Hi, the day before yesterday my son had a high fever and very sore throat. I immidiately took him to a doctor, and it turned out that he has epiglottitis. My son has difficulty breathing, and am I very concirned about him. Is it the right thing that I left him in the hospital like the doctor adviced?
Hello, I had epiglottitis too. It is rare condition in adults, but it can obviously occur. In my case, it was caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae. Epiglottitis is the flap of cartilage at the back of the tongue. It can be dangerous if leads to difficulty breathing and huge swelling of epiglottis. In that case, the airway may suddenly become totally obstructed, and it could end fatal. Because of this, it is a right thing that you left your son in the hospital, under constant medical care. Doctors will establish a secure way for him to breathe, and probably will treat epiglottitis with some antibiotics. He should continue taking medication even when he feels better.
Did you have any lasting side effects after you had epiglottitis? i.e., problems getting oxygen to your arms and legs; weakness in your arms and legs due to lack of oxygen? My husband had epiglottitis about six years ago and began to have these types issues shortly after he was released from the hospital/ICU. It seems to be getting worse as time goes by and we were wondering if anyone else out there is suffering from the same thing.