TONSILS AND ADENOIDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 255, 26 March 1914, Page 3

TONSILS AND ADENOIDS.

IXTKRKSTIXC RESEARCHES. Chrouic enlargement of the tonsils and overgrowth of the adenoid tissue in the vault of the pharynx, or roof of the back of the throat, sometimes known as the middle or pharyngene tonsil, are affections of extreme importance, and may influence in an extraordinary way the mental and bodily developments of children. Very many individuals in the community owe their robust health and active mentality to the fact that these offending tissues were removed in their childhood. It is a curious fact that, although the tonsils and adenoids are so accessible to observation, even now very ] little is known as to the exact part j they play in the working of the human system. Indeed, as no ill result follows

their removal, and in a great many people they are a source of numerous distressing ailments, it is not surprising that a cynical observer should have said that their sole function is to give us sore throats.

Some interesting' researches have recently been carried out , at the University College Hospital, London, and reporter! to the British Medical Association, from which it has been concluded that in the first five years of life the tonsils certainly have some important function in maintaining the genera) health of the child, but the direction in which they acted could not be ascertained. A recent writer in the British Medical Journal put forward the theory that these glands acted as a defence against infection; he argued that the lymphoid tissue in the other parts of the body had this defensive function, and that it was only reasonable to suppose that it was the same with the tonsils, which are composed of lymphoid tissue. It was only by repeated defensive reactions that they ultimately became enlarged, and then acted rather as a source ot danger than of defence. The harmful enlargement usually takes place after the fifth year of age. In healthy persons the tonsils should have shrivelled to an insignificant size by middle life. The direct effect of chronic enlargement of the tonsils and overgrowth of adenoids is the establishment of mouth breathing. The indirect effects are deformation of the chest, changes in the facial expression, sometimes marked alteration in the mental condition, and in certain cases stunting of the growth. Mouth breathing is the symptom which first attracts attention. It is not so noticeable by day, although the child may present the vacant expression characteristic of tills condition. At night the child's sleep is greatly disturbed; the breathing is loud and snorting, and there are sometimes prolonged pauses, followed by deep, noisy, inspirations. Xight terrors are common. The child may wake up in a paroxysm of shortness of breath: sometimes a short, troublesome cough, usually excited by lying down or reclining.

When the month breathing has persisted for a long time, definite changes are brought about in the face, mouth, and chest. The faces become so peculiar and distinctive that the condition may be evident at a glance. The expression is dull, heavy, and apathetic, due in part to the fact that the mouth is habitually left open; and eventually the 'lower jaw becomes undeveloped, the upper jaw narrowed, and the roof of the mouth greatly raised, with the result that the teeth <lo not come into proper relationship when the child eats, thus causing inefficient mastication, with its resultant evils. In long-stand-ing cases the child is very stupid-look-ing, responds slowly to questions, and may be sullen and cross. The chest undergoes remarkable alterations in shape, and develops into one or other of the well-known deformities: (a) Pigeon or chicken breast; (b) barrel chest; (c) funnel chest. Further, the voice is altered and acquires a nasal quality, and the pronunciation of certain letters is changed, and there is- inability to pronounce the nasal consonants w and m. Hearing may be impaired, and many other complications may arise. The new system of medical inspection of schools will save many children from deformity and ill-health. The advice given to parents is to have their children's tonsils and adenoids removed. It is a simple operation, and means everything to the future development of the cbild, both mentally and physically.