Causes, symptoms, complications and treatment of sore throat

Causes, symptoms, complications and treatment of sore throat

Symptoms of a sore throat caused by tonsillitis or throat:

Pain in the throat and pharynx area

High temperature

Headache

Light spots in the throat and tonsils

Pain when swallowing

Redness and swelling of the tonsils, when tonsillitis

Swelling and pain in the jaw and lymph nodes

Abdominal pain (mainly in children)

Vomiting (mainly in children with sore throats)

Causes and risk factors for sore throats

A sore throat may occur for several factors, and it appears as a primary symptom in many difficult diseases related to the upper respiratory tract and esophagitis.

The main cause of sore throat

A sore throat may be caused by:

Viruses: Doctors believe that viruses are the primary factor responsible for most cases of sore throat. As it is known, there is no drug to treat viral sore throat, with this statistics indicate that 60% of infected people may receive antibiotic treatment, although for a large part of them it will not be effective and nothing will affect the course of the disease.

Bacteria: The most common type of bacteria that may lead to sore throats are Streptococcus and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum (especially in adolescents, sometimes associated with a slight red rash).

Tonsillitis: The tonsils are located in the back of the throat, and when this area is infected with a virus or germ, it becomes irritated, and the tonsils swell larger than their normal size. This symptom is accompanied by sore throat, fever and difficulties swallowing.

Various treatments: Sore throats may appear in certain cases, due to treatment with antibiotics, chemotherapy, or any drug that affects the immune system. A sore throat that lasts for more than two weeks, alternately, may indicate the presence of a chronic disease.

Although the picture of viral infection is distinctive, it is not always possible to definitively differentiate between it and bacterial infection only by relying on clinical symptoms, and then additional tests must be done to determine the final diagnosis.

Risk factors for developing sore throat

There are several factors that may be behind a sore throat, and they include:

Smoking

Inhalation of polluted air

Breathe dry air through the mouth

Various sensitivities including dust.

Sore throat complications

In patients with serious and severe symptoms of disease such as secretions, excessive dropping, defects and changes in the voice, swelling of the neck or difficulty swallowing, we must pay attention to them more seriously and examine rare cases of complications that may occur as a result of sore throat, including:

Epiglottitis

Abscess (abscess) around the amygdala

Submandibular compartment inflammation

Posterior pharyngeal compartment inflammation

Primary symptoms of HIV / AIDS

In addition, neglecting sore throats may lead to rheumatic fever (RF), an inflammatory disease that appears in children and adults, and affects many systems in the body such as the heart, joints, central nervous system and the skin.

It is a consequence of untreated sore throats which includes the presence of the Streptococcus A (streptococcus) bacterium.

The prevalence of the disease is in the age range 5-15, with no difference between boys and girls.

According to statistical data, it appears that 2% -3% of children who had strep throat type A and were not treated properly, developed rheumatic fever after that.

Sore throat treatment

Sore throat is generally recovered automatically, without medical intervention, after the disease has taken its sufficient time, but if the sore throat is against the background of a viral or bacterial infection and is associated with a high temperature, then it is preferable to review and intervene a doctor.

Sore throat treatment

 It aims to relieve the symptoms of the disease from pain, difficulty swallowing, headache, high temperature, and others. That's why the preferred treatment for sore throats is:

Gargling with hot and salty water: helps sterilize the affected area.

The use of lozenges to relieve pain: The process of sucking tablets increases the concentration of saliva in the mouth, and helps moisturize the painful area. In addition, some of the lozenges in pharmacies contain a low concentration of pain relievers.

Steam device: The use of this device may relieve symptoms, especially in cases of sore throat caused by dry air and breathing through the mouth.

Spray: These sprays moisturize the mouth and contain pain relievers.

Take medications: to relieve pain orally.

In some difficult cases in which the sick person did not respond to any of the treatment options described previously and still suffers from problems and difficulty in swallowing, doctors prescribe the possibility of treatment with glucocorticosteroids, which would help the patient to overcome the difficulty of the symptoms of the disease.

Treating sore throats with home methods

You can use the following home remedies that may help you relieve and treat sore throats:

Lemon: As it helps get rid of mucus stuck in the throat area, you can drink fresh lemon juice with some honey.

Apple cider vinegar: It has anti-bacterial properties that help relieve sore throats. Add some apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice and honey to the warm water.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon has been used since ancient times to treat sore throats caused by a common cold. You can mix a spoonful of cinnamon and black pepper to warm water.

Garlic: It has antiseptic and antibacterial properties that help treat sore throats. Eat one raw garlic daily.

Honey: Anti-bacterial properties fight the sore throat. Add it to a cup of tea or freshly squeezed lemon juice.