Acute pharyngeal edema

Many people may not know the cause of acute pharyngeal edema, which has a great impact on the prevention of pharyngeal edema. Acute throat edema is mainly caused by stimulation from tobacco and alcohol, as well as cold, which can lead to throat infection. It is hoped that patients can deal with viral infections in a timely manner to reduce the damage caused by throat edema. The specific causes of the disease can be learned from the content of the article.

1. What are the causes of acute pharyngeal edema?

Acute laryngitis refers to acute nonspecific inflammation of the laryngeal mucosa and vocal cords. The course of the disease is usually less than 1 month. It is one of the common acute infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, accounting for 1% to 2% of otolaryngology diseases. Acute laryngitis generally refers to acute laryngitis occurring in adults. It often occurs secondary to acute rhinitis and acute pharyngitis. The incidence rate is higher in men than in women. It often occurs in winter and spring. Acute laryngitis in children has its own particularities. It seriously affects breathing, and the condition is more serious and changes rapidly.

1. Systemic factors

This disease is easily induced when the body's resistance is reduced due to stimulation from tobacco and alcohol, cold and fatigue. This disease is often associated with colds, usually with viral invasion first, followed by bacterial infection. Common pathogenic viruses include: influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, rhinovirus, adenovirus; common pathogenic bacteria include hemolytic streptococci, pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, catarrhalis, etc.

2. Occupational factors

Inhalation of excessive industrial dust and harmful gases (such as chlorine, ammonia, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, etc.) can cause acute inflammation of the laryngeal mucosa. Improper vocalization or excessive use of the voice can also cause acute laryngitis, especially in occupations that use the voice a lot, such as teachers, actors, salespersons, etc.

3. Trauma

Foreign bodies in the throat, trauma to the neck and throat, and damage to the laryngeal mucosa by examination instruments can also cause laryngeal mucosal edema or submucosal hematoma, leading to secondary acute laryngitis.

4. Allergies

Specific foods, gases or drugs can cause edema of the laryngeal mucosa in patients with specific constitutions, resulting in acute laryngitis.

2. What are the clinical manifestations of acute laryngopharyngeal edema?

1. Hoarseness

Hoarseness is the main symptom of acute laryngitis, which is mainly caused by congestion and edema of the vocal cord mucosa. In mild cases, the sound is less round and clear, and the tone becomes lower and coarser than before; in severe cases, the voice is hoarse and it is difficult to speak, and in even worse cases, the patient can only whisper or lose his voice completely.

2. Throat pain

Patients feel discomfort, dryness, burning, and foreign body sensation in the throat. There may be slight pain in the throat and front of the trachea. The pain in the throat worsens when speaking. Usually, the pain caused by acute laryngitis does not affect swallowing.

3. Cough

Due to the increase in secretions when the laryngeal mucosa is inflamed, coughing is common. At first, it is a dry cough without sputum. In the late stage, there are mucopurulent secretions in the throat. Because they are thick, they are often difficult to cough up. If secretions adhere to the surface of the vocal cords, hoarseness may be aggravated.

4. Difficulty breathing

In a small number of severe cases of acute laryngitis in adults, inspiratory dyspnea may occur due to edema of the laryngeal mucosa. This situation is common in subglottic acute laryngitis. Since the space in the subglottic area is relatively narrow, severe edema of the mucosa will inevitably cause airway obstruction.

5. Systemic symptoms

In adults, systemic poisoning symptoms are generally mild. People with more serious bacterial infections may have systemic symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, and loss of appetite.

6. Infection of adjacent organs

Since the respiratory mucosa are continuous with each other, acute laryngitis can be a descending infection of acute rhinitis or acute pharyngitis, and is often accompanied by inflammatory symptoms of the nose and pharynx. Acute laryngitis may also be accompanied by symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection such as the trachea, bronchi, and lungs.