> woke up Sunday am I was sick-snotty, coughing, and VERY hoarse. This
happens
> to me every year about this time when they spray defoliant on the cotton
that
> grows everywhere down here...This old doc, who used
> the naked eye & mirror method of viewing my cords said that he saw "grains
of
> sand" on my cords, like I might be getting over nodules or possibly scar
> tissue from the vocal cord polyp surgery I had 2 years ago...Last Friday I
sang better than I ever have-free, easy high notes, no feeling
> of tension, etc, then got sick the next day...
> I got a shot of cortisone, and he told me if things didn't "settle down
soon"
> to call him back. I don;'t really trust this guy but he is all I have
here.
I've heard of "Sandy Claus" but...never mind, bad joke.
It sounds to me like you are reacting to something in the air, such as,
chemicals as you suggested. Or you could just be coming down with a cold.
The vocal folds don't just change back and forth. You might have had old
scarring or just mucus on the folds. The fact that you could sing after
resting the voice tends to rule out a permanent alteration of them.
Since you had a polyp before, you would do well to avoid singing if at all
possible. Steroids are best reserved for desperate emergencies because they
can make the symptom go away allowing you to injure your voice more
severely. Although the ENT was apparently trying to help you feel better, I
imagine.
If you can avoid singing till you feel better, do so. Keep hydrated. It
sounds as though this will pass. If the Vanderbilt people can see you, it
would be best if a videofluoroscopic exam could be done. The old ENT's who
got real good at laryngeal mirrors can see a lot, but the fiberoptic scope
is a much better instrument.
John
John Messmer, M.D., Assistant Professor
Family & Community Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine
|
|  |
