Vascular Responses to Feet Cooling in Normal and Allergic Nose: An analysis of some physical and physiologic variables

Abstract

A method for permanent simultaneous recording of the temperature of the mucosa on symmetrical points of both inferior turbinates has been devised. Comparative measurements have been performed while the subjects are permitted to respire through only one of the nasal cavities while the other one is closed from air flow. This approach permits an analysis of several external and internal factors influencing the temperature of the nasal mucosa. By separating these factors an estimation can be made of how much of the temperature change measured is due to variations in peripheral blood flow during cold foot baths. The same initial temperature fall in the nasal temperatures was found in both the “normal” and the “vasomotor” groups. In the normals this fall was completely recovered while cold stimulus was still applied, as shown before; in the vasomotor patients, however, this initial fall was not recovered during the chilling period of 10 min. This experimental finding appears to depend on reflex vasoconstriction of longer duration in patients with vasomotor rhinitis.