Laryngitis (from the Latin larynx - larynx and the suffix -itis - inflammation) is an inflammatory process in the larynx, affecting the mucous and submucosal base. Laryngitis should not be confused with pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx) or tonsillitis (inflammation of the palatine and pharyngeal tonsils). The cause of the disease can be either a nosological unit, for example, a bacteria or a virus, or other factors: chemical burns, erosion. If laryngitis is left untreated, it may become more complicated and become chronic.
Features of drug treatment of laryngotracheitis in adults and children
Laryngotracheitis is an inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract of viral or bacterial etiology.
Symptoms of laryngotracheitis in children: paroxysmal cough, noisy breathing, general weakness, fever. The smaller the child, the more dangerous this pathology is for him. Laryngotracheitis occurs at any age. The disease, which first affects the larynx and then the trachea, quite often develops as a complication of another disease of the respiratory system. The disease has several varieties and requires qualified treatment. In the absence of the latter, there is a high probability of developing severe complications in the form of bronchitis, pneumonia and false croup in children.
Causes of the disease laryngotracheitis:
- ARVI, adenoviral infection;
- parainfluenza;
- rubella, chickenpox;
- mycoplasmosis, staphylococcal and streptococcal infections;
- chlamydia.
The disease most often occurs in people with weakened immune systems. The body's resistance is reduced by chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, duodenitis, gastroenteritis), endocrine system, respiratory tract and diseases of the central nervous system.
On our website Dobrobut.com you will find more information, including on the treatment of laryngotracheitis in adults. Let us recall that the acute form of the disease is more often diagnosed in children, and chronic laryngotracheitis - in adults.
Causes
Depending on the causes of the disease, appropriate treatment is prescribed.
Biological reasons - the pathogen enters the mucous membranes of the body. Their role is often played by viruses, less often by bacteria that form colonies (cocci) and fungi.
Chemical causes - inhalation of harmful substances and gases that can destroy the mucous membrane of the larynx, for example, tobacco smoke. In addition to inhalation, chemical burns are also possible.
Chemical causes may also include an acute allergic reaction, which destroys the mucous layer of the larynx down to the submucosal layer.
The rarest cause is injuries to the larynx, in which it is quite easy to damage the protective layer.
Symptoms of laryngotracheitis in children
The onset of the disease is usually sudden. The main manifestations of the disease will be: cough, nasal congestion, sore throat and sore throat, fever. The progression of the infection downward will be indicated by hoarseness, a “barking” cough, pain in the upper chest when coughing, and a small amount of sputum. Without timely medical care, the disease can be complicated by laryngeal stenosis.
How to treat acute stenosing laryngotracheitis? Therapy consists of antibiotics, antiviral drugs, immunomodulators (from three years), expectorants, vitamins and decongestants. The treatment regimen is prescribed individually by the pediatrician.
During treatment, it is important to provide the baby with:
- the most favorable psychological environment;
- airing the room twice a day;
- additional humidification of indoor air;
- plenty of warm drinks;
The question of the need to use nebulizer inhalation for laryngotracheitis is within the competence of the attending physician.
Factors that aggravate the disease and its treatment
Treatment has low effectiveness in the presence of some external harmful factors, such as smoking, inhalation of harmful substances (among miners, workers in the heavy and chemical industries). An important role in the complication of the disease during its treatment is played by reduced immunity, for example, with HIV or AIDS or congenital immunodeficiency.
In order to recover from the disease faster, try to reduce negative factors as much as possible, stop smoking, stay in bed, and most importantly, follow the instructions of your doctor.
How many days does the temperature last for laryngotracheitis?
Characteristic signs of laryngotracheitis include cough, change in voice (dysphonia), pain in the chest and throat, fever, general weakness, and enlarged lymph nodes.
Cough. It is characterized as dry, “barking” without sputum production. Eating or talking can trigger a coughing attack.
Dysphonia. With laryngotracheitis, the voice is hoarse, hoarse, and sometimes completely disappears.
How many days does the temperature last for laryngotracheitis? In the chronic form, the temperature remains at low-grade levels for the first three to four days.
Chest pain. Painful sensations usually intensify during coughing. The doctor will tell you during your consultation what to do during a coughing attack with laryngotracheitis and how to prevent its onset.
Possible complications are bronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia (pneumonia), false croup. The most severe include: laryngeal ulcers, laryngeal ventricular prolapse, benign neoplasms.
Symptoms of the disease
The disease begins with general weakness, an increase in temperature to 37.5-38.0 C. The following symptoms occur:
- In the throat with laryngitis, pain, soreness, and discomfort occur, which can cause coughing. It is often dry.
