics or anti-fungal medications (if you have infection with bacteria or fungal infections, respectively). Sometimes, surgery may be done by an ENT doctor to remove your nasal polyps. Even if your nasal polyps are removed, they may come back in the same spot again. Surgical options include polypectomy which uses a small suction device or very small extraction tool to remove the single polyp or endoscopic sinus surgery which may be done to correct problems in the sinuses that make nasal polyps more likely to occur. Both of these procedures are done on an outpatient basis, using a small cope to look into the sinuses. Thing you can do to prevent nasal polyps include properly managing allergies and asthma, avoiding things that irritate your nasal passages like pollutants and chemicals, wash your hands well regularly to keep your hands from spreading disease to your nose, use a humidifier to moisten the air in your house, and use a saline rinse or neti pot to keep your sinuses free of allergens.
