Laryngitis: What You Should Know
Sore throat? Hoarseness? Can’t talk? You could be experiencing laryngitis which is commonly caused by a viral infection which inflames the larynx (which joins the back of the throat to your windpipe.)
A mild case of laryngitis usually goes away on it’s own without a lot of fanfare (but with a few quieter days!) Sometimes, however your infection can spread and lead to a more serious case of tonsillitis, or more severe throat infection. You can have pain swallowing and even experience flu-like symptoms that have you feeling down for the count. Even breathing difficulty can be experienced if the swelling is greater. You see this more often in children, but it can happen to adults as well. As with any breathing difficulty or worsening of symptoms, don’t wait to consult your doctor right away.
What can you do?
- If symptoms are persistent or severe, call us at (214) 946-1102 for an appointment so we can get the situation assessed and get you on the mend quickly.
- Drink plenty of fluids. Dehydration can make your symptoms worse and make the healing process much slower.
- Ibuprofen to ease the pain, headache or fever.
- Humidifiers can help as they add moisture to the air you’re breathing in and helps to soothe the throat.
- REST that voice! As hard as it seems to do-not talking for long intervals really does speed up the healing process.
- Consider a stroboscopy. A videostrobe unit consists of a stroboscopic unit (light source and microphone), a video camera, an endoscope, and a video recorder. Videostroboscopy fulfills several important requirements of a complete voice examination. It provides useful, real-time information concerning the nature of vibration, an image to detect vocal pathology, and a permanent video record of the examination. As important as any of these aspects, stroboscopy substantially improves the sensitivity of subtle laryngeal diagnoses over techniques, such as rigid or flexible transnasal laryngoscopy, with continuous light sources.
Don’t let any symptoms persist more than a week before consulting with a physician. Untreated conditions that worsen can lead to more long-term damage. We can help you assess whether yours is a simple infection or something more serious in a simple office visit. Helping families have the right answers, resources and treatment for healthier, happier lives is our passion. Please let us know if we can help!
