Has anyone seen an ENT and escaped this procedure? Details inside.

I went to an ENT specialist for serious nose bleeds. I was worried that I had messed up something by inhaling fumes from soap making. It turned out to be almost nothing at all and he didnt’ have to put a tube down by throat, because he could see in my nose where the bleeds were coming from.

The discomfort that sometimes comes from medical procedures has to be weighed against the need for them to make sure or diagnose problems. I have had ulcers and needed barium x-rays. That was worth the inconvenience. Doctors can’t wave a magic wand and know what is wrong with a person. Tests need to be done sometimes. If your friend wants a proper diagnosis…. she had better just buck up and get tough and grow up.

I’ve been to an ENT, both for hearing checks and for sinus difficulties. I guess since I didn’t have throat issues, he did not scope me.

I think it has to do with what the patient is seeing the ENT for.

I have been and not had it done. It depends on why you are going to the ENT.

I also have been to the ENT where they numb you and look way back down your throat and I have never had bad discomfort nor lasting discomfort.

Why was she at the doctor’s office, what is her symptoms?

My daughter went to an ENT in March and this procedure was not done. Her tonsils could easily be seen because they were a 3 (4 being the largest). She had her tonsils and adenoids removed in late April.

Tests can be scary and uncomfortable, but they can find a problem before it gets to the point that it’s uncontrollable. The minor discomfort is worth it.

Well sure. I had a lot of trouble with my ears as a child and spent an awful lot of time at the ENT’s, with nary a tube down my throat.

I have been to several ENT’s several times and never had anything put down my throat. But then I presented with hearing and vertigo issues.

I expect that it’s possibly the only way to look at the throat.

I work with ENT physicians. The laryngoscopy is commonly performed for throat or voice problems. Once the local anesthetic wears off, there usually isn’t any pain. However, I do not know what your friends presenting complaint and symptoms were, how she tolerated and complied with the procedure (the structures in our head are very sensitive and delicate, so if a patient moves or even tenses up in some way, it could inadvertently cause discomfort and/or confound the results).

If her symptoms persist, she should be examined in case there is infection. I understand her reluctance to return to that physician, but I think it would be unwise to judge against an entire group of medical specialists based on one bad experience. If she decides to go for a second opinion, encourage her to research an ENT who has a sub-specialty of throat and voice disorders, and/or one who has a lot of years of experience and board certification.

Thanks everyone. I do not recall why she went to him but it has resolved itself.

ENT: Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. If the ENT needs to examine the part in question, he/she will need to use a light and maybe an instrument of some kind. I went to an ENT for nose and ear problems, so got instruments stuck up my ears and nose. No items into my throat because I did not have throat problems at the time.