蓄膿症　副鼻腔炎

Pus accumulation, paranasal inflammation

蓄膿症、副鼻腔炎は急性鼻炎が長引くことが原因です。副鼻腔の粘膜に細菌やウイルスによって炎症が起きると、鼻水と一緒に細菌やウイルスを体の外へ出す力が弱まり、副鼻腔に膿がたまります。外に出されず副鼻腔にたまった鼻水や膿や細菌などが、副鼻腔の粘膜を傷つけ炎症を起こし、炎症がなかなか改善しないという悪循環が起きます。このように悪循環を繰り返し、慢性化し、蓄膿症となります。今症例は、蓄膿症と診断されていて、手術を望まない患者さんで、鼻詰まりや息苦しさが主訴で、鼻の粘膜が腫れて、鼻が詰まるため口呼吸になり、自分のいびきで起きてしまい、睡眠も取れなくなったことで来院しました。他にも頭痛や頭の重い感じがして、仕事中に集中力が下がったり、疲れやすくなったと感じているとのこと。このような日常生活に影響が出ているような副鼻腔炎の治療として、耳鼻科への受診をまず、すすめたうえで、西洋医学の「悪いところを薬やメスで取り除く」という考えに対して、東洋医学の「自然治癒力を高めることで改善を目指す」ことを目的として、副鼻腔炎のツボにお灸を施いたしました。治療後は、鼻づまりの通りがよくなり、頭痛や頭重感にも改善されています。

Sinusitis, or sinusitis, is caused by prolonged acute rhinitis. When the mucous membranes of the sinuses are inflamed by bacteria or viruses, the ability of the body to expel the bacteria and viruses along with the runny nose is weakened, and pus accumulates in the sinuses. The runny nose, pus, and bacteria that accumulate in the sinus cavities and are not expelled from the body damage the mucous membranes of the sinuses, causing inflammation, and a vicious cycle occurs in which inflammation does not improve. This vicious cycle repeats itself and becomes chronic, resulting in sinusitis. The patient came to our hospital because he had been diagnosed with sinusitis and did not want surgery, and his main complaint was nasal congestion and breathlessness, and the swelling of the nasal mucosa caused him to mouth-breathe because his nose was stuffed up, and his own snoring woke him up and made it difficult for him to sleep. He also has other symptoms such as headaches and a heavy head feeling, and he feels less concentrated and more tired at work. As a treatment for sinusitis that affects her daily life, we recommended her to see an otolaryngologist first, and then applied moxibustion to the sinusitis pressure points with the aim of improving her condition by enhancing her natural healing power, as opposed to Western medicine's idea of "removing the bad part with medicine or a scalpel". After the treatment, the patient experienced a decrease in nasal congestion. After the treatment, her nasal congestion has improved and her headache and heavy-headedness have also improved.