Laryngitis: Symptoms

The laryngitis symptoms are fairly typical, there are many of them and they depend on the type of inflammatory process in the larynx. It can develop at any age, regardless of gender and nationality. The most common is the "professional" kind, which affects people associated with communicative specialties (teachers, speakers, lecturers), as well as representatives of art (singers, actors). Laryngitis, the symptoms of which are clinically manifested, is successfully treated with timely access to a doctor. However, cases of chronic inflammation are not uncommon, since the first signs of it are not perceived as serious.

The symptoms of laryngitis are as follows: 

• Painful sensations in the larynx; 
• Suddenly, a hoarse voice appears; 
• The voice is weaker, hard to speak because of a sore throat; 
• The voice "sits down", becomes lower in timbre; 
• Redness of mucous membranes; 
• Slight swelling of the mucosa; 
• Difficulties in swallowing, "clot"; 
• Frequent coughing; 
• Dry cough, not associated with colds; 
• Cough with wet secretions, not associated with respiratory diseases; 
• Rhinitis, not associated with respiratory diseases; 
• Subfebrile body temperature; 
• Loss of voice; 
• Painful sensations in the cervical lymph nodes; 
• Headache.

The following are health-threatening symptoms: 

• Increase in temperature from 38 to 40 degrees, accompanied by pain in the larynx; 
• Persistent symptoms of coughing, hoarseness, pain in the larynx (more than two weeks); 
• Difficulty in eating, swallowing fluids; 
• Cough with atypical wet discharge (yellow, greenish clots); 
• Difficulty of urination in young children with the above signs of laryngitis; 
• Coughing discharge with blood clots; 
• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, sensation of lack of air; 
• Inability to breathe properly in a horizontal position; 
• Difficulty swallowing saliva; 
• Increased salivation (especially in infants); 
• Atypical noises when breathing (whistling).

The laryngitis symptoms manifest fairly quickly, the disease progresses rapidly, as a rule, the diagnosis is made two to three days after the appearance of the first symptoms. During the epidemic of influenza or SARS, it is diagnosed particularly often, the most typical symptoms for him are autumn and winter.

As a rule, even an acute form is treated as quickly as it develops. The maximum duration of successful drug therapy does not exceed ten days. However, a protracted form may indicate more threatening diseases, such as a false cereal in children or an oncology of the larynx in adults.

Laryngitis symptoms are similar to croupous inflammatory processes. The most characteristic signs of a false groin in children of early age are the following: 

• Attacks of a night cough for up to half an hour; 
• Increased sweating; 
• Anxiety, restless sleep; 
• Cyanosis (cyanosis of the skin), especially characteristic of false croup, blue lips; 
• Wheezing; 
• Cough by the type of "barking".

Laryngitis symptoms manifest depending on the type of inflammation. In clinical practice, the following types are encountered: 

1. The easiest form, which is amenable to rapid treatment, is a catarrhal inflammatory process - catarrhal laryngitis. Symptoms are transferred to patients easily, often "on their feet," and sometimes pass alone (a small hoarseness of voice, a sense of persecution). 
2. If the symptoms become more pronounced - a strong sensation of persecution in the larynx, hoarseness, turning into a cough (you want to clear your throat), cough becomes more intense, you can talk about hypertrophic laryngitis. With this form of inflammation, ligaments are affected. 
3. A species, characteristic only for adults, is an atrophic inflammatory process. Atrophic laryngitis symptoms are as follows: a constant dry cough, a constant feeling of dryness in the mouth, the mucous membrane of the mouth is often damaged by sores (due to dryness), the mucous membrane becomes thinner. 
4. Laryngitis of tuberculosis etiology is a consequence of the underlying disease - tuberculosis. Clinical symptoms show the formation of nodes on ligaments, in the tissues of the throat. 
5. The most dangerous species is diphtheria. Diphtheria laryngitis symptoms are as follows: laryngeal overlapping diphtheria membrane, rapid development of the inflammatory process, dyspnea, passing into a stopping breathing. This form of laryngitis is fraught with complete blockage of the respiratory tract. 
6. Laryngitis of syphilitic etiology. Inflammation is a consequence of the underlying pathological process. As a rule, the syphilitic form is the second or third stage of the disease, when the erosive process develops in the mucosa, the tissue begins to scar. As a result of the formation of connective scar tissue, the throat is deformed, the vocal cords are damaged. 
7. Associated with constant stress and damage to ligaments - professional inflammation. Typical nodes on the ligaments are typical for singers, artists, teachers.

Laryngitis, the symptoms of which depend on the type of inflammation, can occur in an acute form, but in the form of diffuse inflammation (the mucous membrane is affected). It can also manifest itself only by inflammation of the ligaments or inflammation of the epiglottis mucosa. The most disturbing in form is laryngitis, the symptoms of which, even with medical supervision, do not last for a month. In such cases, the patient needs to be hospitalized for a more thorough, comprehensive examination in order to avoid serious pathologies.

[1], [2], [3]