Politzer bag

This apparatus is used to insufflate the eustachean tube.

Components of this apparatus include:

Rubber bulb

Nozzle

Rubber tube

Nose piece

The rubber tube is connected to the nozzle and the nose piece is fixed inside the nasal cavity on the side of the eustachean tube to be tested. The other nostril is closed to prevent air leak. The rubber bulb is pressed and the patient is asked to swallow. The under test is auscultated using a sthethoscope place over it. Hissing can be heard by the examiner if the eustachean tube is patent. The same procedure can be performed to ventilate the middle ear cavity.

Politzer manueuver:

This causes retrograde inflation of the middle ear cavity by forcing air through the eustachean tube. This has been proposed as a non surgical treatment of middle ear effusion. This procedure was first described by Valsalva and Politzer. This procedure involves inserting the tip of a rubber air bulb into a patient's nose and simultaneously compressing the other nostril with a finger and having the patient to swallow as the rubber bulb is compressed. Air will flow through the nasal cavity and find its way into the middle ear cavity through the pharyngeal end of eustachean tube. This procedure is safe to be used in children and adults. It is contraindicated in severe ear infections and in the presence of active upper respiratory infections.