It often makes it painful to swallow.
Risk Factors
Most cases of pharyngitis occur during the colder months. The illness often spreads among family members and close contacts.
Causes
Pharyngitis is caused by swelling in the back of the throat between the tonsils and the larynx.
Most sore throats are caused by colds, the flu, coxsackie virus or mononucleosis.
Bacteria that can cause pharyngitis in some cases:
- Strep throat is caused by group A streptococcus.
- Less commonly, bacteria such as gonorrhea, and chlamydia can cause sore throat.
Symptoms
The main symptom is a sore throat.
Other symptoms may include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Joint pain and muscle aches
- Skin rashes
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
Diagnosis
Your health care provider will perform a physical exam and look at your throat.
A rapid test or throat culture to test for strep throat may be done. Other laboratory tests may be done, depending on the suspected cause.
Treatment
Most sore throats are caused by viruses. Antibiotics do not help viral sore throats. Using these medicines when they are not needed leads to antibiotics not working as well when they are needed.
Sore throat is treated with antibiotics if:
- A strep test or culture is positive. Your health care provider cannot diagnose strep throat by symptoms or a physical exam alone.
- A culture for chlamydia or gonorrhea is positive.
Sore throat caused by the flu may be helped by antiviral medicines.
The following tips may help your sore throat feel better:
- Drink soothing liquids. You can either drink warm liquids, such as lemon tea with honey, or cold liquids, such as ice water. You could also suck on a fruit-flavored ice pop.
- Gargle several times a day with warm salt water (1/2 tsp of salt in 1 cup of water).
- Suck on hard candies or throat lozenges. Young children should not be given these products because they can choke on them.
- Use of a cool-mist vaporizer or humidifier can moisten the air and soothe a dry and painful throat.
- Try over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen.
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