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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment for laryngitis depends on the underlying cause. Acute laryngitis caused by a virus often gets better on its own within a week or so.
Home treatment can help with symptoms:
- Breathe moist air: Inhale steam from a bowl of hot water or a hot shower.
- Rest your voice as much as possible.
- Drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration (avoid alcohol and caffeine).
- Treat the underlying cause of laryngitis, such as heartburn, smoking or alcoholism.
- Suck lozenges, gargle salt water or chew a piece of gum — this won't help your vocal cords, but can ease throat irritation.
Medications used in some cases include:
- Antibiotics. In almost all cases of laryngitis, an antibiotic won't do any good because the cause is viral. But, if you have a bacterial infection (a very rare cause of laryngitis), your doctor may recommend an antibiotic.
- Corticosteroids. In some cases, corticosteroids can help reduce vocal cord inflammation. However, this treatment is only used when there's an urgent need to treat laryngitis — for example, when you need to use your voice to sing or give a speech or oral presentation, or in some cases when a toddler has laryngitis associated with croup.
- Acid reflux medications, if gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the cause of your laryngitis.
