Last updated on 28/07/2025

 

Ever felt like you couldn’t quite catch your breath, a tightness in your throat or a persistent cough and wondered if it was another asthma flare-up? While asthma is a common culprit for breathing difficulties, there’s another condition that often flies under the radar, yet can mimic asthma symptoms: Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction (ILO).

So, what exactly is this mysterious ILO?

Unpacking ILO – commonly known as Vocal Cord Dysfunction

Vocal Cord Dysfunction is another name for ILO.

Think of your larynx (that’s your voice box!) as a gateway to your lungs. Inside, you have two clever little structures called vocal cords (or vocal folds). With ILO, these vocal cords decide to close up inappropriately, especially when you’re trying to breathe in. Imagine trying to breathe through a straw that’s suddenly pinching – that’s a bit like what happens, leading to a narrowing or even a blockage of your airway.

What Does ILO Feel Like?

If you have ILO, you might experience a range of uncomfortable symptoms. These can include:

  • Feeling short of breath
  • A sensation of tightness in your throat
  • Persistent coughing
  • Changes in your voice
  • Feeling like there’s something stuck in your throat
  • Noisy sound when you breathe in

This is where it can get tricky! While asthma typically causes chest tightness and a wheezing sound when you breathe out, ILO often presents with throat tightness and noisy breathing in. This key difference can be a clue.

What can set off an ILO episode? Triggers are varied and can include strong smells, dust, stress, anxiety or even a simple cough or cold. Even everyday activities like eating, talking or exercising can sometimes trigger it.

Because the symptoms can be so similar to an asthma attack, ILO is unfortunately sometimes misdiagnosed, leading people to take more asthma medicine that won’t actually help with their ILO. This is because asthma medicines work in the lungs, whereas ILO is a problem in the larynx. So, while you might get some partial relief by treating any asthma involvement, symptoms caused by the larynx will remain.

Diagnosing and Managing ILO: Getting the Right Help

Here’s an interesting fact: roughly 1 in 4 people with asthma might also experience ILO, and it seems to affect women more often. Despite this, awareness of ILO is surprisingly low, which can lead to a long and frustrating journey to diagnosis.

So, how do doctors figure out if it’s ILO? The main way is through a procedure called a laryngoscopy. This is where a doctor uses a special instrument with a light and camera to get a good look at your vocal cords in action. If they see those vocal cords moving abnormally, an ILO diagnosis can be made.

Once diagnosed, the good news is that ILO can be managed effectively! Typically, this involves working with a speech pathologist. They are experts in retraining your laryngeal function through targeted exercises, education, voice work and breath retraining. These interventions can be incredibly helpful in reducing coughing and giving you better control over your symptoms.

Raising awareness about ILO is so important for getting people the right diagnosis and treatment at the right time. If any of these symptoms sound familiar to you or a loved one, don’t hesitate to have a conversation with your doctor about ILO. It could make all the difference!