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How Long Will It Take To Recover From Ear Infection And Sinusitis?

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Posted on Wed, 8 Jan 2014
Question: Hello. I'm looking for some advice I saw my gp on Thursday 17th dec and he said I have laryngitis and sinusitis and a chest infection plus a ear infection so hes started me on erythromycin 250/10ml for three weeks and also diflam mouth rinse to try to ease the pain im on my 3rd day of antibiotics and im not feeling any better how long would it take to start working am I going to be poorly for Christmas can you pleasw explain what laryngitis is im really confused my voice is so bad my parent's are having a hard time understanding me why woiks thia be ?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sriram Nathan (5 hours later)
Brief Answer: laryngitis needs voice rest Detailed Answer: Dear XXXXXXX Welcome to health care magic I am Dr Sriram Nathan, an ENT surgeon who has seen and treated thousands of people suffering from laryngitis so do not worry as in my experience a simple laryngitis always recovers. You must understand that an infection of the respiratory tract causes so much strain in the vocal cords by which they become swollen and you voice becomes hoarse. Now the best treatment for a simple laryngitis is simple but complete voice rest. Along with that you may consider these: -Continue your antibiotic medication as advised by your doctor. This usually takes care of the respiratory infection which you may have and has do direct relation to the voice change. I personally would not recommend such a long course of such an old antibiotic. I would prefer azithromycin which is better and you can finish the course in three days! You may want to ask your doctor about this. -You can continue the mouth rinse and take any OTC pain mediation for your pain. -Do steam inhalation at least three times in a day for two weeks with menthol or any other vaporizer -do salt water gargle with warm water but do not make loud voice whilst doing so. Just make sure it flushes your throat for a while and spit it out -avoid anything cold, spicy and high flavoured -I would usually add an anti reflux medication like pantoprazole and an antihistamine like levocetrizine in all my patients. Your doctor will know about this. -Absolute voice rest is very essential here and please do not scream or whisper. While speaking look in the mirror and see if your neck muscles are getting tensed, if yes then you must relax and not strain -You must remember the more rest in voice you take, the earlier you will recover but it usually take around four to five days on an average. -If your voice is still bad after a week then you must take an Upper GI endoscopy and get back to me or any ENT with the report. In summary Laryngitis is a swollen vocal cords secondary to either an infection or a stress. The treatment is absolute voice rest and it usually recovers in under a week. Hope your doubts are clear and I will be more than happy to clear any more doubts which you may have Get well soon and merry Christmas! Regards Dr Sriram Nathan
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Follow up: Dr. Sriram Nathan (7 hours later)
Hello thank you for getting back I'm Allergic to a lot of antibiotics which is why I think he choose the ethromycin antibiotics I'm trying to rest my voice but its not helping much with the kids I foster. this os the 3rd week my voice has been very horsed the pain in my throat just from breathing is bad os this normal ? I have : asthma chronic pain syndrome polycystic ovaries fibromyalgia depression anxiety
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sriram Nathan (45 minutes later)
Brief Answer: no direct relation Detailed Answer: Hello again, There is no direct relation between asthma and voice change but they can CO-exist. In any case whatever antibiotic you take just make sure you complete the course Voice rest is absolutely essential if you have to recover faster so try as much as you can If you are getting recurrent voice change then you must definitely get an endoscopy done Since you have vocal strain, this problem will be persistent and may recur. But if you train yourself and ration your voice properly then you can definitely manage. The pain will get better as you recover. Finally after everything is better and recovering then you must consult a speech therapist who will instruct you on the proper use of your voice which will of course be an extension of my advice Hope this helps Regards Dr Sriram Nathan
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Sriram Nathan

ENT Specialist

Practicing since :1996

Answered : 1028 Questions

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How Long Will It Take To Recover From Ear Infection And Sinusitis?

Brief Answer: laryngitis needs voice rest Detailed Answer: Dear XXXXXXX Welcome to health care magic I am Dr Sriram Nathan, an ENT surgeon who has seen and treated thousands of people suffering from laryngitis so do not worry as in my experience a simple laryngitis always recovers. You must understand that an infection of the respiratory tract causes so much strain in the vocal cords by which they become swollen and you voice becomes hoarse. Now the best treatment for a simple laryngitis is simple but complete voice rest. Along with that you may consider these: -Continue your antibiotic medication as advised by your doctor. This usually takes care of the respiratory infection which you may have and has do direct relation to the voice change. I personally would not recommend such a long course of such an old antibiotic. I would prefer azithromycin which is better and you can finish the course in three days! You may want to ask your doctor about this. -You can continue the mouth rinse and take any OTC pain mediation for your pain. -Do steam inhalation at least three times in a day for two weeks with menthol or any other vaporizer -do salt water gargle with warm water but do not make loud voice whilst doing so. Just make sure it flushes your throat for a while and spit it out -avoid anything cold, spicy and high flavoured -I would usually add an anti reflux medication like pantoprazole and an antihistamine like levocetrizine in all my patients. Your doctor will know about this. -Absolute voice rest is very essential here and please do not scream or whisper. While speaking look in the mirror and see if your neck muscles are getting tensed, if yes then you must relax and not strain -You must remember the more rest in voice you take, the earlier you will recover but it usually take around four to five days on an average. -If your voice is still bad after a week then you must take an Upper GI endoscopy and get back to me or any ENT with the report. In summary Laryngitis is a swollen vocal cords secondary to either an infection or a stress. The treatment is absolute voice rest and it usually recovers in under a week. Hope your doubts are clear and I will be more than happy to clear any more doubts which you may have Get well soon and merry Christmas! Regards Dr Sriram Nathan