About a week ago I noticed my epiglottis
when looking down my throat when I woke up
with a sore throat. By the weekend I
starting getting a fever and feeling
nauseated. Monday I went to the clinic
and the doctor diagnosed me with
epiglottitis cased by some bacteria. She
sent me home with antibiotics and steroids
which I have been taking. I’ve been
taking them for a few days now. The
fever is gone but my epiglottis is still
there in the back of my throat. My
questions are how long should I wait till
I need to take further action? When can
I go back to work? Do I need to be
concerned for a two year old daughter?
Just how contagious is this? Everything
on the internet seems to indicate that I
need to be in a hospital with a breathing
tube. Any suggestion? Thanks
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wakkochic17
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 494 Location: South Carolina
Posted: 07-21-04 14:44pm
The fact that your fever is gone is a good
sign, it means the meds are working.
Your epiglotis may still be swollen from
the infection and could potentially be for
days as you finish with the antibiotics.
I would say as long as your are continuing
to get better I would not worry. If you
go off the meds and you still feel bad
then go back to the doctor.
Hospitalization is probably only in cases
of a severe infection in which you would
have trouble breathings/swallowing and in
that case you would need a breathing tube.
Sounds like yours isn't serious enough
for hospitalization if you are getting
around ok. If it was caused by a
bacteria, which you mentioned it was, then
the chance of it being contagious is a lot
smaller than if it were viral. With kids
of course, you can never be too careful.
Bacterial infections can come from
something you breathed in or from eating,
you never know where you get it.
