throat clamps shut when laughing

[guavagirl]

My daughter has had this happen 4 times now. She starts laughing and her throat clamps shut so she can't breath. This lasts for a few seconds and leaves her frightened and with a sore neck around the Adam's apple. Why is this happening and how can we prevent it?

 

[bobbb]

I'm not a doctor, but I do have asthma. I have had a couple of scary situations that sound quite similar to your daughter's symptoms. I remember playing a game with my brother and nephews; I started laughing and all the sudden I couldn't breath at all. I used my inhaler and couldn't get any of the stuff to go into my lungs. I was gasping for air and eventually my body started to shut down. I even started to vomit which made things even worse. Have you ever vomited when you cannot even take in a breath? It's like you're drowning!

If your daughter's situation is asthma, you should take her into the doctor so that the symptoms don't get worse and so that you have an inhaler on hand in case things get really bad. They say the two most common causes of asthma attacks are crying and laughing.

 

[Pia E]

Thank you for your reply. My daughter saw the doctor last week and she said that it was probably her trachea (wind-pipe) closing off so she wouldn't get mucus down her trachea, so that was a good thing. She never even looked at her throat or listened to her chest. Needless to say, we left feeling very disappointed in the doctor's diagnosis. Since then, it has happened a couple more times. I guess we'll be looking for another doctor or going to the Medicentre. It's really hard to find a doctor who is taking new patients here and then when you do, they can't seem to help you.