Laryngitis Diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis
To find out if laryngitis is the cause of your symptoms, your healthcare professional reviews your medical history and symptoms. Your healthcare professional also may listen to your voice and check your vocal cords.
If your symptoms are serious or long lasting, you might be referred to an ear, nose and throat doctor called an otolaryngologist. This healthcare professional may use the following tests to find out if you have laryngitis or another condition:
- Laryngoscopy. This procedure lets your healthcare professional check your vocal cords. A laryngoscopy can be done using a light and a tiny mirror to look into the back of your throat. Or a thin, flexible tube with a tiny camera and light may be placed into your nose or mouth. Then the tube is moved down into the back of your throat. This lets your healthcare professional watch the motion of your vocal cords as you speak. You may be given medicine to help you relax or sleep during this procedure.
- Biopsy. If your healthcare professional sees a suspicious area, a small sample of tissue may be taken. This is called a biopsy.
Treatment
Treatment partly depends on whether you have acute or chronic laryngitis.
Acute laryngitis
Acute laryngitis often gets better on its own within three weeks. In the meantime, the following self-care measures can help ease your symptoms:
- Rest your voice.
- Drink plenty of fluids such as water.
- Use steam or a device called a humidifier to add moisture to the air in your home.
Chronic laryngitis
Chronic laryngitis may have an underlying cause that needs to be treated or managed with lifestyle changes. Examples include:
- Medicines to treat allergies or ongoing acid reflux.
- Staying away from chemical fumes, allergens or other irritating substances in the air.
- A plan to quit smoking or drink less alcohol.
Medicines
Medicines that sometimes are used to treat laryngitis include:
- Antibiotics. These medicines clear up infections caused by germs called bacteria. But bacteria rarely cause laryngitis. So, antibiotics aren't a common treatment.
- Antifungals. These medicines clear up infections caused by fungus. Fungus can build up on the vocal cords, causing laryngitis.
- Corticosteroids. These medicines can help lessen vocal cord swelling. But corticosteroids are used only when there's an urgent need to treat laryngitis. For example, they may be used if a person with acute laryngitis needs to give a speech or vocal performance for work.
Therapies
A treatment called voice therapy also may help for laryngitis. A healthcare professional called a speech-language pathologist teaches you ways to protect your voice.
Surgery or other procedures
Sometimes, surgery is a treatment choice for chronic laryngitis. For instance, chronic laryngitis can lead to growths on the vocal cords that cause hoarseness. Some growths may need to be removed with surgery.
Self-care
Some self-care methods and home treatments may relieve the symptoms of laryngitis and strain your voice less:
- Breathe moist air. Use a humidifier to keep the air throughout your home or office moist. Inhale steam from a bowl of hot water or a hot shower.
- Rest your voice as much as you can. Try not to talk or sing too loudly or for too long. If you need to speak before large groups, try to use a microphone or megaphone.
- Drink plenty of fluids such as water. Limit alcohol and caffeine, which can leave the body without enough water.
- Moisten your throat. Try sucking on lozenges, gargling with warm salt water or chewing a piece of gum. But do not let a younger child gargle saltwater.
- Do not use decongestants. These medicines can dry out your throat.
- Do not whisper. This strains your voice even more than talking at regular volume does.
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Preparing for your appointment
You're likely to start by seeing your family healthcare professional. You may be referred to a doctor called an otolaryngologist who is trained in ear, nose and throat conditions.
Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment.
What you can do
- Be aware of any instructions you need to follow before your appointment. When you make the appointment, ask if there's anything you need to do in advance.
- Write down your symptoms. Include any that may not seem related to the reason for which you made the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including major stresses or recent life changes.
- Make a list of all medicines, vitamins and supplements you're taking. Include the amounts you take, called the doses.
- Take a family member or friend along, if you can. Someone who joins you may remember information you missed or forgot.
- Write down questions to ask your healthcare professional.
Writing down a list of questions for your healthcare professional helps you make the most of your time together. For laryngitis, some basic questions to ask include:
- What is likely causing my symptoms or condition?
- What are other possible causes?
- What tests do I need, if any?
- Is my condition likely short term or long term?
- What is the best course of action?
- What are the treatment choices other than the main one you're suggesting?
- I have other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any restrictions I need to follow?
- Should I see a specialist?
- Is there a generic version of the medicine you're prescribing?
- Are there brochures or other printed material I can take home? What websites do you recommend?
Feel free to ask any other questions.
What to expect from your doctor
Your healthcare professional is likely to ask you questions such as:
- When did your symptoms start?
- Have your symptoms been constant, or do they happen once in a while?
- How serious are your symptoms?
- What, if anything, seems to make your symptoms better?
- What, if anything, seems to make your symptoms worse?
- Do you smoke?
- Do you drink alcohol?
- Do you have allergies? Have you recently had a cold?
- Have you recently overused your vocal cords, such as by singing or shouting?
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