A sore throat can be quite a painful irritating everyday discomfort especially when it’s caused by an allergy. You end up with a hoarse voice that makes it hard to communicate with others. Viral or bacterial infections or even a fungal infection can make your throat especially painful when you swallow.
Most of the cases of sore throat are from flu or colds and both come from viral infections. The next common case of sore throat is called strep throat which is caused by the streptococcus bacteria. This condition can lead to a rheumatic fever and should be addressed immediately and earnestly with antibiotics.
In terms of severity of symptoms, viral sore throat usually develops slower than bacterial infections, is less painful and basically affects the lymph node minimally. Bacterial sore throats have symptoms that develop quickly and are more severe than viral infections. However, viral sore throats often are accompanied by sneezing, drippy nose and coughing.
Using antiseptic medications can kill the bacterial pathogens causing the sore throat.
Listed below are some the things you can avail to minimize your sore throat symptoms:
- If your larynx (voice box) is strained or suffers from laryngitis making your throat hurt, then you might need to rest your larynx for a while till you recover your voice.
- Avoid colds and coughs – when you sneeze, always cover your mouth. Coughing and sneezing can transmit diseases and spread them to a wide population.
- Wash your hands regularly
- Moisturize your throat – This is done by drinking lots of fluids, utilizing a humidifier, gargling with salt water, ice chips or hard candy, to soothe the discomfort and pain, or eat a lozenge.
- Using analgesics – Like paracetamol can help alleviate the body and head pain. Children should not use any kinds of ASA as this medication can lead to a deadly disease called Reye’s syndrome.
- Guard your throat – Prevent throat irritation by wearing a mask if you’re in an area with fumes, dust or other irritants.
- Seek medical help if your sore throat gets worse and/or if any medical complications like canker sores, cold sores or yeast infections, cold sores, or canker sores arise.
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