[Variations in nasal resistance in young children]

In 22 children younger than 6 years the nasal resistance was measured at different moments of the day with the passive anterior rhinomanometer (PAR). A nasal cycle like it is found in adults was shown in 25% of the children; a partial cyclic activity was found in 31%, while in 44% a cyclic activity of the nasal resistance in both nasal cavities but in the same sense was demonstrated. Only in 2 children (out of 16) there was a total absence of cyclic phenomena. The period of the nasal cycle in young children is much shorter than in adults; the mean value we found is 1 hour 20 minutes. Physical exercises do not influence much the nasal resistance in young children. PAR in 208 nasal cavities presenting an infection showed that the nasal resistance is not much affected by nasal infections. Only a serous rhinitis with marked edema of the inferior turbinate and also a dry rhinitis with crust formation cause a distinct rise of the nasal resistance. Because of the multiple spontaneous fluctuations of the nasal resistance and because of the various influences on it, the rhinomanometric result is only a temporary result, and must therefore be interpreted with cautiousness.