Magnetic Fake Facial Piercings Dangerous for Kids

It is with some alarm that I have seen a few young school-age children with fake facial piercings using magnetic balls (small magnet in the mouth and the other on the face). Inevitably, kids being kids, they potentially can accidentally swallow such magnetics without understanding the grave consequences of this occurrence. The dire results would be true not just in kids, but also in adults. Such magnetic balls are being sold on Amazon , Etsy , and other stores as either an alternative to ea…

1/26/2020 0

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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…

11/29/2018 0

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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

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Tongue Tie Classification and Impact on Breastfeeding

Parents with tongue-tied infants often wonder how tongue tie classification influences decision to perform release as well as impact on breastfeeding. There is often confusion that one Class is worse than another... "My baby has a Class 4" is often uttered with ominous undertones. However, as with much of medicine, a simplistic 4 level classification scheme over-simplifies what is actually a much more complex situation. At least in my mind, when it comes to infant mouth anatomy, …

4/26/2018 0

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Tonsillectomy Has Higher Risk of Complications if Younger Than 3 Years

Tonsillectomy is commonly performed in children for really 2 main conditions... chronic tonsillitis (whether from strep of other) or obstructive sleep apnea . This surgery is overall considered safe and effective. However, experienced clinicians have also known that complications occur more frequently in children under 3 years of age. As such, for a very young child, this surgery is often recommended to be delayed if at all possible until a child is over 3 years old. But is this concern …

3/15/2018 0

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Smell Loss After Upper Respiratory Infection

Losing the sense of smell is not uncommon with upper respiratory infections (URI), typically with a viral common cold or flu. According to some studies, smell loss or decrease may occur between 18-45% of  patients who suffer from a URI. It is estimated that about 1/3 of such patients will fully recover their sense of smell with 2-3 years, most within the first year. Unfortunately, that leaves 2/3 of these patients who suffer from some degree of smell dysfunction. The key determining …

1/11/2018 0

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Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with BPPV Occurrence and Recurrence

There is increasing evidence that Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for BPPV as well as its recurrences. BPPV is a condition whereby a person may suffer from brief but severe vertiginous attacks with head position changes that occur due to displaced otoliths (calcium crystals) within the inner ear. Although easy to treat with precisely defined head position maneuvers (, i.e. Epley maneuver for posterior canal BPPV ), its occurrence let alone recurrence can be alarming for patients.…

8/17/2017 0

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Ear Skin Tags in Babies and Their Removal

Image by Kalus D. Peter in Wikipedia It is not uncommon that a baby is born with "skin tags" around the front of the ear. They are also NOT the same as the skin tags that develop later in adulthood which are benign and easily removed. Infant skin tags may contain not just skin but also fat and cartilage. Infant ear tags often occur by themselves, but sometimes may occur in association with anomalies of the kidney, inner ear,  craniofacial bones, and potentially other structures. …

6/23/2017 0

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Can Ear Drops Increase Risk of Eardrum Perforation?

With ear tube placement, there is a baseline 2-10% risk that a persistent hole in the eardrum will occur after the tubes come out. However, a study came out in April 2017 suggesting that commonly used antibiotic ear drops to treat ear infections when ear tubes are present may increase the risk of such persistent eardrum perforations after the tubes come out (post-TT TMP). Specifically, antibiotic ear drops belonging to the fluoroquinolone class is associated with an increased risk of per…

4/20/2017 0

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Increased Risk of Thyroid Cancer From Frequent Use of Disinfectants

Yale researchers have reported that regular exposure to biocides including disinfectants (such as doctors, dentists, nurses, etc) doubles the risk of thyroid cancer . This findings was determined through a population-based case-control study involving 462 thyroid cancer cases in Connecticut collected 2010-2011. Over the past decade, there has been an increased incidence of thyroid cancer every year and this report may explain part of this alarming trend along with possible over-diagnosis as…

4/03/2017 0

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Does Mouth-Breathing Decrease Risk of Viral Infections?

Image by Magnus Mertens in Wikipedia The New York Times published an article looking into this very question on Nov 11, 2016. However, the provided answer ("possibly") was incomplete. In essence, the question of whether mouth-breathing decreases risk of viral infections is based on the idea that contagious viruses spread via the nose by inhaling coughed/sneezed out water droplets infected with viral contagions. Unfortunately, such viruses can also be spread if such droplets …

11/16/2016 0

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Can Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors?

I first blogged about this possibility in 2010 [ link ], but at that time, there were too many conflicting studies that definitive conclusions could not be made though precautions were advisable. However, in May 2016, the National Institute of Health  released partial findings from a 2 year study that exposed rats to the same radio-frequency non-ionizing radiation given off by cell phones. The study found that exposure to mobile phone radiation significantly increased the prevalence of heart…

10/01/2016 0

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Do Nasal Sprays Cause Glaucoma or Cataracts?

Image courtesy of radnatt at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net Steroid nasal sprays are very commonly used by patients to treat sino-nasal allergies .  However, a common concern of some patients as well as their eye doctors is that such nasal sprays may cause or exacerbate glaucoma or cataracts. After all, oral steroids and inhaled steroids (for asthma) is associated with such eye problems due to systemic absorption. Indeed, there is a constant (but collegial) dispute between ENT and EYE doctors on…

9/10/2016 0

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Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI) After UPPP or Uvula Excision Surgery

Image 1 : Normal open position One of the main risks of uvula excision and UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) surgery to treat snoring and obstructive sleep apnea is velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). This complication is when the soft palate is not able to adequately lift and close off the back of the nose from the throat.  When the VPI is large, food and liquids can come out the nose during swallow and there may be a hyper-nasal speech quality. When the VPI is very small, a patient ma…

6/10/2016 0

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The Statistics of Throat Cancer Risk Factors

Image by Nikita2706 in Wikipedia Pretty much everybody knows that smoking and alcohol increases risk of throat cancer. Some even realize that oral sex contributes to increased risk of throat cancer due to the HPV virus . However, what is more hazy is how high these risks are compared to individuals who do not partake of such activities. So, here are some statistics of throat cancer risks (references listed below). Using a calculator , a specific risk of cancer can be calculated based on…

5/30/2016 0

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