Sore or dry throat, frequent throat clearing, a sensation of thick mucus or phlegm in the throat and chronic dry cough.
Symptoms and Signs
At times, laryngitis can be an indication of serious laryngeal cancer. The following symptoms definitely warrant a visit to a head, neck, and throat specialist: A sore throat accompanied by a fever. Coughing up yellow or green phlegm (possibly bacterial sinusitis or bronchitis)
Having a respiratory infection, such as a cold, bronchitis or sinusitis. Exposure to irritating substances, such as cigarette smoke, excessive alcohol intake, stomach acid or workplace chemicals. Overusing your voice, by speaking too much, speaking too loudly, shouting or singing.
Most of the time, you can tell if you have laryngitis because you develop symptoms such as hoarseness, a sore throat or a dry cough. If your symptoms diminish in a week or two, you probably won't need to seek medical care.
a hoarse (croaky) voice. sometimes losing your voice. an irritating cough that does not go away. always needing to clear your throat.
“Laryngitis itself is not contagious,” Peña said. “However, the viral upper respiratory infections that cause laryngitis can be.” As long as you don't have any other severe symptoms, you should be able to continue your daily activities while you have laryngitis.
Bacterial laryngitis is an infection of the vocal cord mucosa by bacteria (not a virus or fungal organism). During this infection, mucus produced in the larynx is usually colored yellow, green, or brown. This can occur in any person as an acute, self-limited infection.
Most of the time, coughing up phlegm isn't a cause for concern. It helps clear irritants and infections from your lungs. But if you cough up phlegm when you're not feeling sick, it could mean you have a more serious underlying health condition. It can also tell you a lot about what's going on with your body.
If your laryngitis is caused by a viral illness, you'll be most contagious for the first three days, but could pass the infection for up to three weeks.
If your laryngitis is caused by an infection, you will most likely need a course of oral antibiotics or antifungal therapy before it goes away. This will help minimize and kill the bacteria or fungus growth causing the infection.
To help your vocal cords heal, it's important not to smoke, to avoid smoky environments, drink plenty of fluids (particularly water) and try to rest your voice as much as possible. In some cases, it may be possible to treat the underlying cause of laryngitis.
Don't: Don't cough/clear your throat. This does more harm than good in the long run. Coughing causes the vocal cords to bang together sharply, resulting in increased stress, swelling and irritation of the larynx.
Exudative tonsillopharyngitis with fever and anterior cervical lymphadenitis is highly suggestive of a bacterial origin. Symptoms of acute disease, most commonly hoarseness, generally arise over a period of <7 days, are usually preceded by a viral upper respiratory infection, and are ordinarily self-limiting.
Does coughing up mucus mean you're getting better? In most cases, coughing up mucus means your body is working to fight off an infection, and it is in the healing stages. Drink plenty of fluids to help thin the mucus.
When you do cough up phlegm (another word for mucus) from your chest, Dr. Boucher says it really doesn't matter if you spit it out or swallow it.
Types of cough
A dry cough is one of the most common coronavirus symptoms, but some people may have a cough with phlegm (thick mucus).
If there is a cough that produces a yellow or green colored sputum, or a coating in the back of the throat, there may be a bacterial infection that warrants antibiotics. Laryngitis that develops slowly, without fever, sore throat or other signs of infection, may represent irritation from other sources.
Laryngitis is a condition in which the larynx becomes inflamed. Bronchitis has symptoms which include wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing, as well as chest tightness. The main symptom of laryngitis is a change in how the voice sounds, along with hoarseness, a tickle in the throat, and soreness.
Notably, the omicron variant is prone to cause severe laryngitis, resulting in fatal upper airway stenosis.
Is Laryngitis Contagious? The viruses that laryngitis comes from aren't that contagious. The time laryngitis is most contagious is during the time frame when you have a fever. Bacterial and fungal infection-causing laryngitis is potentially contagious, but these occur less frequently.
Conclusion: Previous variants of SARS-CoV-2 infection affected predominantly the lower respiratory tract and were associated with loss of smell and taste in many patients. The Omicron variant seems to affect predominantly the upper airways and cause acute laryngitis without olfactory dysfunction.