HOARSENESS IN CHILDREN
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Symptoms: speaking or crying in an unusually low pitch; inability to speak above a whisper; voice loss.
Home care:
- Have the child rest his or her voice.
- Encourage the child to inhale steam and drink warm liquids.
- If hoarseness is caused by an allergy, antihistamines prescribed by the doctor should help.
- Consult the doctor if the hoarseness is severe or persists longer than two to three days,
- Note that babies are sometimes born with soft larynxes. This may give a hoarse note to the baby’s cry, but it is nothing to worry about and usually disappears after six to eight months of age.
Anything that interferes with the normal vibrations of the vocal cords can cause the cords to swell and produce hoarseness – distortion or loss of the voice. In children, the most common cause of hoarseness is abuse of the voice by screaming. Hoarseness can also be caused by croup, laryngitis, or an allergy. More rarely, the condition can result from diphtheria, injury to the larynx (voice box), or a foreign body that the child has inhaled.
Extreme hoarseness can cause total temporary voice loss. Repeated hoarseness leads to the formation of tiny, wart like growths on the vocal cords. In children, these growths are known as “screamer’s nodes.” When they occur in adults they’re referred to more politely as “singer’s nodes.” Either way, they can cause the hoarseness to become a chronic condition.
Note that a baby may be born with a soft, underdeveloped larynx that collapses partially each time the baby takes in a breath; the baby makes a crowing sound (congenital laryngeal stridor), and there may be a hoarse note to the baby’s cry. This condition should clear up without treatment, and you don’t need to be concerned about it.
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Tags: General health
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