What is the effect of upper respiratory tract infection without laryngitis?
Although mucosal irritation usually is diffuse, patients sometimes have marked nasal obstruction with little or no sore throat and a normal voice. If the laryngeal examination shows no abnormality, a person with a head cold should be permitted to speak or sing but advised not to try to duplicate his or her usual sound, but rather to accept the insurmountable alteration caused by the change from the infection in the supraglottic vocal tract. This is especially important in singers. The decision as to whether appearing under those circumstances is advisable professionally, rests with the singer and musical associates. Throat clearing should be avoided, as this is traumatic. If a cough is present, medications should be used to suppress it; preferably non-narcotic preparations. How about laryngitis with serious vocal fold injury? Severe inflammation and swelling, hemorrhage in the vocal folds and mucosal disruption (a tear) may occur with laryngitis and are contraindications to voice use.
