Thyroid surgery involves making an incision in the base of the neck in order to access the thyroid gland. Important anatomical structures in the neck that the surgeon should avoid include the trachea, the esophagus, the carotid artery, the jugular...
Hoarseness refers to abnormal voice changes such as changes in loudness or tone. Hoarseness in children may simply be due to repetitive screaming and yelling, which irritates the vocal cords but usually goes away without medication. However, pay...
If your child's voice suddenly sounds husky, scratchy or weak, it's possible that he is suffering from hoarseness. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, hoarseness is most often caused by inflammation to the larynx. However,...
It can be hard to breathe when your throat feels as if it’s suddenly tightening or closing during exercise. The problem is caused by vocal cord dysfunction, a condition that affects the vocal cords, or voice box, in your throat. Learning a...
Although babies' vocal cords are adapted to crying, prolonged crying can damage the vocal cords by causing nodules, irritation and pain, according to pediatrician William Sears. The website for Tampa-based Pediatric Otolaryngology explains that...
Minimally invasive parathyroid surgery was developed in the 1990s to treat hyperparathyroidism. The only treatment for hyperparathyroidism is to remove the parathyroid gland that is causing the problem. Parathyroid surgery used to be a more...
Anything that seems to affect the breathing of an infant can be alarming, including hoarseness without an obvious cause. While there is often a simple explanation, any hoarseness in a young infant should be addressed by a pediatrician. Infants are...
Hoarseness is the term given to a temporary change in your voice quality and pitch. A hoarse voice can register lower on the pitch scale than you normally speak, and have a raspy, uneven quality. The American Academy of Otolaryngology explains...
Potassium is an important mineral for your body. A lack of potassium, also known as hypokalemia, can cause a variety of health problems including muscle issues that can cause hoarseness. If you think you have abnormally low potassium levels, talk...
The esophagus is a 10-inch tube that brings food from the mouth to the stomach to be digested. The National Institute of Cancer reports that esophageal cancer is more common in men in the United States, with 13,000 new diagnoses in men each year,...
Hoarseness usually does not last long and does not necessarily signify a serious condition, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The disorder makes the voice sound raspy, rough or strained because of changes related to the vocal folds that produce...
Laryngitis is the loss of your voice or hoarseness that occurs when you have swelling or irritation of your larynx, or voice box. Your voice box contains your vocal cords and is located at the top of your trachea, which is the airway to your...
The thyroid is a gland positioned towards the anterior section of the lower neck area. This gland is responsible for producing thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Both of these hormones regulate cellular energy consumption. In addition to energy...
Gastroesophageal reflux laryngitis is a condition in which stomach acid travels back up into your esophagus and throat after eating, causing irritated, inflamed vocal cords. In addition to hoarseness, you may experience bad breath, dry coughing...
Hoarseness is an abnormal sound to the voice. Often caused by a cold, or seasonal allergy, hoarseness is generally an acute problem, and resolves on its own after a short duration. However, chronic hoarseness may develop due to some persistent...
Wheezing is a high-pitched, squeaking, whistling sound that is caused by airflow through narrowed smaller airways. Many people associate wheezing with asthma. Asthma is one of the most common diseases that produces wheezing, but there are other...
A raspy voice after jogging may be related to a dry throat, various allergies or even asthma attacks. A raspy voice may be related to laryngitis, which has many causes. Most of the time laryngitis is associated with a cold or other illness but may...
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a chronic digestive disease that occurs when acid from the stomach or, on occasion, bile flows back into the food pipe, or esophagus. Stomach acid has a higher pH than the esophagus, and irritates the...
The symptoms of acid reflux occur when the lower esophageal sphincter, or LES, muscle, which is located between the esophagus and stomach, does not close properly. This allows acids that are usually contained in the stomach to regurgitate into the...
Cancers of the throat and mouth are included in the general grouping of head and neck cancers. These cancers can arise in the tongue, lining of the mouth, gums, roof of the mouth, tonsils, salivary glands, throat and voice box. The National Cancer...
The reason you sound hoarse is usually because of swelling or lumps on your vocal cords, which can be caused by many conditions. The swelling or lumps change the way your vocal cords fit together, making your voice sound squeaky or airy. If...
The Alexander Technique is a form of alternative medicine that combines bodywork, massage, and physical and mental training. Using the technique, participants improve their body awareness to create long-term habit changes. The Alexander Technique...
A hiatal hernia is a medical condition in which the stomach pushes upward through the diaphragm, often protruding through the diaphragm. While it can be asymptomatic, in some cases, it can cause irritating symptoms. And, if chronic irritation of...
The cervical spine is composed of seven small bones, called vertebra, which stack atop one another along the neck. Patients who develop persistent neck pain may experience symptom relief after undergoing cervical spinal cord fusion. During this...
If you are serious about your singing, smoking is one of the worst things you can do. Besides the cosmetic effects and health risks, smoking can damage a singer's voice and career. While you may feel that smoking helps with performance anxiety, it...
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gherig's disease, is a condition that damages the motor neurons of the patient's nervous system. The disease only affects motor neurons so only muscles are affected. Initial symptoms of the nerve damage...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) describes the esophagus as a 10-inch long muscular tube in the chest that connects the mouth and the stomach. Each year, 13,000 men and 3,500 women are diagnosed with esophageal cancer. NCI reports that...
According to the NYU Medical Center, a singer's voice is affected by many things, including acid reflux. Repeated acid exposure can inflame and damage the vocal cords, preventing them from working properly. As a result, the singing voice is...
A "lost voice," or laryngitis, is caused by inflammation or irritation of the voice box. As the vocal cords get inflamed, they swell, causing hoarseness, leading to the symptom of a lost voice. Causes of a lost voice include viral and bacterial...
