Laryngitis

Laryngitis indicates the condition in which larynx or voice box, gets infected and inflamed. It may cause difficult speech and sometimes it’s temporary loss. The case may be mild or severe. Mild cases last no more than a few days but severe one may last weeks or even months. Apart from temporary total speech loss, the person may also suffer from hoarseness in the throat area, fever and difficult swallowing and tough breathing. The acute cases happen majorly, because of strained vocal cords due to too much of yelling, crying louder, singing or loud public speaking. Further, the inflammation of the areas is caused by allergies and inhalation of air pollutants including certain harmful chemicals.

Chronic cases of laryngitis result due to over consumption of alcohol and alcoholic drinks for a prolonged period, smoking and over exposure to harmful chemicals and dust. Certain respiratory disorders when, go chronic and reach the advanced stage, result into this major disorder. These disorders are namely sinusitis, bronchitis, allergies and certain nasal issues. Some chronic cases take birth from repetition of milder cases. Symptoms of laryngitis are fever, hoarseness and soreness in the throat, loss of voice or speech and cough. The disease is diagnosed by study of symptoms, physical examination and laryngoscopy that helps in visualizing the status of vocal cords.

The treatment of laryngitis involves dealing with the bacterial infection and this requires recommendation of antibiotics. As the treatment is on avoid speaking louder, especially in public and avoid whispering as the activity puts maximum pressure on the vocal cords. In the meantime, consider having steam inhalations, hot or warm liquid intakes. Simply void alcoholic beverages and cold drinks as these may again trigger the infection. Make sure, you don’t stay in air-conditioned rooms. Following these guidelines, you can ease down the treatment procedure and expect to get back to normal condition very soon.