Sore throat causes & treatments - Illnesses & conditions - NHS ...

Sore throats are very common and usually nothing to worry about. They normally get better within a week. Most are caused by minor illnesses ... Home Illnessesandconditions Symptomsandself-help Testsandtreatments Healthyliving Care,supportandrights Scotland'sServiceDirectory Coronavirus(COVID-19) Bookacoronavirusboostervaccination Coronavirus(COVID-19): Vaccineinformation | COVIDStatus Home Illnessesandconditions Ears,noseandthroat Ears,noseandthroat Sorethroat Seeallpartsofthisguide Hideguideparts 1. Aboutsorethroats 2. Causesofasorethroat 3. Treatingasorethroat Aboutsorethroats Sorethroatsareverycommonandusuallynothingtoworryabout.Theynormallygetbetterwithinaweek. Mostarecausedbyminorillnessessuchascoldsorfluandcanbetreatedathome. Treatments forasorethroat Thefollowingmeasurescanoftenhelpsootheasorethroat: take ibuprofenor paracetamol –paracetamolisbetterforchildrenandforpeoplewhocan'ttakeibuprofen(notethatchildrenunder16shouldnevertakeaspirin) drinkplentyofcoolorwarmfluids, andavoidveryhotdrinks eat cool,softfoods avoidsmokingandsmokyplaces garglewithahomemademouthwashofwarm,saltywater sucklozenges,hardsweets,icecubesoricelollies –butdon'tgiveyoungchildrenanythingsmallandhardtosuckbecauseoftheriskofchoking Therearealso productssuchas medicatedlozengesandsprayssoldinpharmaciesthatyoumaywanttotry. Thereisn'tmuch scientificevidencetosuggesttheyhelp,althoughsomepeoplefindthemworthusing. Antibioticsaren'tusuallyprescribedforasorethroat,evenifit'scausedbyabacterialinfection,asthey'reunlikelytomakeyoufeelbetteranyquickerand theycan have unpleasantsideeffects. Sorethroatself-helpguide Ifyouhaveasorethroat,completeourself-helpguidetoassessyoursymptomsandfindoutwhattodonext. Self-helpguide:SoreThroat Causesofasorethroat Thecauseofasorethroatisn'talwaysobvious.But inmostcasesit'sasymptomofaviralorbacterial infection. Commoncauses Asorethroat isoftenasymptomof: colds or flu – youmayalsohave ablockedorrunnynose,acough,ahightemperature(fever),a headacheandgeneralaches laryngitis(inflammationofthe voicebox) – youmayalsohave ahoarsevoice,adrycoughandaconstantneedtoclearyourthroat tonsillitis(inflammationofthetonsils)– youmayalsohaveredorspottytonsils, discomfortwhenswallowingandafever strepthroat (abacterialthroatinfection) – youmayalsohaveswollenglandsinyourneck,discomfortwhenswallowingandtonsillitis glandularfever – youmayalsofeelverytiredandhave afeverandswollenglandsinyourneck Itmayalsobecausedbysomethingirritatingyourthroat,suchassmoke,gastro-oesophagealrefluxdisease(whereacidleaksupfromthestomach)and allergies. Lesscommoncauses Lessoften,asorethroatcanbeasignof: quinsy(apainfulcollectionofpusatthebackofthethroat)–thepainmaybesevereandyoumayalsohave difficultyopeningyourmouth ordifficultyswallowing epiglottitis (inflammationof theflapoftissueatthebackofthethroat)– thepainmaybesevereandyoumayhave difficultybreathinganddifficultyswallowing Theseconditionsaremoreseriousandshouldbeseenbyadoctorassoonaspossible(seebelow). Whentogetprofessionaladvice PharmacyFirstScotland:Sorethroattreatmentfromyourpharmacy Ifyouhaveasorethroatyoucangetadviceandtreatmentdirectlyfromapharmacy.FindyourlocalpharmacyonScotland'sServiceDirectory. Searchforapharmacynearyou Youdon'tusuallyneedtogetmedicaladvice ifyou have asorethroathoweveryourpharmacistmayadviseyouseeyourGPif:  yoursymptomsaresevere youhavepersistentsymptomsthat haven'tstartedtoimproveafteraweek youexperienceseveresorethroatsfrequently youhaveaweakimmunesystem –forexample,youhave HIV,arehaving chemotherapy,oraretakingmedicationthatsuppressesyourimmunesystem Ifthey'renotopen,youshouldphone theNHS24 111service Ifyouhaveapersistentsorethroat(onethatlaststhreetofourweeks),youshouldseeyourGPwhomayreferyouforfurthertests.Thisisbecauseyoursorethroatmaybeasymptomofamoreseriouscondition.Somepossibilitiesaredescribedbelow. Visityournearest