- Swelling and inflammation of the throat mucosa with characteristic hyperemia. This can be detected by examining the back of the throat.
- General intoxication of the body, characterized by weakness, increased levels of leukocytes in the blood. With allergic etiology, a significant increase in eosinophils in the leukocyte blood count is observed.
- Often accompanied by rhinitis, which can become complicated to sinusitis.
Help with stenotic laryngotracheitis in children
Acute stenosing laryngotracheitis is a very serious and unpredictable condition. Most often occurs as a result of a viral infection in children with allergies. The main symptoms are lack of air, wheezing, anxiety, and a “barking” cough. It is noteworthy that this condition is present only when the child is in a horizontal position; when it changes (the baby gets up, sits down), the attack either becomes less intense or stops altogether.
First aid for stenotic laryngotracheitis in children:
- warm mustard foot bath or mustard plasters on the calf muscles;
- vasodilator nasal drops;
- inhalation with soda;
- warm drink (milk with soda);
- antihistamine, ground into powder.
If you suspect the onset of stenosis, immediately call an ambulance.
Treatment
If you suspect an illness in yourself or your child, immediately contact your doctor. Remember that the duties of emergency medical personnel do not include delivering a patient with the specified disease to a medical facility (except in cases where there are already complications that can cause serious harm to health). So your call may be refused, or you may receive a fine for a false call.
Treatment is prescribed individually, depending on the etiology of the disease. A common test for this disease is a general blood test to determine the leukocyte formula. If infection by bacilli and cocci is suspected, sputum can be taken for examination.
The first medications that your doctor will prescribe for you are broad-spectrum medications, inhalations, and bed rest. You should also not neglect the recommendations regarding drinking plenty of fluids, since dehydration due to hyperthermia negatively affects the healing process. If a doctor recommends hospitalization, it is advisable to accept his demands, but do not forget that you have the legal right to refuse admission to a medical facility. Below is a list of treatment procedures that can be prescribed to treat the disease or its consequences.
Inhalations
They are carried out within medical institutions, in particular outpatient clinics. The therapeutic effect is provided by the vapors of the drug, which are constantly sprayed into the larynx area. This method is safe and painless, so it can be prescribed even to nursery children.
Electrophoresis
It is used to treat complications that have spread to the lower respiratory tract, such as tracheitis, bronchitis. Calcium ions that enter through the anode of the apparatus moistened with a CaCl2 solution have a beneficial effect. Despite the fact that the device and procedure may look scary, due to the fact that voltage will be applied, it does not pose a real threat, and can even be used for infants.
UV therapy
Uses ultraviolet waves directed into the stream at the area with pathology. Despite its effectiveness, this method is considered outdated. It is a safe method for the body and has no contraindications. One thing: it is not advisable to look at UV rays, as they can harm the retina of the eye.
Treatment of laryngotracheitis in adults
Timely and qualified treatment will avoid many complications. The goal of therapy is to relieve swelling and eliminate the pathogen. For this purpose, antibiotics, special drugs for viral laryngotracheitis, expectorants, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drugs are prescribed. Homeopathic medicines would be a good addition.
Ethnoscience. Doctors recommend taking herbal decoctions with an expectorant effect and gargling. Tea with ginger root and honey has worked well.
In severe cases of chronic laryngotracheitis, in the absence of results from conservative therapy, experts recommend surgical treatment. The specialist will tell you more about the indications and progress of the operation in a private conversation.
When and how to use the drug?
The main indication for the use of Lugol's drug in adults and children is an infectious and inflammatory process in the oropharynx. This, in turn, can be caused by the following diseases:
- purulent sore throat;
- pharyngitis;
- influenza or acute respiratory infection;
- purulent otitis or atrophic rhinitis with pathogens moving to the throat.
The use of the drug by a pregnant woman in the second and third trimesters is strictly prohibited. This limitation is indicated in the instructions for the medication. Gargling is allowed only in the first 3 months of pregnancy.
When breastfeeding, it is not recommended to use the drug in any form of release, since if accidentally swallowed, the main substance passes into breast milk.
Other contraindications to the use of Lugol include the following conditions:
- disruption of the thyroid gland in the form of thyrotoxicosis;
- active tuberculosis;
- failure of the kidneys or liver;
- diathesis and Dühring's dermatitis.
Spray and solution are not prescribed for the treatment of sore throat for children under 6 years of age.
Instructions for use
The medicine in aerosol form is very easy to use. For a sore throat, you need to apply 4-5 sprays to the area of the inflamed tonsils or to another area of the oropharynx. In case of accidental contact with eyes, you should immediately rinse them with water or use sodium thiosulfate solution, if available in your first aid kit.
