Rhinitis – Cryotherapy

Transcript

Cryotherapy is not a new technology, but it has made a comeback in terms of its popularity for treating rhinitis. There are devices designed today to deliver cold cryotherapy to the back of the nose, where one of the turbinates or humidifiers touch or insert on the lateral wall of the nose, where nerves come out that give the signal to the nose to swell and congest. When that area is frozen for about 30 seconds, there has been shown to be a significant reduction in the symptoms of rhinitis and postnasal drip specifically. This is a procedure that can be done comfortably in the office under local anesthesia. So the nose is anesthetized topically without any needles and then the device applied and the freezing for 30 seconds on each side. And within six weeks patients note a significant improvement in their symptoms.