Is Laryngitis Contagious?

Ever imagined what would happen if we would not have been able to speak and the organ which helps us speak is in a bad shape? I am sure all of us have got a a glimpse of that when we experienced hoarseness of voice and difficulty in swallowing. That is nothing but your voice box gone kaputt. Your voice box or in medical terms, larynx is a very important part of the respiratory system and it is the main organ with which we speak, whistle, sing, shout and whisper. So larynx combined with the other word, meaning inflammation is called laryngitis. But before we move on to laryngitis and check out is laryngitis contagious, it is important to know what is laryngitis and what is the organ which gets affected by it.

Laryngitis: Laryngitis is, in short and simple terms, the swelling of your larynx. The larynx is located at the junction of the mouth and trachea. It has a flap like covering, called the epiglottis, which prevents saliva and food from entering the larynx when you swallow food. Larynx has vocal folds, and is placed just beneath the spot where the pharynx's tract gets split into esophagus and trachea. Now any strain on this, is bound to create a problem to this tiny organ. It can cause hoarseness in the voice or you would not be able to talk completely. In medical terms, laryngitis is called Dysphonia. This is in fact a blanket term for all vocal disorders. If this lasts for a few days, it is labeled as acute and if it lasts over 3 weeks, it is labeled as chronic. So how do we know whether what is happening to our throat is laryngitis? Well, here a few symptoms of laryngitis.

Laryngitis Symptoms: Symptoms of laryngitis range from hoarseness in voice, dry, sore throat, coughing, difficulty in swallowing, fever, feeling of swelling in the throat, difficulty in breathing, in children, inability to eat, cold and flu like symptoms and swollen lymph glands. Now these symptoms might overlap with some of the strep throat infection symptoms, so one has to be careful about that. Now, the causes determine your answer to the question that, is laryngitis contagious? So let's check out how credible is that statement and also get an answer to how long is laryngitis contagious.

Is Laryngitis Contagious?
Infection: If the laryngitis has been caused by a bacterial or fungal infection or any other kind of infection, it could be contagious, akin to many respiratory infections and colds. However, in case of viral laryngitis, caused by a viral infection, there are contradictory views. One stream of opinion says that it is not contagious and subsides in a couple of days, under normal circumstances. The other stream says that it is. One argument for this could be, that laryngitis is not contagious, but the cold or flu which causes it, is contagious. So technically, their answer to is laryngitis contagious would be 'no'.

Strain on Vocal Chords: If laryngitis is caused due to extra strain on vocal chords, it could not be contagious. Rather, there is no apparent reason for it to be contagious, because there is no significant agent bringing about the inflammation of the larynx. So if you know you have yelled or shouted yourself hoarse or crooned along a bit too much, you need not worry about its contagiousness.

Cough: One of the causes of laryngitis is cough. So in case your larynx has swollen because of persistent cough, the situation could be tricky. Then, laryngitis might or might not be contagious. Excessive coughing may lead to spreading of the infection, if at all there is. If there is no such reason and it is dry cough, laryngitis may not be contagious. It is difficult to say a concrete yes or no. So ultimately, the conclusion to the discussion on how contagious is laryngitis is a simple statement, that yes, it might be contagious.

How Long is Laryngitis Contagious?
All said and done, the query to how long is laryngitis contagious is maximum a week. Normally, it is couple of days. If it is a bacterial or fungal infection, laryngitis could be contagious. But this question will arise when you come to know that it is contagious in the first place.

So basically, there are somewhat contradictory opinions on the matter of is laryngitis contagious. All said and done, even if it is not, it is always better to be careful and have preventive measures like having a ready napkin at your disposal. It avoids spreading of bacteria in the air.

That is all it is to the issue of whether laryngitis is contagious. Finally, I sign off here, take care!