Hi Moms, I am a mother of a wonderful six year old little boy. We were recently told that he has strained his vocal cords and has nodules on them do to yelling too loud in his karate class. He can hardly talk because of the horesness and it is getting worse. He is going to have a laryngoscopy done next week to see what might be the problem and he has to be put to sleep which really bothers and worries me because he is so young. I just want to know if there is anyone else out there that has experienced the same problem with their child. I am really worried about him because there may be an underlying problem that might be an even bigger problem. Thank you for any help you can give.
I had an adult friend this happened to--he was about 29 yrs old and it lasted for about 6 months--but then healed itself. And for what it's worth, my son was put to sleep at age 6 months for a surgery and he did fine. Good Luck!
C., if I were you I would stop thinking of possibilities that are only present in your mind. Think positively and wait till the doctor tells you his findings. Only then will you know if there is a problem that does not have a solution. My son was operated when he was 6 from his tonsils and I worried alot but with my faith and hopes up high both of us managed to surpass the situation together. Then when he was 8 they had to operate him again from a inginal hernia and I was nervous again but, maintained my faith in God and his promises to us. God is always with and never puts a load heavier than what we can carrry. If you look the other way aroung you are going to realize that your son is in an environment where he is loved and taken care of by his family and doctors, others do not have this special care. So keep calm and everything is going to come out excellent. Remember the we transfer our doubts and worries to our children and he does not need this now. All will pass and then you will realize that things were not complicated. Keep calm! L.
Hot tea and Lemon and Honey. Don't let him yell like that it's very bad for his voice especially if he ever wants to sing. My sister is a singer and they told her no yelling, no cheerleading.
I am a licensed speech-language pathologist and have a bit of experience in this area. You are doing the right thing by starting off with a laryngoscopy - that will tell you a lot, and although scary, it is a simple enough procedure. I would suggest that you follow up with his school's speech-language pathologist (if he goes to a public school) and let them know what is going on. If they are nodules, then the SLP will be able to do some speech therapy with him and help him change his habits of yelling and may prescribe vocal rest. If you want to look into private speech therapy, I would suggest the Callier Center. www.callier.utdallas.edu/speechlang.html
I would definitely avoid any surgical procedure to remove vocal nodules. Rarely if ever do nodules need to be surgically removed. Nodules are fairly common in kiddos this age, just to put your mind at ease. The bad thing is that once the child has them, it can be a vicious cycle to correct the problem. Think of them as a callous on the vocal fold. The vocal folds are not able to close normally and make voice and therefore the child sounds hoarse because air is rushing out from around the nodules. The child has to force (slam) them together even harder, and therefore the callous (nodule) gets worse. Good luck with this!
I actually had this same situation as a teenager from, you guessed it, cheerleading. They thought I might have some esophageal deviation, etc. but it just turned out to be too much screaming. I had to stay quiet...I mean no talking at all...for 6 weeks. I can still tell when I laugh loudly, or scream at something. It feels like I have something caught in my throat. I was told by a speech therapist that I have more muscle in my throat than most and that I have to learn how to relax those muscles. Hopefully, your situation will be just as simple, although a little annoying. GOod luck!
Hi C.
Sorry to say I do not have any experience in this field, however I am an assistant for an Orthopedic Surgeon and my best piece of advise is..when in doubt..get a second opinion. I do know of a pediatric ent, whom im sure would be more than happy to answer some questions, let me know if your interested.
My son had this too. He was evaluated by a speech therapist and we were given some voice excercises to do at home. He didn't have a laryngoscopy that I remember. The bigest thing was catching him and reminding him to stop bad habits. He is fine now.
