Flappy Larynx - flappy Mummy!

[Maybebaby76]

Hello Mums and Dads of MN
I was just wondering if any of you had babies / children who have been diagnosed with this condition?
We were told that our dd 'probably' had this after a trip to A&E on Sat. Her breathing was just awful when inhaling, like she couldn't catch her breath.
I'm not sure if she has this condition or whether this is just 'normal' for little ones?? A new noise she is making that gives us the heebie jeebies?
Any advice would be gratefully received

hi

there was a thread on this a couple of months ago, maybe try and look it up?

My DS had a floppy trachea, which is similar in some ways to a floppy larynx. His was caused by a vascular ring (a birth defect), so needed a major op to sort it out, but that is rare. A floppy larynx on its own is more common (although still not common...if you see what I mean!), often it is not too serious and the baby will grow out of it by the time they are 2 or so. The severity does vary a lot though. How old is your LO? What symptoms does she have? I'm not a doctor (just a mother and googler!) but I think that the symptoms of a floppy larynx would be pretty evident from birth, or very soon after, so unusual if your DD's has just come on suddenly..?

Hi Tholeon

DD is 16 weeks old and at her 6 week check up the DR said he thought she may have a FL....though he has never heard her make this sound. I'm just not so sure it is one as she has no trouble feeding and is not showing any other signs of this other than the awful inhalation of breath sounds she makes at times...I too am a googler and have felt more fretful looking at various things it could be...think I should just step away from the www! He he

try recording the sound she makes and playing it to the docs. But if you are worried it is worth pushing to see a specialist - hopefully it is nothing and she will grow out of it, but if not (as was the case with my DS) then you need to know. A floppy larynx can be diagnosed quite easily with a fairly non - invasive procedure (it is called a flexiscope - she won't like it, but no GA or anything needed.)

Yes, dd2 has/had a floppy larynx - aka 'laryngomalacia'. We didn't hear the noises much till she was about 3-4 weeks old, then it got steadily louder! She was diagnosed whilst in hospital with RSV at 4 weeks. Whats worrying you specially? General info, or specifics?

Have to go put her (4 and fit as a flea) to bed, but will come back later!

Back

I don't think noisy in-breath is normal for little ones, no. But laryngomalacia (floppy larynx) in most cases - unless its severe - doesn't affect their breathing much, it just sounds awful. Especially when they are lying on their backs, and asleep. dd at her worst sounded like a cross between a barking dog and a squeaky door, but it didn't bother her in the least.
Try laying your dd on her front when you hear it, and see if it eases....that will give you some more info to pass on to the docs. What did they say at A&E? Did she have an infection as well, or just noisy breathing?

The noise DOES give people the heebie jeebies, btw - including some GPs and nurses who'd never heard it before (cue us being rushed to head of queue as they all thought she was dying if we happened to be in surgery when she was asleep ) and causes parents far more stress than the children who have it! That said I'm not dismissing it either - we were told 'probably won't cause any problems' but it wasn't quite true, though they have all been sortable and dd is absolutely fine now.

If you want more stuff from me about floppy larynx (dd's was mild to moderate) and how it affected us with weaning, illnesses etc, please feel free to PM me - or just post again and I'll fill you in.