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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Soreness In Throat After Inhaling Bleach Fumes?

Prior to cleaning my laundry, there was a towel in my laundry hamper which I used to clean bleach which was spilled on the bathroom floor earlier in the day. Later, I opened the hamper to remove the laundry and inhaled bleach fumes from the towel and throughout the day my throat has been sore. I garbled with water a few times and the soreness went away but comes back now and then. I m a little unsure of what to do at this point. Do you have any advice?
Tue, 9 Sep 2014
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ENT Specialist,  's  Response
Hi. The bleach fumes may have created chemical injury to your throat wall. It has probably triggered off an inflammatory response and caused some redness, swelling and soreness.

When you drink water, the movements due to swallowing may have temporarily relieved the soreness due to the improved vascularity and wash out of inflammatory secretions into the blood flow. It comes back again when you rest your throat.

I would suggest that you wait for the healing process to complete (24-48 hours) and in the meanwhile have plenty of water by frequently sipping some every 15-20 minutes. Also avoid eating anything spicy or hard till the healing completes. Smoking and alcohol to be avoided as well.

If you develop a sudden increase in pain, fever or difficulty in breathing then visit the nearest ER for evaluation and management. These symptoms may occur if the inflammation creates a lot of swelling and pain in the throat or precipitates an infection.
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What Causes Soreness In Throat After Inhaling Bleach Fumes?

Hi. The bleach fumes may have created chemical injury to your throat wall. It has probably triggered off an inflammatory response and caused some redness, swelling and soreness. When you drink water, the movements due to swallowing may have temporarily relieved the soreness due to the improved vascularity and wash out of inflammatory secretions into the blood flow. It comes back again when you rest your throat. I would suggest that you wait for the healing process to complete (24-48 hours) and in the meanwhile have plenty of water by frequently sipping some every 15-20 minutes. Also avoid eating anything spicy or hard till the healing completes. Smoking and alcohol to be avoided as well. If you develop a sudden increase in pain, fever or difficulty in breathing then visit the nearest ER for evaluation and management. These symptoms may occur if the inflammation creates a lot of swelling and pain in the throat or precipitates an infection.