Researchers test hay fever spray as solution to children’s tonsil problems

A daily squirt of this common product may prevent kids needing surgery to remove their tonsils — the most common paediatric elective surgery for children in Australia.

A daily squirt of a hay fever nasal spray may prevent kids needing surgery to remove their tonsils.

Tonsillectomy is the most common paediatric elective surgery for children in Australia, with 10 per cent having problems snoring and troubles with night-time breathing.

With more than 40,000 tonsillectomies each year, the surgery is a big impost for families, a painful procedure for children and a significant burden on hospital resources.

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Murdoch Children's Research Institute is now testing whether a simple over-the-counter anti-inflammatory treatment can be the solution.

Lead researcher Dr Kirsten Perrett said Victorian children typically waited more than a year in the public system for surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids, prompting major hospitals to look for an alternative treatment for sleep disordered breathing.

Rafaela, 5, is taking part in a nasal spray trial to see if it can help prevent snoring and sleep apnoea. Picture: David Caird

“We believe that some children may be having their tonsils and adenoids out unnecessarily,” Dr Perrett said.

“There is a hugely long wait list for this procedure — over a year in some public hospitals — and it’s become one of the biggest problems in the hospital in terms of management and wait lists.”

There is evidence untreated snoring and difficulty breathing during sleep can cause significant health issues.

Dr Perrett said there was an urgency to design more timely and economical treatments.

“There can be effects on their cognitive function, and cardiovascular health,” she said. “These children are chronically tired, therefore their behaviour and concentration at school can be affected. Long-term, this is a problem, and why we don’t want children sitting around on wait lists.”

Rafaela, 5, sleeps better with the help of the nasal spray. Picture: David Caird

About 70 children have been recruited so far, but 300 kids aged from three to 12 are needed for the trial, which runs over six weeks.

The research has been funded by MCRI and the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“We hope the nasal spray will work by reducing inflammation not just in their nose but all the way down the back of their throat to the adenoids and tonsillar tissue, and therefore alleviate the symptoms,” Dr Perrett said.

Rafaela, 5, has been on the trial while she awaits surgery to improve her sleep apnoea, night-time coughing and snoring. Her two older siblings have had their tonsils out to improve sleep, but mum Xenia Tsongas-Cutts said she was hoping her youngest child could avoid surgery.

“She’s on the waiting list for surgery, so we’ve got nothing to lose trying this spray in the meantime,” Ms Tsongas-Cutts said.

To take part in the trial, children must be referred to the RCH or Monash Children’s Hospital. Go to: mcri.edu.au/­research/projects/mist-trial