Is swine flu associated with a distinctive hoarseness?
Yes quite a few people are reporting this, but also in young children the hoarseness could also be explained by a secondary complication such as croup which is often caused by viral infections. The croup cough tends to be barking and hoarseness, akin to the noise of a seal. This ‘croupy’ sound is due to inflammation and swelling of the vocal cords in the larynx. A classic cough that one gets with the flu tends to be dry, so hoarseness would not be uncommon. Edit I’ve just had a quick scan on the net, and if you look in many of the health forums, many people are reporting a hoarse cough. I can’t find any reliable medical link that says this is a common trait of H1N1, but if more than one of your children has this hoarseness then it’s likely a result of this virus. Try this link http://socioecohistory.wordpress.