accidentandemergencydepartment(A&E) orcall999foranambulanceifyouhaveseveresymptomssuchas: difficultybreathingorswallowing severepain drooling amuffledvoice ahigh-pitchedsoundasyoubreathe(stridor) Whentogetemergencyhelp Veryrarely,asorethroatcanbeasignofaseriousproblem. Visityournearestaccidentandemergency(A&E)departmentorcall999foranambulanceimmediatelyif: yoursymptomsaresevereorgettingworsequickly youhavedifficultybreathing you'remakingahigh-pitchedsoundasyoubreathe(calledstridor) youhave difficultyswallowing youstartdrooling   Causesofasorethroat Asorethroatisoftenjustonesymptomofabacterialorviralinfection,suchasthecommoncold. Themostcommontypesofbacteriaandvirusesthatmaycauseasorethroatinclude: therhinovirus,coronavirusandparainfluenzaviruses,whichnormallycausethe commoncold–these areresponsibleforaquarterofallsorethroats differenttypesofstreptococcalbacteria–groupAstreptococcalbacteriacause10%ofsorethroatsinadultsandnearlyathirdofsorethroatsinchildren,withgroupsCandGalsothoughttobeacauseofsorethroats Otherbacteriaandviruseseachtendtoberesponsibleforlessthan5%ofsorethroats.Theseinclude: typesAandBofthefluvirus adenovirus–whichcanalsocause conjunctivitis,aninfectionintheeye herpessimplexvirustype1–whichnormallycauses coldsores theEpstein-Barrvirus(EBV)–whichnormallycauses glandularfever Therearemanyother, rarer,bacteriaandvirusesthatareeach responsibleforlessthan1%ofsorethroats. Catchinganinfection Thebacteriumorvirusthatcausesasorethroatisusuallycaughtfromsomeoneelsewhoisalreadyinfected.Forexample,thecommoncoldisspreadthroughtinydropletsoffluidthatcontainthecoldvirus, launchedintotheairwhensomeonecoughs,sneezesorspeaks. Ifyoubreatheinoneofthesedropletsortouchasurfacethathasthevirusonit,andthentouchyourface,youmaybecomeinfected. Onceyouhavecaughtaninfection,twotypesofsorethroatcandevelop.Theseare: pharyngitis–whentheareaatthebackofyourthroat(theoropharynx)becomesinflamed tonsillitis–whenyourtonsils(thetwolumpsoftissueeithersideofyourthroat)becomeinflamed Readmoreabout treatingasorethroat. Non-infectiouscauses Lesscommonly,sorethroatscanhavenon-infectiouscauses.Theseinclude: irritationcausedbycigarettesmokeoralcohol irritationfromanasogastrictube(passeddownyournoseandintoyourstomachtoprovideliquidfoodifyou can'teatsolidfood) gastro-oesophagealrefluxdisease–aconditionthatcausesacidtoleakupwardsfromthestomachintothegullet Stevens-Johnsonsyndrome–averysevereallergicreactiontomedication Kawasakidisease–arareconditionthataffectschildrenunderfiveyearsofage allergies–suchas hayfever (anallergicreactiontopollenorspores)which,inrarecases,mayalsocauseasorethroat someblooddisorders,suchasleukaemia(cancerofthebonemarrow)oraplasticanaemia(whenthebonemarrowdoesnotproduceenoughbloodcells) oralmucositis(inflammationofthelayeroftissuethatlinesyourmouth),whichcanbecausedbyradiotherapyorchemotherapy(cancertreatments) Treatingasorethroat Sorethroatsarenotusuallyseriousandoftenpassinthreetosevendays.Therearesometreatmentsyoucanuseathometorelieveyoursymptoms. Painkillers Fortreatingsorethroats,over-the-counterpainkillers,suchas paracetamol,areusuallyrecommended.Thesemayalsohelpreduceahightemperature(fever). Youshouldnottake aspirin or ibuprofen ifyouhave: asthma currentorpaststomachproblems,suchasa stomachulcer currentorpastliverorkidneyproblems Childrenundertheageof16shouldneverbegivenaspirin. Takepainkillersasnecessarytorelieveyourpain.Alwaysreadthemanufacturer’sinstructionssoyoudonotexceedtherecommendedorprescribeddose. Self-caretips Ifyouorsomeoneinyourfamilyhasasorethroat,thetipsbelowmayhelprelievethesymptoms: avoidfoodordrinkthatistoohot,asthiscouldirritatethethroat eatcool,softfoodanddrinkcoolorwarmliquids adultsandolderchildrencansucklozenges,hardsweets,icecubesoricelollies avoidsmokingandsmokyenvironments regularlygarglingwithamouthwashofwarm,saltywatermayhelpreduceswellingorpain drinkenoughfluids,especiallyifyouhaveafever Steaminhalationisnotrecommended,asit'sunlikelytohelpasorethroatandthereisariskofscalding. Antibiotics