throat clearing

[grace]

Yes, another issue came up I'm asking about. Once in awhile Isaiah would have a 'hair stuck in his throat' and, being as sensitive as he is, there was some drama associated with it.
However, in the past two weeks, he is saying this frequently and spending a lot of time making that awful throat clearing sound...the one where you are working up a good spit (sorry to be icky) and making other sounds... similar to a horse shaking its head for want of a better description.
Socially, this isn't a good thing to make habitual. Realistically, not that many hairs can get in anyone's throat.
I was thinking a reflux thing maybe but am not sure that makes sense. how else can I address this? Is there a term for this I could look up?

thanks as always. can't believe so many things happen here! interesting days...

have a good one friends.

lucinda

[RathyKay]

Do you really want me to reply?:o Because you *know* what's coming.:D Actually, I have your family pegged as a gluten-sensitive family and I really wish you would try gluten-free. But, that's for just about every other symptom you've written about, except this one. For throat clearing / post-nasal drip, I blame dairy. (And, dairy is also a common migraine trigger, including my friend's 11 year old daughter. It's also one of Tom's seizure triggers.)

I did more than my share of throat clearing as a kid. Not nearly as nasty-sounding as Isaiah (is that one of those male / female differences?:rolleyes:), but I cleared my throat often enough that my brothers made fun of me. Anyway, Bec (who now seems to check in only at Christmas time) was the one that posted about her post nasal drip. Her doctor (allergist?) told her to give up dairy for six weeks. She said the post nasal drip was up and running full steam until the fifth week when it shut off practically overnight. There was no gradual tapering of symptoms.

Anyway, it could be any allergen. I just tend to think of dairy in these situations.

This morning, I was talking with my friend whose daughter has migraines. She said one of her relatives asked about food allergies in relation to another person. The relative said that that person would rather try every single pill out there before looking into diet. Sigh... Excuse me while I go beat my head against a brick wall.;)

[grace]

ACCTTTUUAALLYYYY, kathy, I did at least buy him lactose free milk to drink and told him to watch if dairy affected his head/stomach. Not an all out quitting but...I was expecting the GI to force that one on us but she hasn't yet...so I have another month.

I also wouldn't be overly surprised at gluten sensitivity but not as the sole issue. however, now that we have a GI, it's on the topic block too. she did ask about celiac. so, it will be addressed in the near future.

who knows, maybe in six months I'll be replacing you as the resident advocate on the subject lol.

and actually, it's good you keep bringing it up. often it takes a long time before people change. I haven't ignored you all along. just tried to see it for myself and didn't until the stomach issues came up as they have. I did keep looking into it but had other explanations that made sense

and trust me, food is daunting already in this house with isaiah's sensory stuff and dh's diabetes. it's not the area I want to focus on. plus, i am not one who enjoys the kitchen. but, if necessity brings us there... time will tell.

all the best,
Lucinda

oh, and I have always tried to discuss food allergies with docs. that one is like hitting my head! so vague.

[LIZARD]

Well, I'll tell ya...(SHUT UP, Kathy!! :D :p) I have been GF since May and still have the "frog." I now know it's highly likely that I have Candida (yeast overgrowth), and this is a symptom. :rolleyes: SO...I'm learning about it and will embark on the diet soon. (I'm cutting sugar down now.)

LIZARD :)

[lacyndarella]

I am not being anti-diet here...but I did see on Today this morning where food allergies are being way over diagnosed. The blood test and scratch test are not 100% accurate. The only way to test 100% for a food allergy is to do a food challenge. So in this case, I would say taking away the food to see if there is an improvement would be a good test. But the true test would need to be in a controlled environment under a doctor's supervision. From what I saw this morning it was giving the food the child is thought to be allergic to and looking for the allergic reaction. If there isn't one, they consider the child not to be allergic. Now that isn't to say that there can't still be "sensitivity" to a food that wouldn't qualify as an allergy per se...I'd ask the GI about it.

[Naominjw]

I do that :-( It is actually a symptom of asthma in my case. I have allergies, asthma, chronic urticaria... and now that I know what I know about my children, I am going the probiotics and working up to the gluten-free route.

The sound I make drives my younger daughter up a wall... so then it becomes time to start using my extra asthma med. But that also can be problematic to may children (my daughter who was also having a problem with asthma can NOT use it (it was Advair).

But of course, your son's may be from a completely different cause and not actually be an asthma symptom.

[LIZARD]

I am not being anti-diet here...but I did see on Today this morning where food allergies are being way over diagnosed. The blood test and scratch test are not 100% accurate. The only way to test 100% for a food allergy is to do a food challenge.

Biopsy is the most accurate, actually, but the scary thing is that, because we can't always rely on the test's accuracy, there are probably some who test neg who aren't. The numbers on Celiac are staggering. I'm sure there are many more with yeast overgrowth, too. Anyone who has used antibiotics or birth control pills for several years should be checked for yeast.


LIZARD :)

[lacyndarella]

On the Today show, the premise was not false negatives...but false positives...to the tune of 30% of those testing positive actually not having food allergies. And the doctors they interviewed said that the only accurate test was the food challenge. They also said that withholding foods until over a year was not a good practice, that a child can be given anything (including eggs, nuts, and strawberries) when they can eat solids, that withholding actually increases, not decreases, cases of food allergies to those foods. Of course I have not researched any of this...this is what they said on Today.

[Ladybug]

Lucinda:

We have had the newly onset throat clearing twice in the past. The first was while ds was on zarontin, the neurologist said the throat clearing was a tic side effect from the drug, along with hiccups too. I never knew throat clearing could actually be a tic. The only other time was with 6 chronic back to back sinus infections and a debate between doctors on whether it was from allergies or drug depressed immune system. I have read that throat clearing is a common symptom of reflux, but the doctors never brought it up in our case.

