- [Voiceover] Diagnosis of laryngitis, which is "itis,"
swelling, and "larynx," which refers to the soft tissue
and vocal cords, known also as the voicebox,
is mostly accomplished clinically
and through good history-taking.
A patient with recent exposure to a viral illness,
such as the cold or the flu,
may actually develop laryngitis,
but, of course, exposure to pathogens and viral agents
is not the only cause of laryngitis.
A careful history of the patient needs to be taken.
For example, they may be exposed
to a lot of different chemicals or smoke,
or they may be a singer and use their voice often,
or potentially they may have a nodule on their vocal cords.
Whatever the cause is of the laryngeal irritation,
or the irritation of the larynx or the vocal cords,
asking questions is the best way
to diagnose the type of laryngitis.
Of course, laryngitis can either be acute or chronic,
where acute is more associated with viral illnesses
and very rarely, bacteria, and chronic is associated
with irritants such as smoking or repeated straining
of the voice caused by talking or singing.
Really, clinical is the best way to diagnose laryngitis
because there are really no other lab tests
that can be performed.
However, if a physician or a health practitioner
suspects something other than a viral illness,
which is the most common cause of acute laryngitis,
then it might be good to get a direct view
of the larynx to see what's going on,
In fact, there might be a nodule,
or if the patient has signs of acid reflux,
there might be damage seen to the soft tissue of the larynx.
This can also help diagnose bacterial laryngitis.
This could give direct visualization of any exudate
or white pussy fluid created by bacteria,
and this would give a sign
that it could be a bacterial infection.
Direct visualization of the larynx, known as laryngoscopy,
so visualization-scopy of the larynx, can give confirmation
of many different causes of laryngitis.
To do laryngoscopy, a physician or health practitioner
will insert a long tube-like structure
that has a camera on the end of it.
This camera will allow a direct view from above
of the larynx and associated structures.
However, laryngoscopy is usually only pursued
in cases of chronic laryngitis.
Now, in making the diagnosis of laryngitis,
it's also important to note that there are other causes
of a horse, raspy voice.
One of the most dangerous causes,
I'll go ahead and scroll down here, is epiglottitis.
Epiglottitis is a very dangerous illness.
Epiglottitis is swelling of the epiglottis,
and the epiglottis is this flap of tissue
that sits above the larynx.
It helps protect the airway.
However, when it gets swollen,
it can potentially obstruct the airway,
which can cause serious consequences
such as difficulty breathing.
Epiglottitis also causes a hoarseness of the voice
just like laryngitis, but obstruction of the airway
causing difficulty breathing is the major source
of concern in epiglottitis.
Patients may also have difficulty swallowing,
which can lead to drooling, because a patient is unable
to swallow the saliva that they're producing.
This can actually help in differentiating
between epiglottitis and laryngitis.
Another difference between the two
is in epiglottitis, there's no coughing.
Patients tend not to cough,
and that's because the vocal cords and the larynx
have a lot of cough receptors, so when the larynx
gets swollen, this can press on those cough receptors
and cause a patient to cough.
However, the epiglottis doesn't have any of these receptors,
and so patients tend not to cough too much.
Epiglottitis can also cause high fever.
When dealing with a patient with a hoarse voice,
it's important to look for these symptoms.
If any of these symptoms come up,
a patient should be treated for epiglottitis right away.
Treatment for epiglottitis will be antibiotics.
Now, the treatment for laryngitis is very supportive.
It has to do with general home remedies.
Patients are advised to rest their voice,
drink lots of fluids, and pursue anything
that can help soothe the pain in their throat.
Patients can use such things as cough drops or lozenges.
It's also recommended to gargle with saltwater
because the saltwater can kill
both pathogens and also decrease swelling.
This is just accomplished through osmosis.
Water can be pulled out of the swollen soft tissue
in the presence of a saltier environment on the outside.
Treatments for chronic laryngitis are more focused
on reducing exposure to the chemical irritant
or whatever is causing the chronic laryngitis.
For example, quitting smoking
can help resolve chronic laryngitis,
or if the patient is a singer, they can decrease
the use of their voice and go
through proper speech counseling
to decrease the trauma to their voicebox.
Treatment, again, is home remedies
and also decreasing exposure to irritants.
Last of all, prevention of laryngitis focuses
on good hygiene to avoid any viral illnesses
and decreasing exposure to any noxious substances
such as cigarette smoke.