What is That Bump Behind the Tongue?

Typically in young children, I often have worried parents ask me what that bump is behind the tongue. This bump kind of looks like the picture shown here. The good news is that it is NORMAL and is called the epiglottis. An epiglottis is the "throat flap" the helps prevent food and liquids from going down the wrong way. Although occasionally the epiglottis can even be seen in adults looking in the mouth, this anatomic structure is typically most easily seen in cooperative children. …

3/06/2019 0

Continue Reading

If a LEGO is Swallowed, How Long Does it Take to be Pooped Out?

This is one of those published research papers I had to wonder if it was for real or not... but it appears to be genuine in spite of the jocular tone of the article. Published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health , researchers swallowed small LEGO pieces and then monitored bowel movements to determine how long it took before it got pooped out. The general point of the study being that children often swallow toy objects and as long as it doesn't get stuck in the throat (and lack…

11/28/2018 0

Continue Reading

Drinking Honey Reduces Throat Damage after Swallowing Button Battery

Button batteries swallowed by children cause significant damage to the lining of the throat and esophagus and has the potential to cause significant swallowing difficulties both in the short-term due to mucosal injury as well as long-term issues from scarring. Serious damage can occur within 2 hours of battery ingestion and deaths have also occurred due to button battery ingestion. As such, any intervention that can be done to minimize mucosal damage from the moment of swallow until the butto…

11/24/2018 0

Continue Reading

Swallowed Coin Removal without Sedation Using a Foley in a Young Child

A blog subscriber recently informed me about a video showing a coin being removed blindly from a young child using only a foley catheter without any sedation. Watch video  above... This blind removal technique basically involves passing a small foley catheter through the mouth and PAST where the coin is located within the esophagus, typically behind the voicebox. The foley catheter balloon which would then be located past where the coin would be, is then inflated with a syringe. After ballo…

11/23/2018 0

Continue Reading

Ear Tube Placement in Kids without Sedation

Our office routinely performs  traditional  ear tube placements in the office, without sedation, starting from the age of 12 years. For those younger than 12 years,  ear tube placement  typically requires general anesthesia, not for pain reasons, but because in order for the procedure to be performed safely, the child has to be totally still. However, a new device called Hummingbird TTS allows for the possibility for ear tube placement without sedation in younger kids. Why? The device allows …

11/19/2018 0

Continue Reading

Potential Increased Long-Term Risk of Diseases with Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

The New York Times published a story on June 7, 2018 publicizing a Danish 2018 study that suggested that children under 9 years old undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy  are at increased long-term risk of respiratory, infectious, and allergic diseases. (Adults undergoing this surgery were not investigated.) All prior studies  evaluating for any adverse affects from surgical intervention looked more at any unusual immunological changes after surgery; these studies did not show a…

6/09/2018 0

Continue Reading

Lose the Juice: Sugary Drinks Linked to Reflux in Children (Guest Blog)

A guest blog by Dr. Julie Wei (pediatric ENT in Florida) Despite doctors informing the public that cigarette smoking causes lung and other types of cancer, and cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, bronchitis, and other various health conditions, it took decades before the public finally shifted the stigma of cigarette smoking and started shedding light on the harmful effects. As a result, cigarette packages now come with mandatory warning labels. SURGEON GENERAL’S…

5/29/2018 0

Continue Reading

EarPopper versus Otovent... Which is Better?

Before describing which device is better to treat a clogged, muffled ear whether it contains fluid or not, first a short description of the problem itself known as eustachian tube dysfunction .  Although (most) adults can easily pop the ears to alleviate the ear pressure with a swallow , yawn, or blowing against a pinched nose, it is not unusual for most young children to not know how to do this. Some may not even know how to blow the nose. Even some adults may struggle after an upper respira…

4/13/2018 0

Continue Reading

New Video on EarPopper or Eustachi Therapy to Treat Clogged Ears

A new video has been published demonstrating how the EarPopper or Eustachi  can be used to help young children (and even some adults) pop their ears to resolve ears with fluid , clogging , or pressure. Although (most) adults can easily pop the ears with a swallow, yawn, or blowing against a pinched nose, it is not unusual for most young children to not know how to do this. Some may not even know how to blow the nose. As such, these devices allow a parent to help a child pop the ears an…

3/02/2018 0

Continue Reading

New Video on Otovent Therapy to Treat Clogged Ears in Children

A new video has been published demonstrating how the Otovent nasal balloon can be used to help young children pop their ears to resolve ears with fluid , clogging , or pressure. Although (most) adults can easily pop the ears with a swallow, yawn, or blowing against a pinched nose, it is not unusual for most young children to not know how to do this. Some may not even know how to blow the nose. As such, this device can teach a child how to pop the ears visually and parents can be reassur…

