How do children SOUND when they are having difficulty breathing?
The noise associated with a breathing difficulty often depends on the location in the airway. Nasal Passages: • A congested, stuffy nose sound that is very common in infants can result in snoring type noises. The medical term for this is STERTOR. Pharynx (mouth/upper throat): • Enlargement of the tonsils and adenoids can cause a muffled voice, snoring with pauses in the breathing (APNEA) and “Darth Vader” type breathing during the day. Larynx (this area contains the voice box (VOCAL CORDS), and the opening between the vocal cords called the glottis): • Coarse sounds produced by breathing IN are called STRIDOR. The most common cause in infants is LARYNGOMALACIA due to floppiness of and around the epiglottis (tissue that protects the voice box during eating and swallowing). • The second most common cause of stridor in infants is VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS. If one vocal cord is paralyzed, the voice may be weak or breathy. If both are paralyzed, the voice is normal but the stridor is very loud a
