Infectious disorders of the larynx range from the familiar — the acute viral laryngitis that silences a voice for a week — to the exotic and potentially life-threatening. What unites them is that something living invades the larynx and changes its structure. Each infection has a characteristic appearance on laryngoscopy; each requires a different treatment. The following chapters examine the most important infectious disorders in the order they appear in Why Is There a Frog in My Throat?
◆ Acute Viral Laryngitis
The laryngologist gets laryngitis. Within 12 hours, his vocal cords swell, drop half an octave, and lose their upper range entirely. A first-hand account of what acute laryngitis looks and feels like from the inside.
◆ Papilloma Virus
Darcy Loma’s voice changed, then worsened, then left her breathless climbing a flight of stairs — at seven months pregnant. A lumpy mass on the right vocal cord. Papilloma virus behaves more like a tumor than an infection.
◆ Fungal Laryngitis
Barbara Ma’s husband resumed smoking and she blamed him for her hoarseness. The real culprit was invisible from a distance: a thin film of white fungus growing under the Advair inhaler she had forgotten to mention.
◆ Bacterial Laryngitis
Bacterial infections of the larynx are uncommon — but when the supraglottis swells, it can close off the airway within hours. Epiglottitis, supraglottitis, and the smoldering low-grade infection.
◆ Unusual Infections
Valley fever on the vocal cord. Tuberculosis masquerading as reflux laryngitis. When the history and the laryngoscopy don’t fit the common diagnoses, unusual organisms must be considered — and biopsied.