How do you know if you have epiglottitis or not?

Epiglottitis: Epiglottitis is possible if you have hoarse voice, sore throat, trouble swallowing, drooling, problem breathing and fever. This is a very serious infection that needs urgent evaluation and treatment at the ed. If you think you have it, don't delay and go to the ed. Would you rather die than get surgery?

MD/Radiologist : This is an acute, life-threatening surgical emergency and needs to be diagnosed under the watchful and experienced supervision of an acute care team consisting of a radiologist, a physician trained in airway management, an ENT surgeon and an anesthesiologist. Sometimes the DX is obvious from symptoms, sometimes from a "lateral neck" x-ray. But, doing an actual "exam" is almost always a bad idea.

Respiratory: Trouble breathing (respiratory distress), drooling,leaning forward to breathe, taking rapid shallow breaths,retraction of neck and rib muscles with breath, high-pitched whistling sound breathing (stridor), and trouble speaking.