I had the flu two weeks ago which was great fun let me assure you! Now I am all better except my voice sounds terrible! I figured with each passing day...the "raspiness" would subside...its not really going away...what would you do? I see that laryngitis is caused by a virus if that's what I have...often follows the flu...have you had it? What did you do to get your voice back? Thanks :)
So finally...within the last couple of days my voice is back to normal thank goodness....the day I wrote this was the day after I had to raise my voice a few times inside a very large hall while the kids I take care of at preschool played. "Sit down on your bottom!" "No kicking, please!" that sort of thing did not help the raspy mess I was! Thank you all :)
Try to talk less or not at all. I use to get laryngitis several times a year which lingered for a long time because I did phone customer service work. Once I changed jobs I found that my laryngitis didn't linger as much because I wasn't talking 8 hrs a day.
As a classically trained singer (not a doctor!), my advice is to take ibuprofen (to treat the inflammation and pain), drink lots of water/fluids, use a humidifier, and do not use your voice unless absolutely necessary. And that also means no whispering!! You can really damage your cords if you don't take it easy!
A decongestant could help, but it could also cause more drainage that will make the laryngitis worse. Gargle with a small amount of salt water. Drink hot tea (or hot water) with lemon. But more than likely it will just take time and resting your voice. I do find that the more I talk (not forcing my voice though), the more things loosen up.
I get laryngitis at least once or twice a year. Any time I go to the doctor they tell me that there really isn't anything you can do. It just has to run its course. It is caused by drainage from your sinuses coating your vocal cords and more or less freezing them up so they don't vibrate the same.
Oh K., I was diagnosed with chronic laryngitis over 10 years ago. I tried EVERYTHING, drugs, throat lozenges, rest, tea, I even had my past lives read! OMG it was horrible. I was desperate.
Then a really great freind of mine showed up on my doorstep one day with a brown box and said, "shut up and eat this" It was actually quite funny because I couldn't talk...and she said shut up!
Within 30 days so much changed. And over the next 6 months I healed my body from the inside out. I fed me well and it took care of me. I will PM you the link.
Please, take a serious look. You will be glad you did, I guarantee it.
B.
Anytime I've had laryngitis it was after a cold, I was feeling fine but when ever I talked nothing would come out - no matter what I tried it came out as a whisper.
I'd go to work but made it clear that talking on the phone or speaking on conference calls was just not going to work out (those were great days to write code without interruptions!).
Usually it would go away on it's own in 24 to 48 hours.
You could try gargling with salt water and/or sipping on some hot tea.
A heating pad on low on your throat over night might help.
You can also use one of those heat patch things during the day if you wear it under a turtle neck.
