Symptoms of nasal polyps and nasopharyngeal cancer

What are the symptoms of nasal polyps and nasopharyngeal cancer? In daily life, nasal polyps are very common nasal diseases. Most people are familiar with some of the symptoms of nasal polyps. The most obvious one is that some polyps will appear inside the nasal cavity of patients with nasal polyps. When the disease is more serious, the polyps will increase in number, which can easily lead to some bleeding and other phenomena.

Symptoms of nasal polyps

1. Persistent nasal congestion. The cause of nasal congestion is poor blood flow in the nasal capillaries, which leads to capillary expansion and causes nasal congestion, decreased sense of smell, obstructive nasal sounds, snoring during sleep, and mouth breathing.

2. May have runny nose, headache, tinnitus, stuffy ears and hearing loss

3. Mucous polyps are quite similar to peeled grapes or fresh lychee flesh, with a smooth and translucent surface, pink in color, and thin strips mostly coming from the middle nasal meatus, which are soft and movable to the touch.

4. Hemorrhagic polyps (less common) have a smooth surface, are congested, are soft to the touch and bleed easily.

5. Fibrous polyps are grayish white in color, have a smooth surface, feel firm to the touch and do not bleed easily.

6. Multiple polyps often originate from the ethmoid sinus, and single polyps often grow from the maxillary sinus and fall into the posterior nasal cavity, which is called a "choanal polyp."

7. If nasal polyps increase in number and become larger and are not treated for a long time, the nasal bridge may widen and form a "frog nose".

Symptoms of Nasopharyngeal Cancer

1. Patients with nasopharyngeal cancer often have ear symptoms. Tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of blockage in the ear: When nasopharyngeal cancer occurs in the lateral wall of the nasopharynx, the lateral fossa, or the upper lip of the Eustachian tube opening, the tumor compresses the Eustachian tube, which can cause unilateral tinnitus, hearing loss, and catarrhal otitis media. Unilateral tinnitus or hearing loss, and a feeling of blockage in the ear are one of the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer.

2. Facial numbness is one of the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It refers to the numbness of the facial skin. The clinical diagnosis is: pain and touch are reduced and disappear. The tumor invades the cavernous sinus, often causing damage to the first or second branch of the trigeminal nerve; the tumor invades the oval foramen, the anterior area of ​​the styloid process, and the third branch of the trigeminal nerve, often causing skin paralysis in the front of the auricle, the temporal area, the cheek, the lower lip and the chin, and feeling abnormal.

3. Nasopharyngeal cancer can cause headaches in patients. Headaches are often unilateral migraines, located in the forehead, temporal or occipital regions. Mild headaches do not require treatment, while severe headaches require painkillers or even injections. There are many causes of headaches, but brain nerve damage or skull base bone damage is often one of the causes of headaches. Headaches in late-stage nasopharyngeal cancer may be caused by the reflex of the first branch of the trigeminal nerve, located at the dura mater, when stimulated.

4. Early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma include retractile bloody mucus or nose bleeding. Retractile bloody mucus often occurs after getting up in the morning, with bloody mucus coming out of the mouth. The amount of blood is not much, and is often ignored by patients, or is mistaken for hemoptysis, and they go to the internal medicine or pulmonary department for treatment. Because the blood vessels of the tumor in the nasopharyngeal cavity are relatively fragile, and the surface of the tumor is often not covered by mucosa, it is easy to have bloody mucus symptoms. Retractile bloody mucus is one of the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which should be paid attention to by patients and doctors.

5. Nasopharyngeal cancer patients may have symptoms such as bloody nose and nasal congestion. Nasopharyngeal cancer patients often have bleeding, which is one of the most common symptoms. About 70% of patients have this symptom, and about 23% of patients have this symptom in the early stage. Nasal congestion: About 48% of patients have this symptom, which is caused by nasopharyngeal tumors blocking the posterior nostril, and is often unilateral and persistent.