More Detective Work leads to Vocal Chord Dysfunction!

I bet you have never heard of Vocal Chord Dysfunction?

Nope. I hadn't either.., until I  went looking for advice on a message board about Tess's 3-month cough. Turns out VCD is under diagnosed. It can co-exist with asthma, and mimic asthma; it's like an asthma of the throat, as opposed to the lungs.

Basically the vocal chords spasm close when they shouldn't. Eeek. All paradoxical and not-good. It can be triggered by exercise or cold air or even just talking. The poor patient is reduced to coughing and coughing and coughing to try and get air in. Sounds familiar? Sounds exactly like the last 3 months of parenting my poor girl. 

I learnt a new word: Stridor. It means taking a big in-breath and I've noticed Tess does this frequently, throwing her head back to get enough air. And that, in turn, perpetuates the coughing.

The management or treatment of Vocal Chord Dysfunction uses Speech and Language therapy and specialist breathing exercises. 
Covid Crisis has naturally put everything on hold. Our lovely GP has kindly offered to refer us to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor), but warned it may take months.

In the meantime, I'm looking into the possibility of Speech Therapy by Zoom or FaceTime, in this, the new socially-distant reality.