My GP thinks I have these. He has just looked up my nose which feels really stuffed and blocked like it needs blowing but dry. I use nasonex nasal spray - he prescribed nasal oral steroid drops but unobtainable at the moment - manufacturing prob so I'm to double my nasonex for the time being to try and ward off surgery. Any one else had trouble with these she says expecting a huge yes. What did you find helpful if anything?
Sandi
hi sandi, i also have nasal polyps and have been prescribed Nasonex, and i too have been experiencing dryness. I also have a severe allergy to Aspirin my consultant thinks this might be related to the nasal polyps. at present surgery hasnt been suggested though.
hope youre ok, take care. xx
The combination of asthma, nasal polyps and aspirin sensitivity (and usually rhinitis too) is known as Samter's triad. It's often best managed jointly by a respiratory cons and an ENT cons. Leukotriene antagonists such as montelukast (Singulair) and zarfirlukast (Accolate) are said to be a lot of help in this condition, and surgery is also used to remove polyps if they are causing significant obstruction.
I have more information but can't get hold of it at the moment, but Googling 'Samter's triad' brings up plenty of food for thought.
Hope this helps
Em H
Thanks Sime and EmH, Not sure if i'm allergic to asthma. was fed junior asprin when young and asthma was poorly controlled (no lovely inhalers around 49 years ago) difficult for me to know if the asprin made things worse. Since all the stuff came out about asprin and asthma I haven't taken them. Luckily I dont take anything like that very often and use soluble paracetemol when I do.
I will look up Samters triad Em - thanks I think... I have been taking double nasonex as GP advised and my nose does feel a lot better and so is my voice. So I feel foolish in that I dont think I've been taking my nasonex properly - I'm always rushing and I suspect that I dontt let the spray fill up for the second puff and have obnly been having one puff once a day which obviously isnt enough. I have to continue on the double dose for a week then go back to normal dose and then after 1-2 more weeks go back to GP so that with less inflammation he can do a better polyp search. Thanks again.
Sandi
Hi Sandi,
I had polyps taken out about five years ago, and felt much more comfortable for it. No problems at alll (mind you this was when asthma was under control) - day surgery, can't say I had any discomfort at all afterwards, got sent home with painkillers and didnt need them. I continue to take nasonex to try and ward off any return (they tend to come back), and also for ongoing rhinitis. Were the drops you were prescribed but couldnt get called betnesol? this was the only thing I found had any effect on shrinking the polyps, but you can't use it for long, unfortunately.
hope the nasonex is working and making things more comfortable, do PM if you want any more info.
ali
I'm a bit confused (sorry for hijacking your thread Sandi) but I had a little look on the internet for ""Samster's Triad"" and according to some of the websites it is most prominent in the middle-aged, but I inadvertently found I was allergic to Aspirin when I was fairly young (11 years old) when I took a flu/cold remedy which had aspirin in it and I had a major attack. I've also had ENT issues since I was 3 and had an adenoidectomy (sp?) and have had nasal polyps recurrently.
My daughter is 20 yrs old and has Samters Triad. There are also rare cases of it in children though the average onset is one’s mid 30s
Simi- although alot of sites say it tends to occur in middle age i dont think this is set in stone. I had my first reaction to aspirin aged 14 after taking it for a sports injury(those were the day when i could do enuf sport to get injured!!) i have both tonsils and adenoids out aged 5 and a half and nasal polyps first diagnosed at 17, i have been asthmatic since childhood but only brittle in the last 11 yrs. I didnt get a diagnosis until i started going to the Brompton where it was recognized quickly, where they also decided due to the severity of my reaction to aspirin i cant even attempt to be de- sensitized which apparently can help a great deal.
Simi, most of the info I've got on Samter's triad suggests that the peak onset is during the twenties and thirties, but this doesn't mean that it is impossible to get it at other times in life. As with other things, we don't always fit the textbooks!
Em H
I have had the op twice as the polyps grew back again. Theres no real discomfort afterwards.The worst bit is when they pull the miles of packing out of your hooter after the op ! I lost my sense of smell for about 3 years but it is back to normal now.Good luck. PS. When I was on Prednisilone the growths shrank but came back afterwards.
Today they no longer use that sort of packing.
Reading this thread has sort of made everythign click. I ahve asthma nasel polyps and allergic to aspirin. I never throught the three were interrealted. I didnt know about nasel polyps till i saw a specialst difficult asthma con who got me to see an ent. I am now under both. But it makes sense in a way. i first had asthma then found out about the aspirin allergy and always had problems with my nose but when i ws 18 got told botu nasel polyps. and since being 18-22 my asthma was very bad and comply out of control. it is now getting under control maybe the twenties something exacebation is passing.
Thanks for the info on samtar triads.
Olive
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