It becomes a lot harder to participate in everyday interaction. Running that meeting at work becomes a painful struggle. Talking to your loved ones becomes really tough. Even ordering food for dinner devolves into a challenge. When you’re in this situation, you can’t wait for your throat to get back to normal.
But what if the raspiness or strain in your voice lingers. How long should you deal with pain before you consult a specialist?
The Duration of Your Hoarse Throat
If there’s no fundamental injury, and if you’re resting your vocal cords, your hoarse throat should heal itself in a few days. Once again, depending on what’s inducing your raspy throat, if you overwork your vocal cords it will likely take a bit longer. How long it takes will depend on the person.
However, in general, if your hoarseness doesn’t get better within two weeks, you should make an appointment with us. If you’re not dealing with a severe cold, and you haven’t strained your vocal cords, and you can’t think of any reason why your throat would be hoarse, get in touch with a specialist.
How Can You Tell What The Obvious Cause is?
The following examples can lead to a hoarse throat:
- Overuse: You may be dealing with over-use of your vocal cords if you’ve been speaking, screaming, or singing excessively. This could make your throat sore.
- Smoking: The use of tobacco products can cause a wide variety of issues with the larynx, including hoarseness, tightness, and irritation. In these instances, it’s normally a wise idea to allow us to complete an exam to make certain there are no signs of smoking-related cancers.
- Viral infections, like laryngitis: Infections of the vocal cords, such as laryngitis, can cause inflammation and – as a result – hoarseness. Other viruses, like rhinoviruses (the common cold) and influenza (the Flu), can lead to a hoarse throat. The majority of these infections operate relatively differently, though the results may feel similar.
This is not a comprehensive list.
When Should You Talk to a Specialist?
When you’re determining when it will be time to consult with us, the cause and duration will be the most relevant aspects. But both of those interdependent criteria provide appreciable variables. As an example, laryngitis will bother your throat for weeks but a cold will only leave you hoarse for a few days.
You should schedule an appointment if any of the following applies to you:
- You don’t seem to have a cold or the flu.
- Your pain, level of discomfort, or hoarseness changes all of a sudden.
- It’s painful to talk or swallow.
- Swallowing or breathing has become difficult.
- Your neck has some sort of lump on it.
- There’s blood when you cough.
- It’s been more than two weeks and you still have a sore throat (this one is notably true if you smoke).
What Takes Place When You See a Specialist?
Depending on what we determine to be the root cause, your treatment options will vary. If you have a cold, we might ask you to drink more fluids to help reduce the mucus and saliva aggravating your throat.
More in-depth evaluations or treatments may be required for other causes. Behavior-related therapies like better use and rest of your vocal cords may be included in your treatments.
Make an appointment for a personalized assessment and treatment if you feel like your sore throat has lasted too long or if you have any other concerns.