2/02/2018 0

Continue Reading

Video of Hearing Testing in Young Children (6 Months - 6 Years Old)

In celebration of Kids ENT Health Month, our office has produced a video demonstrating the various ways a child's hearing is tested  from 6 months to 6 years old. After all, you certainly can't just ask them to push a button when they hear a beep as you would in an adult. This video shows the following different types of hearing testing done in children: • Soundfield Auditory Testing (SAT) - 6 months to 2 years old • Speech Awareness Threshold (SAT) - 2 years to 3 years old • S…

2/01/2017 1

Continue Reading

7 Signs of Helicopter Parenting in the Exam Room

Image courtesy of photostock at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net The Millennials are the primary beneficiaries (or victims) of parents who have the means and ability to obsessively guide, educate, and most importantly, over-protect them from the world/life. Such helicopter parents ultimately raise kids into adults who researchers feel at worst never learn to cope with adversity, lack the ability to make hard decisions, and are prone to anxiety disorders. It is from the education perspective that m…

10/04/2015 0

Continue Reading

Does Tongue Tie Cause Breastfeeding Difficulties and Speech Problems?

Although there is both objective and subjective evidence that tongue tie contributes to breastfeeding difficulties and speech problems, when it comes to quality evidence-based research, the data is a bit lacking. And because of this sparseness, tongue tie release is actually considered a controversial topic with both supporters and detractors (personally, I am a supporter of this procedure). Among the detractors, tongue tie release is considered unusual and unnecessary... even bizarre. To…

3/20/2015 1

Continue Reading

Young Girl from 0 to 14 Years Old in 4 Minutes

We all have seen an abbreviated version of this video on TV commercials, but here's the complete video showing a beautiful young girl go from age zero to 14 years in 4 minutes. This time lapse video was taken by filming her for 15 seconds every week from the day she was born. Simply amazing!

11/21/2014 0

Continue Reading

Best Headphones for Kids

MacWorld did a nice review on the best headphones for kids which is important given the increasing use of electronic devices in the classroom. It should be noted that the best headphones for adults are not the best headphones for kids due to important discrepancies in size, durability, and absence of volume-limit controls. From an ENT perspective, volume-limit controls are the most important factor when picking a set of headphones for a child as such circuitry prevents the headphones from pl…

8/27/2014 0

Continue Reading

Dizziness and Imbalance in Kids

Dizziness is not the easiest thing to figure out in adults. It is even more difficult to figure out in kids who may not have the vocabulary to explain what they feel. Regardless of adult or child, a good history is required to help narrow down possibilities. A flowchart of questions to help come up with a diagnosis can be found  here . Given that, a review article published in 2014 went over the most likely diagnosis of a child who is dizzy. Based on 724 subjects over 10 studies, benign …

4/17/2014 0

Continue Reading

Why Do Babies Hate Getting Their Nose and Face Wiped???

I have often been asked this question by parents... and even more so by my wife as we try to clean the snot off our little kids' noses as they shriek as if we're torturing them. Given it seems ALL young kids have this nose-wiping aversion across cultures and racial ethnicities, it would seem that this reflex reaction is hard-wired into human babies. But why would evolution favor this reaction? I tried to find an answer to this question to see if any bright researchers actually stu…

1/03/2014 1

Continue Reading

Does Removing the Adenoids Decrease Risk of Ear Infections? Yes...

A recent meta-analysis has determined that risk of recurrent ear infections is significantly reduced if adenoidectomy is performed in combination with ear tube placement as opposed to ear tube placement alone. When stratified by age, removing the adenoids was found particularly helpful in children older than 4 years of age. Combining results from over 15 studies containing over 71,000 children, the estimated rate of repeat ear tube placement for recurrent ear infections in children who…

12/03/2013 0

Continue Reading

Pediatric Sinus Development and Sinusitis

There is a tendency for any type of nasal drainage to be attributed to " sinusitis " in children. Especially in young children, "sinusitis" is a relatively rare cause for nasal drainage and congestion which is actually more commonly due to viruses and enlarged adenoids . The reason why sinuses play a relatively minor role in nasal drainage and congestion is because sinuses are not fully developed in children. It probably is not until around the age of 7 years old th…

11/02/2013 0

Continue Reading

Ear Tube Placement in Kids WITHOUT Sedation (Starting at 12 Months of Age)

A recent report describes how using a relatively old technology, ear tube placement can now be performed in children starting at 12 months of age with chronic ear infections or hearing loss due to fluid buildup without the need for sedation of any kind nor aggressive restraints (ie papoose). Historically,  ear tube placement in the office without sedation is typically performed starting at around 12 years of age using standard local anesthesia techniques. Any younger, a child could not …

10/05/2013 0

Continue Reading