The daily dosage of Lugol's drug for angina is up to 6 sprays. If you need to wash out the lacunae, the medicine is sprayed every 2 days up to 5 times a day.
You can gargle with Lugol's solution. The advantage of this method over spraying the composition is that during rinsing, all hard-to-reach areas that are not exposed to the spray are treated.
How to prepare and use the rinse:
- Dissolve a few drops of Lugol in clean water in a volume of 250 ml (it is important that the temperature of the liquid is not very high or low, as this can aggravate the inflammatory process);
- gargle 2-3 times a day, maintaining equal intervals between procedures;
- you need to ensure that the product does not accidentally enter the esophagus (this will prevent an allergic reaction from the digestive system).
At home, you can prepare the product yourself, which perfectly replaces the finished drug: take soda, iodine and clean water in equal parts, mix, place in a bottle with an aerosol. This composition has a similar therapeutic effect.
Doctors' recommendations
To enhance the therapeutic effect of the solution, Lugol is allowed to be mixed with salt or soda. They do it this way: take 250 ml of purified water, pour in 0.5 tsp. salt or soda and 1 tsp. finished medicinal product. Mix the ingredients and gargle up to 7 times a day.
What rules must be followed:
- to cover the entire inflamed surface of the throat while gargling, you need to tilt your head back a little;
- while gargling, you can pronounce the letter “Y”, since in this case the root of the tongue drops, and the medicine spreads to all parts;
- You need to gargle for 20-30 seconds, no less, keeping the same break between manipulations;
- After treating the oropharynx with Lugol, you should avoid drinking and eating for 30-40 minutes to ensure complete absorption of the active ingredients.
Since the use of the drug is limited during pregnancy, it can be replaced with a strong chamomile decoction, which is used for gargling. Use only warm decoction. If it has cooled down, it can be reheated in the microwave.
Preventive actions
The best prevention will be strengthening the immune system and timely treatment of colds. Don't forget about seasonal flu vaccination, regular walks in the fresh air, morning exercises and good nutrition. Maintain a sleep and rest schedule.
If you still have questions and need specialist help, make an appointment. The doctor will tell you how to treat chronic laryngotracheitis in a child and how to help the baby at the first signs of stenosis. Sign up on the website and by phone.
Related services: Children's consultation
Complications
Most often, the pathogen can spread to other organs. This can often lead to heart complications. It is difficult to restore normal functioning of the cardiovascular system after this type of complication.
Often, the consequences can affect other parts of the upper respiratory tract or even spread to the lungs, thereby greatly complicating symptoms and treatment.
It is a mistake to believe that this disease can go away on its own. Also, you should not turn to alternative medicine, which can harm your health if not agreed with a specialist. Self-medication is not the best, since the cause of the disease can be various microorganisms, as well as medications that helped in one situation, but in another can even worsen the disease.
Remember: frequent colds or cases of laryngitis may be the first symptom of immunodeficiency!
Acute form
With an exacerbation of the disease, the symptoms also worsen: the cough becomes even drier and debilitating, enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes with irradiation of pain in the ear can be a concomitant disease with sore throat and scarlet fever.
Chronic form
It occurs when not only the upper and lower respiratory tracts are affected, but also other organs. It has the greatest effect on the heart, so disturbances on its part are possible - tachycardia, arrhythmia. This may be due to direct damage to the organ, or may cause incorrect innervation of the vagus nerve, which provides a conduction system not only to the heart, but also to the diaphragm and intestines. Accordingly, various gastrointestinal disorders associated with its poor, inactive functioning are possible.
How to suspect an overdose?
If you significantly exceed the daily dosage of the drug used or accidentally take an increased volume of the drug orally, symptoms of overdose occur. Among them:
- damage to the mucous membranes of the oropharynx and respiratory organs in the form of laryngitis, rhinitis, tracheitis, bronchitis, etc.;
- severe swelling of the mucous membranes;
- increased salivation;
- lacrimation and signs of conjunctivitis;
- the appearance of a rash on the skin (iodine acne);
- disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
In case of severe overdose, the general temperature may increase and weakness may occur. A metallic taste appears in the mouth.
If there are signs characteristic of an overdose, there is no need to self-medicate. First of all, you need to stop using the composition and consult a doctor who will tell you how to restore the functioning of the organs and systems involved in the pathological process.
Symptoms of overdose are often confused with allergic manifestations. If a person did not use an increased dosage of the drug or accidental ingestion of the composition is excluded, then the clinical picture is caused by an allergy to the components.
Lugol's drug is excellent for sore throats, but has some contraindications for use. Therefore, before using the composition, you need to study the instructions and weigh the pros and cons.
