Throat Cramps

One of the rare, but at the same time, dangerous disorders of the larynx is spasms in the throat. The reasons for this violation are not always clear. So, people who have experienced cramps in the throat call this condition sudden, unreasonable. It becomes difficult for a person to breathe, he is practically unable to speak. Often, these attacks occur in the middle of the night. Unsurprisingly, this triggers fear and, at times, panic.

How dangerous is a spasm in the throat? What are the reasons for this phenomenon? Does a person need treatment if they have intermittent cramps? We will talk about all this in this article.

What is spasm?

A spasm, or the so-called spasm, is a sharp, painful involuntary contraction of a muscle. Many people are familiar with cramps in the limbs - the muscles of the legs or arms. Throat cramps are much less common. Seizures can affect the muscles of the neck, as well as the vocal cords (which are also essentially muscle bundles).

A spasm of the muscles in the larynx, including the vocal cords, is called laryngospasm.

When the vocal cords contract sharply, they block off the larynx, blocking the flow of air. As a result, a person can neither inhale nor exhale. It is also impossible to speak in this state, since the vocal cords "do not listen" - they simply do not respond to nerve signals coming from the brain.

Fortunately, in most cases, laryngospasm lasts less than a minute. As the vocal cords relax, the lumen of the larynx expands and air begins to pass through. When a person finally takes the first breath after laryngospasm, stridor occurs - noisy breathing. The reason for the stridor is that the vocal cords are not completely relaxed, and the air passing through the larynx during breathing hits them like an obstacle and causes them to vibrate. Within a few minutes, the vocal cords relax and the person's breathing is restored.

Laryngospasm can occur in a person of any age, but most often it occurs in children under 2 years of age.

Symptoms

People who first encounter laryngospasm have a truly terrifying experience. During an attack, breathing is blocked, it seems to the person that he is about to suffocate. The inability to say something only adds to the fear. But how to understand that this is laryngospasm?

During a spasm of the muscles of the larynx, a person notices the following symptoms:

• chest and throat pain;
• inability to swallow and speak;
• feeling of a lump in the throat;
• severe difficulty breathing;
• cold sweat;
• at the terminal stage of the attack - noisy breathing (stridor), which gradually normalizes.

In severe cases, spasm of the larynx is accompanied by cramps in the muscles of the body, foam from the mouth, a blue face, and loss of consciousness. Severe laryngospasm can be fatal.

Laryngospasm causes

Obviously, throat cramps in a healthy person should not appear. Why do some people get out of control of the muscles in the larynx? There can be many reasons. In any case, laryngospasm is always a consequence of systemic health disorders.

Laryngospasm is not a separate disease, but a symptom, part of the clinical picture of a certain systemic pathology that develops in a patient. The appearance of spasms is a signal that something is going wrong in the body. Among the common pathological processes in which patients complain of recurrent spasms in the throat, the following can be distinguished:

1. Gastroesophageal reflux is the return of food from the stomach to the esophagus. Reflux is caused by weakness in the sphincter muscle located between the esophagus and stomach. Reflux can also occur in a healthy person, especially when overeating. Physiological reflux is observed in infants. While rare episodes of reflux do not threaten a person's health, regular ingestion of food soaked in stomach acid into the esophagus can cause inflammation. If the gastric juice reaches the larynx, muscle spasm instantly occurs - laryngospasm.
2. Infectious diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, including the larynx (laryngitis), especially chronic, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc.
3. Tetania is a disease characterized by periodic attacks of spasms of various muscles. The cause of tetany is a lack of calcium, which, in turn, may be due to a lack of vitamin D. In the case of tetany, the patient is disturbed not only by spasms of the vocal cords, but also other muscles - arms, legs, eyelids, etc.
4. Deficiency of trace elements - magnesium, potassium, sodium.
5. Hypersensitization of the body - an increase in sensitivity to certain substances. Hypersensitization is at the root of allergic reactions and asthma. In this case, an attack of laryngospasm provokes inhalation / ingestion of an irritant or allergen.
6. Thyroid pathologies - goiter, cysts, etc. Such neoplasms can compress the vagus nerve, which innervates the muscles of the larynx. As a result, spasms of the larynx, as well as paresis and other disorders, may develop.
7. Cancer and non-cancerous tumors in the neck can also compress the vagus nerve, disrupting its function.
8. Neurological diseases, as well as mental disorders, stress, panic attacks (psychogenic causes of laryngospasm are possible).
9. Toxicosis of pregnant women.
10. Spasmophilia (children's tetany) is a disease that develops in children under 2 years of age who suffer from rickets.

An attack of laryngospasm occurs under certain conditions. Spasm provocateurs can be:

• inhalation of dust, polluted air, allergens;
• the use of sprays for the throat and nose (applies mainly to infants);
• lubrication of the tonsils with drugs;
• severe fright, and in children - and other vivid emotions, accompanied by laughter, crying, screaming, etc.;
• inhalation of cold air;
• swallowing very cold liquid.

In addition, laryngospasm can be a complication of surgery. So, the anesthesia used during operations can cause contraction of the vocal cords, especially in children. In some cases, laryngospasm occurs for no apparent reason, for example, in the middle of the night when the patient is sleeping peacefully.

How is laryngospasm treated?

Laryngospasm treatment includes 2 main areas. The first is to stop the attack that has begun, and the second is to treat the underlying disease that disrupts the normal functioning of the larynx.

How to relieve a spasm in the throat if it has already begun? First, you need to call an ambulance. The patient should try to calm down, sit down. You should breathe slowly, without taking sudden breaths. Better to go out into the fresh air or open a window. You can spray your face with water. Sometimes an attack relieves a slight pinching of the neck, or a call to the gag reflex (pressure on the root of the tongue). If the spasm is associated with an allergic reaction, an antihistamine should be taken.

If the attack does not go away on its own, you will need medical help. An injection of muscle relaxants, drugs that relax muscles, will help relieve the spasm. Also used is 0.5% potassium bromide, which restores the transmission of nerve impulses.

After the first attack of laryngospasm, you must consult a doctor and undergo a complete examination of the body.

It is recommended to undergo a laryngoscopy, a blood test for calcium, magnesium and sodium, an ultrasound of the thyroid gland, and an examination of the gastrointestinal tract. After that, treatment is prescribed, which depends on the type of underlying disease.

Prophylaxis

Is it possible to reduce the likelihood of developing laryngospasm? It turns out you can. We list the main preventive measures:

• limit the use of concentrated juices, coffee, fatty foods and other foods that cause heartburn and reflux;
• do not overeat, especially before bedtime (if the stomach is full, the likelihood of reflux is higher);
• give up alcohol and smoking, or at least limit the use of these substances;
• if you are prone to heartburn, sleep on a high pillow;
• eat enough milk, cottage cheese and other foods rich in calcium; it is also important to enrich the diet with eggs, fatty fish, liver - these products contain a large amount of vitamin D;
• practice breathing exercises.

Thus, the prevention of this disorder consists in avoiding the main provocateurs of spasm, as well as maintaining the balance of trace elements that provide normal muscle innervation. In addition, attention is paid to the prevention of major diseases in which laryngospasm develops.