[Tylersmom]

Ok this is My Tyler. Big time. He is not sensitive to Gluten he does not have allergies from this or for this he has REFLUX. He has major reflux. And constantly he clears his throat and nasal passages like crazzy. It is socially unexceptable but there is nothing he(Tyler ) can do about it. THe kids at class knows about it but the they he is barfing lol. We are trying everything we can to help him. He was put on ERYped for the motility along with protonix for reflux and we keep hoping but so far no good. We go back in March and may be discussing the FUNDO. YUK!!

[grace]

I called the GI nurse and she said it very well could be upper gi stuff and that we could come in sooner but needed to wait two weeks after stools sent it and do ya think I can even succeed in getting one? let alone 3?!!? it isn't going well. anyhow, trying to start over in my mind about him. it really must fit together somehow, all his unusual things.
I was very sad today as he has recently seemed to have given up. He always kept up his grades and tried to have fun with his friends in sports but now just says he's just not able to anymore. oh, why does this process take so long?!?

btw, mornings are worse, afternoons good, evgs so-so for throat stuff.

[Ladybug]

Lucinda:
You know we just got our GI appt in and finished up with the samples too. I know exactly how that goes. Our Chinese physician took off for Beijing to give a conference the week of our GI appt when we were sent home with all the kits and we instantly went from daily bowel movements to once a week and I was supposed to get the samples that week. I had just told the GI specialist that we had the bowel movements on a daily basis and it would be nooooooooooooooo problem! As soon as the Chinese physician got back 3 weeks later, I called and demanded that he put a bunch of acupuncture needles in his abdomen immediately so I could get those 3+ samples to the hospital. I had already been waiting almost 3 weeks for him to get back, it was a disaster. Good luck getting 3 consecutive days too! :D

I also know how heartbreaking it is when they seem to just not have it in them anymore to keep up the grueling pace when everything is harder than it is supposed to be. So do you push them forward and continue their original goals or scale back and give them time when you are the only one who remembers what their goals were in the first place? Sigh.......I've been dealing with the "change" too this last year. You just have to keep positive for him until he gets some energy and confidence back. We've lost so much over the last couple of years with no clear direction and sometimes I have to reassess the situation for what it is now and where are we going with all this.

[Denae]

Lucinda I have no clue about the throat clearing, I will go with allergies as my first thought though. I know in the spring I get this icky feeling in my throat, it isn't like the nasal drip more like a wierd feeling... I don't know how to explain it.

[RathyKay]

I meant to come back to this sooner and defend my honor from the maligning Salamander.:p Actually, I was impressed how you scoffed at gluten being the culprit (while I really suggested dairy), and then you went on to mention yeast! And that you were cutting out sugar to help combat yeast! Rather dietary of you! I'm so proud! Sniff. Excuse me while I wipe tears of joy out of my eyes.:D

Actually, my real reason for bumping this thread is that I am once again reading a book and I feel obligated to share it with everyone. It struck me as appropriate for Isaiah.

"Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies. The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders" by Kenneth Bock, MD and Cameron Stauth. He's a DAN! doctor and this book kind of puts more of the puzzle pieces together than I've ever seen before. So, mercury causes neurological damage and it impairs the body's natural ability to excrete toxins and heavy metals. This tends to be your autism / ADHD side of the equation. And aluminum impairs your immune system which is the asthma / allergy side of the equation. These kids tend to be bright, but catch every bug coming down the pike. Yes, there's aluminum in vaccines, too. I also didn't know that there are higher pockets of autism around factories where the air is less clean - more mercury. Of course, there is the increase in antibiotics leading to yeast overgrowth. When it's bad the yeast "roots" will lead to cracks in the intestinal wall for food to leak which can affect the brain, as well as allergies. PANDAS (and chronic strep) are also talked about.
The immune system creates all allergies.
And allergies create most asthma.
The immune system creates allergies when it becomes confused. It mistakenly believes that a harmless substance - such as gluten, milk, or pollen - is an invading pathogen, such as a germ, or poison. It goes to war against this presumed invader by triggering inflammation. The immune system triggers this inflammation to get rid of the invader with extra heat, extra blood flow, and extra mucus and fluids. But if this inflammation hits the airways, as it often does, it can cause asthma. <snip>
Uncontrolled inflammation is one of the body's worst enemies. Sometimes, when the immune system becomes extraordinarily confused, it can cause inflammation that results in systemic swelling throughout the body. When this swelling occurs in the joints of the skeletal system, it creates the painful and crippling symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis hurts as much as ordinary, age-associated osteoarthritis, but it can endanger the whole body. More often than not, this condition strikes adults. But not always. On frequent occasions - more commonly these days than ever before - it strikes children.
This book revolves around the dysfunction of the immune system, the gastrointestinal system and the nervous system. This is from a wide variety of related problems which include toxicity (mercury, aluminum, lead, etc), nutritional deficits (how good a diet, plus how well your intestinal tract is able to absorb the nutrients), bowel dysbiosis (yeast overgrowth, etc), inflammation, immune dysregulation, autoimmune disorders, allergic reactions, and genetic vulnerability.

The other thing here is that he talks about treating the patient as a whole, not just treating symptoms. (Myopic vision.) Find the root causes. And, he believes in the Mommy Gut. Actually, he writes "Moms know."

Anyway, I highly recommend it. I think there's a lot in here that can help many of the kids here. Our library has it, but it is a relatively new book (2007). I have to say, I'm tempted to tell you to PM me your address and I'll send you a copy of it if you'll promise to read it.