Sinus Problems--Cleft Related?

[Anonymous]

I was born with a bilateral Cleft Palate, and am now experiencing severe sinus problems as an adult. I am recovering from the second sinus infection I've had this year. Does anyone else have a cleft and sinus problems too? Are they in any way related? Any answers and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

[Joel joelrain@aol.com]

Hello,
This is my first time researching this issue, and I thought I would look here.
I'm not sure about my diagnosis, and what happend to me. Apparently, I had a self repaired cleft palet/lip. I was adopted
so there is really no medical history for me from birth to 1 month. I am 21 years old, and have had extensive sinus problems that have been treated in many different ways,
with very little success. I get them about 3-4 times/year.

[Keri]

This is the very reason I'm here today. My 6 year old son (who had his palate repaired as an infant). has terrible sinus problems. he has a CONSTANT runny nose. For years I thought it was allergies, he was tested two days ago and he is allergy free. Back to square one. I'm going to talk to his surgeon about this. It really is quite serious. He has cronic sinisitus, fluid in ears and ear infecrions. BTW, the allergist said that it may be that he is not flushing all the mucus into his stomache like the rest of us do, due to a structural abmormality above the palate. A doctor can check for you with a light microscope thingy through the nasal cavity. I'll let you know if I find anything out from my research. Does anyone have anymore info?
Keri

[macia]

I was born with cleft palate, hard ans soft. I experice nasal congestion and flus more often than poeple not boorn with this deformaty. Can anything be done?

[rhonda]

My son is 19 months old. He has had both his lip and palate repair done. The nasal congestion is to the point of almost making us crazy because it affects his sleep to the point that we are up every 20-45 minutes almost every night because he has trouble sleeping. We have tried using a humidifier to help the moisture in the air...we have tried antibiotics...we have tried every kind of over-the-counter decongestant,antihistimine, etc that you can safely give a child of this age
(most just make him hyper so that his crying is all night long). Our otolaryngologist told us when he had his palate repair at 9 months old that he had horrible adenoids, (huge, pus filled) but that he will not remove them because he would need them for his speech. Have any of you been told the same thing? He said that they do no remove adenoids in cleft palate children because their speech is better with them in. Is it worth it? We have not had not one full nights sleep in nineteen months because he is not able to breath well enough to sleep through the night. Any suggestions?

[Keri]

Rhonda,
You have the exact same problems we do. Just days ago I talked to a nurse that gave me the same answers you got. They also said that they couldn't removed the adenoids because he likely doesn't have enough soft palate to removed them. We have a medication that is seeming to help my son. Please mail me at keri@mondenet.com
I'd love to talk to you further. I have talked to everyone, (doctors, cleft palate associations) you (and one nurse) are the only ones who know what I'm talking about.
Sincerely, Keri R

[Anonymous]

when I was in college I was getting severe headaches. I kept complaining to my parent's that I wasn't getting enough oxygen. They and the (top notch Park Ave doctor) thought it was psychological. Finally, they did surgery and found huge amounts of scar tissue which they cleaned out. This helped a lot. My nasal passages are still much too small. I wish I could breath like a normal person.

[Donabelllee]

Joel I to have a cleft Palet. Mine was corrected by surgery in 1944. Then it was experamental. I talk thru by nose like I have a cold all the time. I also have sinus problems all the time. I take claratin d. e-mail me and maybe we can figure out why. Dona

[trinh]

hello,
i am a mother of a 16 months old cleft & palate child. he had a cold & recover; but he is suffering from his sinus. he has not been able to sleep at night because of the coughs. keri, i read your article to rhonda stating of a medication. if you will, please let me know what is this medication. i hope to hear from you. my email is trinhguerra@hotmail.com