Ways to Surgically Correct Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI)

Recently, a video was created describing a medical condition called velopharyngeal insufficiency or VPI. This medical condition is characterized by hypernasal speech and if severe enough, food and liquid nasal regurgitation during swallow. Essentially, VPI is due to a persistent opening between the soft palate and back wall during speech. This continuous opening allows air escape during speech and food/liquid nasal regurgitation during swallow if severe enough. A new video (shown above)…

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What is Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI)? [VIDEO]

Velopharyngeal insufficiency or VPI is a difficult medical condition for patients who are not medical professionals to understand. This video attempts to explain what VPI is... VPI is a medical condition characterized by hypernasal speech and if severe enough, food and liquid nasal regurgitation during swallow. During normal speech and swallow, the soft palate closes tight against the back wall of the pharynx thereby completely separating the nasal cavity from the mouth. In patients s…

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Portable and Reusable Alkaline Water Bottles

Ever since 2012 when a research paper came out suggesting that drinking alkaline water (pH 8.8) may help with symptoms of reflux by deactivating a stomach enzyme called pepsin, patients have increasingly switched to high-pH water for this health benefit [ more info ]. Unfortunately, obtaining alkaline water typically required purchasing many plastic bottles of alkaline water over time which is not exactly environmentally friendly. Due to such environmental concerns, several companies have…

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Indoor Air Quality Monitor for Allergies and Asthma

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) monitors have come a long way in the past few years. Air pollution sensors used to cost several hundred dollars and was used only by researchers, but as with any technology, such sensors have become cheaper and smaller which have led to a whole slew of compact monitors geared towards consumers who can purchase to monitor their own home air quality. Keep in mind, many portable air filter units now have such sensors built-in. These monitors have become useful for patie…

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Treat Salivary Gland Swelling at Home with 4 Easy Steps [VIDEO]

It is not uncommon that a patient presents to an ENT office with sudden onset facial swelling due to an obstructed from a stone or infected salivary gland . The main salivary glands that afflict patients are the parotid over the cheeks and submandibular glands located under the jawline. Regardless of obstruction or infection, there are 4 simple ways to immediately start treating this condition at home. Watch the video to see what to do. Of course, if an infection is present, antibiotics…

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How Much Radiation with CT Scans of the Sinus or Neck?

Patients are often too quick to want CT scans to further evaluate their symptoms without appreciating the downsides of such exams. For ENTs, that mainly involves scans of either the Sinus or Neck. Using the website RayRisk.com , one can easily figure out how much radiation exposure occurs with not just CT scans, but all other radiological scans as well. To use as a baseline, take a regular Chest X-ray which exposes a person to 0.10 mSv of radiation. A CT Sinus scan requires ~0.7 mSv or ra…

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