Understanding Laryngomalacia

What a big word! Laryngomalacia is a soft floppy larynx (voice box). There are different types but overall all of them are floppy tissue that causes an obstruction during inspiration, which also causes this high pitched noise. My son, Nolan, would breath bad all the time and especially during excitement, crying, sleeping, and feeding. It is the most common reason for stridor in infants. We got so use to his bad breathing but everyone else would think he always had a cold. Most children outgrow it by 4 months, some still have it through 18 months and by 24 months in 90% of cases it is gone. We also learned that keeping Nolan's reflux at bay would play a significant role in keeping the laryngomalacia under control. In 80% of children with laryngomalacia, they also have acid reflux and this can cause this floppy tissue to swell and making breathing even more difficult. Upper respiratory infections can also cause the breathing to be worse so we had to monitor him closely when he got sick.