Hello doctor, Good day to you. I was having post nasal drip all last week. Yesterday, it was going away, but today I woke up and my voice is almost gone. I can barely speak. My throat does not hurt. It just feels a little scratchy, constant clearing of throat too and I have developed a cough now with a dark brown mucus (sometimes clear). Nose gets stuffy with dry bloody mucus, never gets clogged or runny. No fever, no body aches yet. Is there anything I could do to help my voice come back? I have a bottle of Amoxicillin, but not sure if it is viral or bacterial that is causing my hoarse voice. Please let me know any remedy I could use in my throat? I have attached a picture of my throat. My tonsils were surgically removed 10 years ago.
Hello. You seem to have a typical case of laryngitis associated with viral infection. You should rest the voice, that is, speak less until you feel like the symptoms are resolving. Avoid throat clearing as it irritates the throat further and hinders healing. Steam inhalation three times a day will help with both nasal/ sinus congestion and post nasal drip. You can add small amounts of menthol crystal to the steam which works better than steam alone, but do not add too many. You can use intranasal steroid spray called Budesonide one puff in each nostril once daily for two weeks. Consult your specialist doctor, discuss with him or her and start taking the medicines with their consent. Since you already have dry nasal mucosa, do not take antihistamines. The cough is brownish because it may be mixed with little blood which may have come from irritated throat lining. Too much throat clearing or coughing can lead to minor tears in the throat which heal rapidly, so do not worry. However, if there is fresh blood, you must see your ER doctor. Acute laryngitis, which is very likely what you are suffering from, resolves on its own in a week. If symptoms worsen or do not improve in a week, or if you come down with fever, you may require oral antibiotics. Hope this helps. For more information consult a family physician online -->