Rinogram: Nasal swabs on eosinophils are a good way to determine the cause of the cold

Determine the cause of a protracted cold that can not be treated with nasal and antibacterial drugs is difficult. A frequent or prolonged runny nose in children attending kindergarten can sometimes be considered normal. But when the runny nose continues for months and is already chronic, it is worth considering the diagnosis of the nature of its occurrence.

A common cause of chronic rhinitis in children and adults is an allergy. Therefore, to determine the etiology of the onset of a runny nose, it is recommended to make a rhinocytogram, hand over the smears from the nose to eosinophils.

What is a rhinocytogram

Rinocytogram (scraping from the nose) is a procedure capable of revealing the pathogenic microflora of the nasal mucosa. Based on the number of eosinophils detected during the survey, it can be concluded that there is a health problem.

The fact is that the treatment of a cold that has an allergic nature is fundamentally different from therapy aimed at eliminating a protracted infectious cold, so if there is such a problem, experienced doctors, in addition to a detailed blood test, prescribe a rhinocytogram.

Smears from the nose to eosinophils help the doctor determine the cause of a protracted cold.

Very often a rhinocytogram is also called an analysis for the flora, because in the process of examination it is determined not only the amount of eosinophils, but also other cells present in the nasal cavity.

What is eosinophils

Eosinophils are a subspecies of leukocytes. The presence of these cells is necessary for an adequate immune response of the organism in the case of the presence of helminths or foreign agents.

When molecules of the causative agent enter the nasal cavity, or the infection begins to develop, it is the eosinophils that rush to the affected organ and cause an inflammatory reaction. This process is inherent in people with increased susceptibility to a certain kind of allergens.

In case of repeated exposure to the causative agent, a response occurs and a clinical picture with one or a group of symptoms listed below is observed:

• Sneezing;
• cough;
• Persecution in the nasopharynx;
• Abundant discharge of mucus from the nose;
• Stuffy nasal sinuses.

Sometimes it is quite difficult to establish the etiology of prolonged rhinitis, therefore, as a simplification of diagnosis, patients with chronic rhinitis are prescribed nasal swabs for eosinophils, which allow obtaining material for the rhinocytogram.

How to prepare for a rhinocytogram

There are several rules, observance of which will help to correctly determine the flora of the nose.

It is necessary to stop taking antibiotics 5 days before putting the material in the laboratory.

For two days before collection of scraping it is forbidden to use antibacterial ointments, sprays and drops of steroid type. It is desirable to completely exclude the use of any medication (both in the nasal cavity, and externally).

Before the procedure, you can not wash the nasal cavity even with normal water.

It is also advisable 2-3 hours before the medical manipulation not to brush your teeth and eat, you can drink only water.

Explanation of results

Your task is to pass a smear from the nose to eosinophils, decipher the results and make the diagnosis - the case of the treating doctor.

In addition to the number of eosinophils in secret, other components of the blood are recorded:

• Erythrocytes - exceeding the threshold of this fraction in nasal secretion is characteristic of such diseases as influenza, diphtheria, and some other infectious diseases;
• Lymphocytes - an increase in this indicator in the mucus of the nose indicates the course of a chronic infectious inflammatory process of the nasal mucosa;
• Neutrophils - an increase in this indicator often indicates an acute viral or bacterial infection.

Smear from nose to eosinophils: normal and abnormal

Normally, the eosinophil count in nasal secretion is zero. This suggests that in a healthy nasal flora, they should not be.

Also, the eosinophil count may deviate from the norm both in the direction of increasing their number, and also show a negative value.

An increased rate (more than 10%) most often indicates that the body has one of the following deviations:

• Allergic or non-allergic respiratory diseases;
• Nodular periarteritis;
• bronchial asthma;
• Ascaridosis or infection with another species of helminth;
• Leukemia (the disease is characterized by a high content of eosinophils, not only in nasal secretion, but also in the blood);
• Parasitic infestations.

The deviation of the eosinophil count in the negative direction is also called false-negative. The negative number of eosinophils indicates:

• Vasomotor runny nose, which appears due to improper operation of the vessels;
• Medicamentous rhinitis, which appears against the background of long-term use of vasoconstrictive and steroid drugs;
• A runny nose, which is associated with a malfunction of the nervous or endocrine systems.

Smear from the nose to eosinophils: the norm in children from 1 to 14 years

The normal level of eosinophil content in nasal secretion in a child is considered to be between 0.5 and 7%.

Rinocytogram is considered one of the most painless medical manipulations, so often doctors prescribe it to children.

The normal threshold of eosinophils in adults

You will not be disturbed by knowledge of the limits of the normal index of this fraction if your attending physician has recommended a series of tests, including a swab from the nose to eosinophils. The norm in adult men and women, regardless of gender, varies from 0.5 to 5%.

Any deviation from the norm indicates the beginning of the development of the pathological process in the body. Smears from the nose to eosinophils or rhinocytograms are a good way to diagnose the nature of chronic cold at the initial stage of development.