Epiglottitis - Treating epiglottitis
- Introduction
- Symptoms of epiglottitis
- Causes of epiglottitis
- Diagnosing epiglottitis
- Treating epiglottitis
- Preventing epiglottitis
- See what the doctor sees with Map of Medicine
Epiglottitis is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment and admission to the nearest hospital.
The first priority in treating cases of epiglottitis is to ensure that you or your child is able to breathe. This is known as securing the airways.
Securing the airways
Your care team will initially try to improve your breathing by using an oxygen mask that delivers highly concentrated oxygen to the lungs.
If this does not work, a tube will be placed in the mouth and pushed past the epiglottis into the windpipe. The tube will be connected to an oxygen supply.
In severe cases where there is an urgent need to secure the airways, a cut may be made in the neck at the front of the windpipe so a tube can be inserted. The tube is then connected to an oxygen supply. This procedure is called a tracheostomy and it allows oxygen to enter the lungs while bypassing the epiglottis. An emergency tracheostomy can be carried out using local anaesthetic or general anaesthetic.
Once the airways have been secured and you are able to breathe unrestricted, a more comfortable and convenient way of assisting your breathing may be found. This is usually achieved by threading a tube through the nose and into the windpipe.
Until you are able to swallow, fluids will be supplied through a drip into one of your veins.
Treating the infection
Once you or your child is able to breathe unrestricted the source of the infection will be treated. As most cases of epiglottitis are caused by a bacterial infection, injections of broad spectrum antibiotics will be used.
Broad spectrum antibiotics are antibiotics designed to treat a wide range of different bacterial infections. Once the type of infection has been identified, a more specific type of antibiotic may be used.
Most people will need to take antibiotics for several days. As your symptoms improve, you may be given antibiotic tablets, capsules or liquids (oral antibiotics) rather than injections.
With prompt treatment, most people recover from epiglottitis after about a week. You or your child will usually be well enough to leave hospital after 5-7 days.
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