Allergies are extremely common and often manifest in young children and adults. Allergies to inhalant allergens such as house dust mites, animal dander, and pollens often present as sneezing, itching, a runny nose, and breathing difficulties. When allergies affect the nose, the patients are said to have allergic rhinitis. When the main manifestations are breathing difficulties, coughing, or wheezing it is often…
Continue Reading →

Nasal fractures are common and they often occur in patients who participate in contact sports and martial arts. Fortunately in Singapore, violence (domestic or bar brawls) accounts for a small percentage of nasal fractures. The nose is made up of a bony outer skeleton in its upper third. The lower two-thirds of the external nose is made up of the upper and…
Continue Reading →

You have probably been directed to this blog because your ENT specialist has identified laryngopharyngeal reflux as a cause of your ENT symptoms. Laryngopharyngeal reflux (or LPR for short) is an extremely common condition that affects many of the patients that we see in our ENT Clinic. The symptoms that this condition may cause include hoarseness, a sore throat, a sensation of…
Continue Reading →

Nasal blockage can be frustrating. Suffers feel persistently stuffy, their voices are muffled and they often get very poor quality sleep. One of the common reasons for a blocked nose is enlargement or hypertrophy of the nasal turbinates. Patients are often driven to seek quick remedies to their nasal obstruction. One widely used method is the use of decongestant nasal sprays such…
Continue Reading →

The ENT Clinic (www.ent.clinic) commenced operations on 3 June 2015 in a rented unit on the 8th floor of Singapore’ Mt Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre. We had a shared space with two other specialist clinics. Our staff count was initially just two persons but a third joined us a week later. Dr Jeeve Kanagalingam (www.drjeeve.com) who had been in private practice since…
Continue Reading →

The consumption of fish is not without risks! As ENT surgeons we commonly see patients who have accidentally swallowed a bone whilst eating fish. In most circumstances, the bone passes through the throat into the oesophagus and safely into the stomach. The bone may have scratched the lining of the throat during its passage and left a small abrasion. Unfortunately in some…
Continue Reading →

Seek a second opinion if your ENT surgeon says this! Unfortunately there is a multitude of myths surrounding common ENT conditions that cause unnecessary anxiety amongst our patients and their parents. We often see patients for a second opinion in our clinic when they have had treatments proposed for their ENT condition. The following is a list of common misleading messages that…
Continue Reading →

The tonsils are small almond-sized glands that sit in the throat. They are made up of lymphoid tissue and form part of Waldeyer’s ring. This is a ring of lymphoid tissue that guards the entrance to the throat. The adenoids form part of this ring too. They have a role in the development of a child’s immune system but become redundant as…
Continue Reading →

The thyroid gland is sited in the neck like a butterfly – wrapping itself around the windpipe. The word thyroid is derived from the Greek word thyros which means shield as it appears to protect the windpipe Thyroid cancer is not uncommon. In Singapore the incidence has risen from 2.5 per 100,000 persons in 1974 to 5.6 per 100,000 in 2013. It…
Continue Reading →

Blocked ears are a common problem that we often see in our clinic. There are a variety of reasons why someone may suffer from blocked ears. Some of these are fairly benign such as ear wax impaction but some of them may be due to a more serious cause such as sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Most often patients come to us when…
Continue Reading →