Laryngitis

Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx mucosa. It can be acute or chronic. Acute laryngitis is usually isolated. It is typically a variation of acute respiratory illness, such as flu, scarlet fever, and pertussis. General and local hypothermia, voice overstrains, inhalation of dusty air, irritating steam and gases, undernutrition, smoking, immoderate drinking, etc., prompt this condition.

Disease

The disease causes a dry, tickling, smarting, and scraping sensation in the throat. Moreover, the voice becomes hoarse, coarse, or aphonic. Patients may feel pain when swallowing, suffer from headaches, and have a slight temperature rise. The disease usually lasts 7-10 days. It may also become subacute or chronic in adverse conditions.

Chronic laryngitis

Chronic laryngitis, as a rule, has the same factors as the acute form but is persistent and long-lasting. As a result, it impairs tissue trophic and prompts a dystrophic process. That is to say, depending on the character of the disturbances specified, this disease can have catarrhal, hypertrophic and atrophic forms. Besides, chronic catarrhal is accompanied by chronic (often diffuse) inflammation of the larynx mucosa.

Process

Epithelium, as well as submucosa vegetation, characterises chronic hypertrophic laryngitis. The limited form features hyperplasia of separate segments of the larynx mucosa (vocal or vestibular folds, subglottic space, interarytenoid area, etc.). One must differentiate between chronic hypertrophic laryngitis, specific infectious granulomas (tuberculosis, syphilis, etc.), and tumours. The larynx mucosa’s thinning and atrophy characterise Chronic atrophic laryngitis. As a rule, it develops as one of the components of the atrophic process in the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract. Symptoms: a dry, tickling, smarting and scraping sensation in the throat, a dry cough, and hoarseness. A laryngoscope also reveals a thinned and dry mucosa covered with solid mucus.