ear, nose, and throat disorders
Epiglottitis
Symptoms of Epiglottitis
Inchildrenwith epiglottitis, symptoms develop suddenly, and fatal narrowing of the larynx can occur within a few hours of the start of symptoms. Symptoms include Severe throat pain Difficulty swallowing Pain with swallowing Fever Drooling A muffled voice Because the infection is in the epiglottis, the back of the throat often does not appear infected. As swelling of the epiglottis starts to narrow the airway, the child first begins to make a squeaking noise when breathing in (stridor) and then has progressively worse trouble breathing. The condition progresses rapidly. Inadultswith epiglottitis, symptoms are similar to those of children, including sore throat, fever, difficulty swallowing, and drooling, but symptoms usually take more than 24 hours to develop. Because the adult airway is larger, blockage of the airway is less common and less sudden. However, the airway can still become blocked, and adults may die if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. Often, there is no visible inflammation in the throat. Thus, when people have severe throat pain but a normal-appearing throat, doctors may suspect they have epiglottitis. 