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Laryngitis

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Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Laryngitis facts

• Laryngitis is an inflammation of the voice box.
  
  
• Causes of laryngitis include upper respiratory infection or cold; excess talking, singing, or shouting; reflux laryngitis; chronic irritation of the vocal cords; or stroke.
  
  
• Laryngitis is contagious if it is caused by an infection.
  
  
• The most common symptoms of laryngitis are hoarseness, loss of voice, and throat pain.
  
  
• Symptoms of laryngitis in adults include dry cough, sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, pain with swallowing, and a feeling of fullness in the throat or neck.
  
  
• Symptoms of laryngitis in infants in children include croup, hoarse barky cough, and fever.
  
  
• Chronic laryngitis, in which the symptoms last for weeks, may be caused by by gastroesophageal reflux disease, smoking, or alcohol use.
  
  
• Chronic inflammation due to laryngitis may cause nodules or polyps to form on the vocal cords.
  
  
• Treatment of laryngitis is usually symptomatic, home remedies, and resting the voice.
  
  
• If symptoms of laryngitis persist for more than a couple of weeks, further testing may be recommended.
  
  
• Complications of laryngitis include pneumonia, GERD, chronic bronchitis, or vocal chord paralysis.

What is laryngitis?

The larynx is the voice box that allows us to speak, shout, whisper, and sing. The larynx consists of a cartilage skeleton that houses the vocal cords that are covered by a mucus lining. Muscles inside the larynx adjust the position, shape, and tension of the vocal cords, allowing us to make different sounds from whispering to to singing. Any change in the air flow (which is generated by the lungs exhaling air) across the vocal cords will affect the voice and the quality of the sound.

The larynx is located at the junction of the mouth and trachea and has a flap-like covering called the epiglottis, whose job it is to prevent food and saliva from entering the larynx during swallowing.

Laryngitis (larynx + itis = inflammation) is an inflammation of the voice box, causing a person to lose their voice. The quality of the voice becomes hoarse or gravelly-sounding or even too quiet or soft to hear.

Picture of the larynx and trachea