Theuseof antibiotics isnotusuallyrecommendedfortreatingsorethroats.Thisisbecausemostsorethroatsarenotcausedbybacteria. Evenifyoursorethroatiscausedbybacteria,antibioticshaveverylittleeffectontheseverityofthesymptomsandhowlongtheylast,andmaycauseunpleasant sideeffects. Overusingantibioticstotreatminorailmentscanalsomakethemlesseffectiveinthetreatmentoflife-threateningconditions.Thisisknownasantibioticresistance. Antibioticsareusuallyonlyprescribedif: yoursorethroatisparticularlysevere youareatincreasedriskofasevereinfection–forexample becauseyouhaveaweakenedimmunesystemduetoHIVor diabetes(along-termconditioncausedbytoomuchglucoseintheblood) youareatriskofhavingaweakenedimmunesystem–therearesomemedicationsthatcancausethis,suchascarbimazole(totreatan overactivethyroidgland) youhaveahistoryofrheumaticfever(aconditionthatcancausewidespreadinflammationthroughoutthebody) youhavevalvularheartdisease(adiseaseaffectingthevalvesinyourheart,whichcontrolbloodflow) youexperiencerepeatedinfectionscausedbythegroupAstreptococcusbacteria Delayedantibioticsprescription Ifyourpharmacistthinksyoumightneedantibiotics,theymayrecommendyouseeyourGPwhomightissueaprescriptionbutaskyoutowaituptothreedaysforsymptomstoimprove. Ifyoursorethroatgetsworse,orhasnotimprovedafterthreedays,youshouldhaveinstructionstoeither: takeyourprescriptionsliptoapharmacy returntotheGPsurgeryafterthreedaystocollectyourmedication Recentstudiesshowthatcomplicationsofasorethroatare uncommonandusuallynotserious.Adelayedantibioticprescriptionseemstobeaseffectiveasanimmediateprescriptioninreducingcomplications. Usinga delayedprescriptionprovidessimilarbenefitstoanimmediateprescription.Mostimportantly,this helpsyoutoavoidtakingantibioticswhenthey'renotneededandhelps preventantibioticresistance. Tonsillectomy Atonsillectomyisasurgicalproceduretoremovethetonsils(thetwolumpsoftissueoneithersideofyourthroat).Ifyourchildhasrepeatedinfectionsofthetonsils(tonsillitis),atonsillectomymaybeconsidered. Readmoreabout treatingtonsillitis. Glandularfever Ifyouare15-25yearsofagewithapersistentsorethroat,youmayhave glandularfever(alsoknownasinfectiousmononucleosis,ormono).Thisisatypeofviralinfectionwithsymptomsthatcanlastuptosixweeks. Cancer Apersistentsorethroatcanalsobeasymptomofsometypesofcancer,suchasthroatcancer.Thistypeofcancerisrareandmainlyaffectspeopleovertheageof50.IntheUKeveryyear,5,300peoplearediagnosedwithcanceroftheoropharynx(theareaatthebackofyourthroat)ormouth. Readmoreabout mouthcancer Non-infectiouscauses Insomecases,asorethroatmaybecausedbysubstancesthatirritatethethroat.Sourcescaninclude: alcohol cigarettesmoke an allergy–suchas hayfever gastro-oesophagealrefluxdisease(GORD)–whenstomachacidleaksoutofthestomachandintothegullet Youmayfindthatavoidingthesesubstances,orseekingtreatmentforan allergy orGORD,canhelptoreducesymptomsofasorethroat. Givingupsmoking Ifyousmoke,givingupwillreduceirritationtoyourthroatandstrengthenyourdefencesagainstinfection. The QuitYourWayScotlandservice canofferyouadviceandencouragementtohelpyouquitsmoking. PhoneQuitYourWayScotlandfreeon 0800848484(8.00amto10.00pm,everyday). YourGPorpharmacistwillalsobeabletogiveyouhelpandadviceaboutgivingupsmoking,oryoucanreadmoreabout quittingsmoking. Preventingasorethroat Assorethroatsarecausedbybacterialorviralinfections,theycanbedifficulttoprevent. Ifyouhaveasorethroatcausedbyaninfection,youcanhelppreventtheinfectionspreadingbypractisinggoodhygiene,suchaswashingyourhandsregularlyandkeepingsurfacescleanandfreeofgerms.   Source: ENTScotland-Opensinnewbrowserwindow Lastupdated: 28October2021 Home Illnessesandconditions Ears,noseandthroat Ears,noseandthroat Howcanweimprovethispage? HelpusimproveNHSinform FeedbackAlertTitle Feedbackdisplaymessage,thisandthetitlewillbeoveridedbyJavascript Don’tincludepersonalinformatione.g.name,locationoranypersonalhealthconditions. 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