We start in Lansing, where Dr. Thomas Stout at Mount Hope Community Medical Center is treating viral laryngitis.

The main symptom is hoarseness. Your voice may break or sound raspy, you may lose your voice completely.

Other symptoms include dry or sore throat, cough, trouble swallowing, slight fever, and runny or stuffy nose.

To treat laryngitis, it's important to rest your voice.

Try not to talk, use a humidifier or vaporizer, and drink plenty of fluids. Avoid second hand smoke.

See a doctor if your symptoms last more than two weeks.

Laryngitis is often caused by the common cold, and that's just what Dr. Mark Schaar is treating at DeWitt Family Practice in DeWitt.

Symptoms include itching or sore throat, sneezing, nasal congestion and mucus drainage, watery eyes and sometimes a low fever, especially in kids.

The most important thing you can do to treat a cold is drink lots of fluids.

You may want to use a humidifier to put moisture into the air. Try lozenges, too, or gargle with salt water, to ease a sore throat (1/2 teaspoon salt in 1 cup water).

If your symptoms last longer than 10 days, you should see a doctor.

If you have a high fever and muscle aches, that could mean you have the flu, not a cold.