Edema of the throat often occurs with inflammatory diseases of the larynx and pharynx, for example, such as tracheobronchitis, laryngopharyngitis, as well as when exposed to aerogenic irritating substances and strong allergens.
Inflammatory edema in the larynx most often occurs as a result of various diseases of the larynx or pharynx, but can also occur with some infectious diseases, for example, with measles, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, flu or syphilis. Often, swelling of the throat can occur with a burn of the larynx, with neck injuries or with allergies. A special variety is laryngeal edema with neck tumors after radiotherapy and radiotherapy. Non-inflammatory edema of the throat can occur with some diseases of the liver, kidneys and cardiac pathology. A special form of pathology is Quincke's edema.
Edema of the throat as a symptom of other diseases
Throat edema is not an independent disease. Most often, this is a symptom of some kind of systemic disease. It differs in various degrees of penetration of fluid from the vessels of the pharyngeal tissue.
Non-inflammatory laryngeal edema is often asymptomatic for the patient.
If severe swelling occurs, the patient may experience pain and discomfort when swallowing. In some cases, this process may be accompanied by difficulty breathing.
Swelling of the throat. Symptoms
Edema of the throat is usually accompanied by a strong cough, hoarseness or complete loss of voice, hyperemia of the mucous membrane, swelling of the vocal folds, whitish foamy mucus.
If the disease takes on a severe character, laryngeal stenosis, severe inspiratory dyspnea, and nasolabial triangle cyanosis may occur. Signs of throat edema largely depend on the degree of narrowing of the lumen of the larynx and the rate of development of swelling.
In the inflammatory process, a foreign body sensation often occurs in the throat, pain when swallowing, possibly even difficulty breathing, hoarseness or a change in voice.
Swelling of the throat. Treatment
When establishing the causes of edema, they begin to treat the underlying disease.
So, if the mucous membrane is damaged by chemical and mechanical factors, two drops of oil (peach or menthol) should be instilled into the nose to relieve irritation.
With allergic laryngitis, hormones and antihistamines will help relieve swelling of the throat .
Acute stenosis and swelling of the larynx is an urgent condition that requires immediate intervention. In some cases, laryngeal stenosis may occur, causing severe suffocation, which can endanger the health and life of the patient.
Treatment of laryngeal edema in a hospital
With edema of the larynx, the patient is most often immediately hospitalized, since in this disease the patient should be closely monitored by a doctor. Often, in order to facilitate the patient’s condition, they give him swallowed pieces of ice and put ice on the neck. Distracting therapy is prescribed: mustard plasters, banks, hot foot baths. Antihistamines, dehydration therapy, diuretics are also used. With the failure of drug therapy and increased stenosis of the larynx, tracheostomy or prolonged intubation is used.
Examination of patients with laryngeal edema, as a rule, is aimed at finding out the cause of the disease. To begin with, it is determined whether an allergic component is present in the disease? If the tongue is swollen, there is difficulty in breathing or damage to the vocal folds, then the patient needs immediate hospitalization. Only qualified assistance from specialists can save the patient’s health and life, which is why when helping a person with laryngeal edema, you should save every minute.