Laryngitis Leaving You Speechless?

You have laryngitis. You try to speak, but instead you squeak. Is there anything you can do to get your voice back?

Why can't I talk?
Laryngitis occurs when the vocal cords become swollen or irritated, often from a cold or another upper respiratory virus. Swollen vocal cords make your voice sound hoarse, faint or nearly nonexistent.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of laryngitis include:

• A need to clear your throat
• A hoarse, raspy or weak voice
• Breaks in your voice or periods when you can't talk at all
• Scratchy, raw or sore throat
• A dry cough (no mucus)

What causes laryngitis?
Laryngitis is usually caused by a respiratory infection, such as a cold, flu or sinusitis. Other factors can also cause laryngitis. These include:

• Breathing smoke or chemicals fumes
• Having gastric reflux (GERD) or heartburn (when stomach acids back up into the throat)
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Overusing your voice by shouting, speaking or singing loudly or too much
• Growths or nodules on your vocal cords

How is it treated?
Most of the time, laryngitis will get better with time and resting your voice. If you have a bacterial infection, your doctor may give you an antibiotic. If you have a virus, antibiotics won't work. Treat your laryngitis by doing the following:

• Rest your voice. For most cases of laryngitis, this means speaking softly and as infrequently as possible. For more serious laryngitis, stopping talking altogether for a period of days may be needed.
• Avoid clearing your throat. Throat-clearing can increase the swelling in your vocal cords. Instead, sip water.
• Suck on lozenges (not recommended for children under 5) to keep your throat moist.
• Gargle several times a day with salt water.
• Drink plenty of water and use a cool-mist humidifier to help keep throat tissues moist.
• Eat soft foods like applesauce, pudding, soft fruits and yogurt.
• Sooth your throat with chamomile tea or tea with honey.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Avoid irritants that might affect your larynx, especially tobacco smoke.
• Avoid alcohol.

When laryngitis is caused by frequent heartburn or gastric reflux (also called GERD), you will need to take medication. If you have frequent heartburn, talk to your doctor. Hoarseness from gastric reflux can increase your risk of throat cancer.

Related Articles Your Child's Sore Throat: Knowing When It's Strep or Tonsillitis

External Sources American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Accessed November 21, 2006. Sataloff RT. Hoarseness and Laryngitis. In: Rakel RE, Bope ET, eds. Rakel: Conn's Current Therapy 2007, 59th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders-Elsevier; 2007. Opal SM, Eason JV, Fabbri M. Laryngitis. In: Ferri FE. Ferri: Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2008, 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2008.

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

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