Does Stridor HAVE to be Present for Diagnosis of Vocal Cord Dysfunction?

Laryngospasm , the most severe form of vocal cord dysfunction , does include stridor as a symptom. However, a patient can still suffer from vocal cord dysfunction and even laryngospasm without an obvious stridor present. In order to understand stridor's relationship to vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), one must first understand what exactly is happening anatomically... or skip to the bottom of the article if you already understand the basics. When a person breathes, the vocal cords move …

8/06/2013 0

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Benign Stridor Often Mistaken for Laryngospasm

Laryngospasm causes a high-pitched squeak or wheezing sound when a person is trying to breath due to abnormal vocal cord movement. Watch video regarding this condition. Larygnospasm (the most severe form of vocal cord dysfunction ) is commonly misdiagnosed as asthma and patients may go for years labelled as asthmatic even though they may not have it at all. However, though laryngospasm is often the victim of misdiagnosis, there is a condition known as non-organic stridor which is often m…

8/02/2012 1

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Laryngospasm in a Child

Washington Post published a story July 23, 2012 regarding a child who suffered from laryngospasm attack that was erroneously diagnosed as asthma. Laryngospasm is when the true vocal cords (TVC) come together rather than apart when breathing. Normally, only when talking do the vocal cords come together (or adduct) and vibrate to create a voice. When breathing, the vocal cords separate (or abduct) to allow air to pass between the vocal cords and into the lungs. Watch video . What the st…

7/24/2012 0

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Hiccups and Laryngospasm

So one day I was having some bad hiccups... you know, the obnoxious kind complete with strangled noise and chest jerks. However, this experience unlike the numerous prior episodes of hiccups triggered an intellectual brainstorm about breathing and stridor in general. FACT: Hiccups (aka singultus) are due to brief, intermittent, and involuntary diaphragm contractions against a closed glottis. For the layperson, this means during a hiccup: Your body takes a quick breath inwards (inhalati…

2/25/2012 1

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Video of Exercise Induced Vocal Cord Dysfunction

Vocal cord dysfunction (also known as paradoxical vocal cord movement) is a condition where the true vocal cords (TVC) do not move the way they are supposed to. Normally, the vocal cords move apart (abduct) when breathing and come together (adduct) when talking. Vocal cord dysfunction is when the vocal cords adduct (come together) when breathing resulting in shortness of breath and at its worst, complete airway obstruction resulting in stridor known as laryngospasm. The video shown …

4/01/2011 3

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Olympic Athlete Hopeful With Vocal Cord Dysfunction

There was a recent article about Hannah Lupton, a heptathlete, who suffers from vocal cord dysfunction . This disorder is basically when the vocal cords come together during inhalation when it should be apart resulting in shortness of breath localized to the throat area. Normally, during breathing, the vocal cords are apart as shown in the picture. When talking or swallowing, the vocal cords come together (TVC is True Vocal Cord). Laryngospasm , which is the most severe form of vocal co…

3/01/2011 0

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