After a careful exam your doctor will decide on a course of treatment.
Most of the time, your doctor will recommend the home care actions and may prescribe a steroid injection
or prescription.
If the doctor is concerned about a bacterial
infection causing the laryngitis, then he or she will prescribe a course of
antibiotics.
Sometimes, the doctor may choose to observe you in the office or the emergency department for a short period of time in order to be sure you are not getting worse quickly.
If you have any signs of respiratory distress or
think your airway could swell and close, then you will be admitted to the hospital.
In some emergency situations, more commonly in children than adults, the danger of your throat swelling shut exists.
It may be necessary to place a breathing tube into your throat in order to breathe for you (the procedure is called intubation).
You will then be placed on a machine to breathe for you called a ventilator.
In this situation, you will receive IV antibiotics and likely steroids.