laryngitis
- Overview
- Introduction
- Symptoms
- Causes
- Complications
- Homoeopathic Treatment
- Do's and Don'ts
- Diet and Nutrition
What is Laryngitis?
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx, the "voice box" that contains the vocal cords in the upper portion of the neck.
In most cases, laryngitis is caused by a viral infection or from straining your voice.
Laryngitis occurs in two forms:
- which lasts only a few days; and ,
- which persists over a period of weeks or months.
Read more about Causes of Laryngitis.
If your hoarseness lasts more than 3 weeks, then seek help from a medical professional.
What Happens in Laryngitis?
QUICK LOOK :
- A voice that tires easily, "breaks" or "cracks"
- Fever
- Flu like symptoms – Runny Nose, Sneezing, Malaise
- Hoarseness of Voice, sudden aphonia or complete loss of voice.
- Sensation of a lump in the throat
- Raw tickling sensation with constant need to clear the throat.
- Odynophonia (Pain on speaking)
- Odynophagia (Pain on swallowing)
- Difficulty in Breathing
- In Infants - Loud barking cough or Croup, Hoarse cry
What can Laryngitis lead to?
Laryngitis is usually a mild and self limiting illness.
Acute Laryngitis recovers quickly with very rare complications.
In chronic Laryngitis if symptoms persist beyond a certain period of time, for a long duration – it can lead to:
- Damage to the Vocal Cords
- Dysphonia – Overuse of voice can lead to impairment or alteration in voice quality.
- Respiratory Tract Infections: Infection when caused by bacteria like streptococcus is known to spread from larynx – upper respiratory tract to lower down leading to severe diseases like pneumonia.
- Laryngeal Cancer: Prolonged Hoarseness in patients with chronic laryngitis has to be intervened in order to rule out cancerous pathology. However direct link to laryngitis and cancer remains unproven.
How well does Homoeopathy work in Laryngitis?
Laryngitis being an inflammatory condition is excellently treated with our Homoeopathic Medicines with good results.
Homoeopathic Medicines work at a much deeper level by boosting our internal body defenses thereby restoring healthy tissue and promoting healing mechanisms in treatment for laryngitis.
Few of our Amazing Remedies include:
- Argentum Metallicum: Symptoms come on insidiously, lingering, but progress further. This remedy is well indicated for public speakers, singers who tend to develop hoarseness of long duration. There is raw sore feeling when coughing. Total loss of voice in professional singers. Worse from use of voice. Cough from laughing. Cough with easy expectoration which looks like boiled starch. Great weakness of chest, worst left side. Must hem and hawk.
- Argentum Nitricum: Chronic Hoarseness. High notes cause cough. Suffocative cough with sensation of a hair in throat. Patient has difficulty in breathing along with a spinter like sensation in throat. Strangulated feeling. Excessive build-up of mucous in smokers. Indicated in singers with too much voice strain. Desire for sweets, sugar and fresh open air.
- Arum Triphyllum: Good remedy for laryngitis when acridity is the main symptom. Raw and sore feeling at the roof and palate. Hoarseness along with constricted feeling and swollen throat. There is expectoration of much mucus.
- Causticum: Laryngitis with slow gradual progress of paralysis of vocal cords. Rawness, soreness and burning are characteristic symptoms of this remedy. Hoarseness with pain in the chest. There is loss of voice. Difficulty of voice of singers and public speakers.
Is your throat sore or raw?
Do you constantly feel tickling in the throat?
Are you experiencing consistent cough with hoarseness of voice?
If you are a professional speaker, teacher or a singer and if you frequently experience loss of voice then you are probably suffering from laryngitis.
Want to get rid away from this annoying problem once and for all without any fear of side effects of medicines?
Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx - also called the voice box, which leads to temporary hoarseness or complete loss of voice.
In acute cases of Laryngitis, patient may present with the following symptoms of laryngitis:
- Fever
- Flu like symptoms – Runny Nose, Sneezing, Malaise
- Constant need to clear the throat
- Sore Throat, tickling and rawness in throat.
- Hoarseness of Voice , Sudden Aphonia or complete loss of voice
- Odynophonia (Pain on speaking)
- Odynophagia (Pain on Swallowing)
- Dyspnoea or Respiratory Distress
- Lymphadenopathy or enlarged lymph nodes mainly in neck region.
In chronic laryngitis,
- Persistent Hoarseness lasting for more than 3 weeks duration
- Chronic dry cough with raw sensation and tickling
- Laryngitis due to acid reflux can have associated gastric symptoms
- Change in the quality and pitch of voice gradually
- Dysphagia
Symptoms of laryngitis present for more than 3 weeks need to be diagnostically evaluated.
Acute Laryngitis:
The most common causes of Laryngitis is a viral infection, from colds or the flu.
Infection can be:
- Viral: Rhinovirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, coxsackie, coronavirus.
- Bacterial: group A streptococcus, streptococcus pneumonia, C. diphtheria, M. catarrhalis, H. influenzae, bordetella, pertussis.
- Fungal: Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Cryptococcus, Coccidioides, Candidiasis in immunocompromised individuals
- Over Use/Misuse of Voice: Laryngitis from over use of voice can be sudden in onset or an ongoing problem. This is another significant factor in causes of laryngitis.
Chronic Laryngitis:
Chronic hoarseness can occur in many different ways that are unrelated to laryngitis.
Not all hoarseness occurs as a result of an infection or laryngitis. This can also vary from the serious to those not so serious.
Other potential causes of laryngitis of chronic type:
- Acid reflux – GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease)
- Chronic Sinusitis
- Excessive Coughing
- Excessive smoking or consumption of alcohol
- Overuse or Misuse of the voice like excess talking, singing or shouting, talking too loudly.
