Adenoids :
Adenoids are small collections of soft tissue bulging forward from the wall at the back of the nasal passage. They are located behind the throat and are therefore part of the immune system. In fact they function more as a defense mechanism because most of the pathogenic bacteria and viruses entering into the body get trapped in them. They shrink with age and often by adolescence appear much smaller or are absent. Normally swollen or enlarged adenoids are due to repeated infections, allergies, or irritants that may sometimes cause breathing obstruction through the nose and mouth, snoring, ear infections, or blocked nose. Nasal congestion, difficulty with breathing through the nose, mouth breathing, and chronic infection of the ear form a normal case symptom. The treatment varies and are based on the intensity of the symptoms. The milder ones require treatment conservatively through the mouth, with nasal sprays and decongestants or antibiotics if they have become infected too. The worse in the sense that if the adenoids persist and become a chronic source of trouble requires surgical removal, also known as an adenoidectomy. Usually surgical intervention is in children who experience recurrent problems of breathing or persisting ear troubles. The recoveries after surgery are characteristically very short and almost problem free.