Supplement Octanoic Acid May Help with Vocal Tremor

A fascinating study came out August 2019 that treated patients with vocal tremor with an over-the-counter supplement called octanoic acid , more commonly known as caprylic acid . The theory behind using octanoic acid (OA) comes from the observation that OA works similarly to alcohol (but without the side effects); alcohol often helps reduce limb and hand tremor and is thought to act centrally within the olivocerebellar region of the brain. Given that OA is thought to work the same way a…

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Allergy Shot Given to CATS to Help People with Cat Allergy

A company has reversed the traditional allergy shot given to people with bad allergies and created an allergy vaccine which is given to cats to make them less allergic for people. Essentially, this new vaccine makes cats become hypoallergenic! Published in July 2019, the study outlined the use of a novel protein containing Fel-d1, the saliva protein that makes cats so allergic to people, along with a particle derived from the cucumber mosaic virus and a tetanus toxin–derived universal T-c…

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Can Reflux Medications Cause Allergies?

Image courtesy of Areeya at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net Reflux medications are wonderful to treat symptoms of heartburn as well as reflux-triggered throat problems . However, there is growing concern that long-term use of reflux medications is associated with other health problems including nutritional deficiencies along with increased risk of bone fracture, pneumonia, and other infections including Clostridium difficile infection where proton pump inhibitors may carry a high risk equivalent t…

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Animation of Botox Injection to Treat Spasmodic Dysphonia

A new animation has been created in cooperation with Intronix Technologies that demonstrates the steps involved to treat spasmodic dysphonia with EMG guided botulinum toxin. Spasmodic dysphonia is a neurologic condition characterized by vocal breaks during speech due to spasms of the vocal cord muscles. The most common type of spasmodic dysphonia is adductor spasmodic dysphonia where the vocal cords suddenly and involuntarily comes together causing the person’s voice to suddenly break off…

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New Drug to Treat Nasal Polyps - Dupilumab (Dupixent)

Patients who suffer from nasal polyps suffer from significant nasal obstruction, smell loss, and congestion. This condition is not normally "curable" and requires medical management for long-term symptom control. Traditional treatment includes surgical removal , leukotriene inhibitor (ie, singulair ), intranasal steroids , allergy shots (if applicable), and oral steroids. In the majority of patients, this treatment management usually controls nasal polyp recurrence/growth such t…

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Tonsillectomy in Singers (Voice Changes After Tonsillectomy)

Even singers may suffer from recurrent tonsillitis and strep that may warrant tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy . But unlike non-singers, there is a significant concern that this common operation may adversely affect the singing voice whether in terms of sound, resonance, reliability, and/or stamina. Over the years, there have been a few studies to investigate what changes to the voice may or may not occur in the singing population, in particular, whether any adverse changes may …

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