- Prolonged use of Corticosteroid Therapy
- Thermal or chemical burns
- Laryngeal trauma-endotracheal intubation
- Irritation due to allergens ,chemical inhalation, and exposure to chemicals , toxic fumes
- Vocal cord paralysis
- Obstruction: Abnormal growths – polyps , tumors
These are important causes of laryngitis.
Laryngitis is a mild and self limiting illness which usually subsides on its own and with proper medication.
- In Acute laryngitis is self limiting, hence complications of Laryngitis are very rare.
- Damage to the vocal cords if the patient does not take rest or proper treatment on time.
- In rare cases, severe forms of laryngitis like croup and epiglottitis can occur in infants and children leading to respiratory distress and requires immediate intervention.
- Respiratory Tract Infections: Laryngitis infection in certain cases can spread to lower respiratory tract leading to parenchymal diseases like Pneumonia.
- Laryngeal Cancer: Although there is no direct association linked to laryngitis and carcinoma of larynx, prolong hoarseness needs to be evaluated to rule out polyps or tumors.
- Dysphonia – Prolonged strain of voice or over use can lead to impairment and alteration in voice quality which can be temporary or permanent.
The main aim of Homeopathic System is to restore health and provide enough strength and resilience to the body in order to tackle diseases and fight infections.
Homeopathic medicines are known to penetrate at a much deeper level in our body in order to alleviate the disease by restoring the healthy mechanisms in Homeopathic Treatment for Laryngitis.
Laryngitis as an illness is mainly an inflammatory response to the number of factors causing it.
This can be excellently treated with Homeopathy thereby minimizing the intensity of the symptoms, shortening the illness and arresting the disease process.
Homeopathic treatment for laryngitis takes into consideration every single detail about the case apart from the common symptoms of the disease. The method is to individualize each case with their characteristics in Homeopathic treatment for laryngitis. And so, there is no one single remedy to treat laryngitis. According to the differentiating symptoms, remedy is indicated. Some of the wonderful remedies in Homoeopathic Treatment for Laryngitis:
Argentum Metallicum: Symptoms come on insidiously, lingering, but progress further. This remedy is well indicated for public speakers, singers who tend to develop hoarseness of long duration.
There is raw sore feeling when coughing. Total loss of voice in professional singers. Worse from use of voice. Cough from laughing. Cough with easy expectoration which looks like boiled starch. Great weakness of chest, worst left side. Must hem and hawk.
Argentum Nitricum: Chronic Hoarseness. High notes cause cough. Suffocative cough with sensation of a hair in throat. Patient has difficulty in breathing along with a spinter like sensation in throat. Strangulated feeling. Excessive build-up of mucous in smokers. Indicated in singers with too much voice strain. Desire for sweets and fresh open air.
Arum Triphyllum: Good remedy for laryngitis when acridity is the main symptom. Raw and sore feeling at the roof and palate. Hoarseness along with constricted feeling and swollen throat. There is expectoration of much mucus.
Causticum: Laryngitis with slow gradual progress of paralysis of vocal cords. Rawness, soreness and burning are characteristic symptoms of this remedy. Hoarseness with pain in the chest. There is loss of voice. Difficulty of voice of singers and public speakers.
Following are the amazing Remedies indicated Homeopathic treatment for Laryngitis:
LARYNX:INFLAMMATION, LARYNGITIS:ACUTE, CATARRHAL: (36)
Do’s:
- Adequate and sufficient rest to voice is advised.
- Increase intake of fluids in order to maintain hydration.
- Gargle with salt and water 2 -3 times a day.
- When infected, avoid contact as much as possible.
- Hygienic habits like covering your mouth while coughing , washing hands should be practiced.
- Maintain humid environment – use a humidifier at home or take steam inhalation.
- Home remedies like herbal tea can prove beneficial.
- Stay away from school or work when infected in order to prevent further spread of infection
- Seek the help of a medical professional if complaints persist in order to avoid complications.
Don’ts:
- Do not whisper or try to strain your voice as it can irritate the inflamed larynx and worsen the pain.
- Avoid taking decongestants and anti-histamines as much as possible as it is known to contribute to increase in dryness of throat.
- Avoid self medicating yourself and taking over the counter prescriptions even if symptoms are mild, as it can be very dangerous.
- Reduce intake of Caffeine, Spicy food and other beverages as it can aggravate acid reflux which is also a cause for Laryngitis.
- Avoid Tobacco and Alcohol consumption.
- Herbal Tea: Numerous types of herbal tea are known to prove effective in curing throat pain.
- Plenty of oral fluids – Include lot of fluids and increase water intake in order to keep your body hydrated.
- Honey and its uses - Honey has been used for centuries to alleviate sore throat and hoarseness. A research study has determined that children, who get a dose of honey, are known to cough less and sleep better than those who get cough medicine.
- A long-standing home remedy for throat pain includes mixing honey and lemon in Tea to taste. The lemon can cut mucus if it exists with the sore throat, while the honey coats the throat. Take a spoonful straight, as often as you need to relieve the irritation. In between, keep up your liquids with a steaming cup of tea sweetened with honey.
- Avoid Sour Foods: Avoid foods like pineapple, lime, oranges and tomato, ketchups, sauces etc. These foods contain acid which can back flow from stomach to esophagus in patients with acid reflux and in turn cause Laryngitis.
- No Spicy Foods: Spicy foods can irritate your larynx and also worsen the present symptoms.
- No Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages can have a burning effect, which can worsen laryngitis.
- Salt water gargles – Gargling with salt and water is a well known remedy for easing laryngitis.
- Diet which is balanced and slightly bland is commonly advised.