There are four areas of tissue at the back of the throat which are concerned with the development of defences against infection in early infancy. These are the right and left tonsils, the base of the tongue and the adenoids. The adenoids are located above the tonsils, at the back of the nose. They get larger between birth and four years of age and then become progressively smaller. By adulthood they have disappeared altogether.
Large adenoids cause nasal obstruction.
The child breathes through his or her mouth and snores at night. Sometimes large tonsils and adenoids are associated with a condition called sleep apnoea syndrome in which the child stops breathing during sleep. This condition is associated with asthma and eczema in some children. Deviated nasal septum . This is sometimes present at birth and in other cases is due to a blow to the nose.