Treat Vocal Cord Paralysis
Vocal cord paralysis has a wide range of causes, severity and treatments. It may clear up by itself, respond to a few sessions of therapy or require surgery. It is vital not to ignore the sudden onset of symptoms, since the individual may not remember experiencing any head or neck trauma, or there may be no discernible cause. Getting treatment is important and, luckily, not too difficult.
Instructions
Treat Vocal Cord Paralysis
1. Seek medical help when experiencing symptoms such as sudden vocal weakness or reduced pitch, breathiness, a rough or "gargling" sound to the voice, difficulty swallowing (frequent choking or aspiration of food) and shortness of breath.
2. Have a doctor ascertain the extent of the paralysis. It is commonest for only one of the vocal cords (also called vocal folds) to be affected (unilateral).
3. Start with the least invasive way to treat vocal cord paralysis unless your doctor recommends otherwise. This would be voice therapy, breathing exercises, strategies to control pitch and volume, and placement of the head and neck for optimal vocal sound.
4. Visit your doctor again if symptoms continue. Do not put it off.
5. Get details from your doctor on exactly what will be done, why and what the effects will be. To treat unilateral paralysis, the surgery usually involves moving the inactive vocal cord closer to the active one, or "beefing up" the paralyzed cord with injections of collagen or some other substance.
6. Keep track of serious symptoms such as choking, blockage of the airway or repeated aspiration of food or liquid. Call your doctor immediately should any of these occur. This may indicate double paralysis, which could be life threatening.
7. Trust your doctor. He may have to perform a tracheotomy to allow the air to reach the trachea (windpipe). This requires using a tube through an opening outside of the neck, rather than through the mouth.
8. Resume speech therapy after surgery to improve your breathing and voice production and to learn new vocal habits.
Tags: your doctor, Cord Paralysis, Treat Vocal Cord, aspiration food, head neck, symptoms such