Understand Sore Throat Causes, Symptoms and Home Remedies

Sore throats can be caused by either vi­ruses or bacteria. Often, especially in the winter, breathing through the mouth can cause drying and irritation of the throat which maybe one of symptoms of strep throat infection. This type of irritation always subsides quickly after the throat becomes moist again.

Viral sore throat strep, like other viral infections, cannot be treated successfully with antibiotic for strep; they must run their course. Cold liquids for pain, and aspirin or acetaminophen for pain and fever are often helpful. Older children and adoles­cents frequently develop a viral sore throat known as infectious mononucleosis or "mono." Despite the formidable sound­ing name of this illness, complications seldom occur. The "mono" sore throat is often more severe and is often prolonged beyond a week, and the patient may feel particularly weak. The spleen, one of the internal organs in the abdomen may en­large during mononucleosis; resting will be important. A viral sore throat that does not resolve within a week might be caused by the virus responsible for mono­nucleosis. Again, there is no antibiotic cure for mononucleosis.

Virtually all sore throats caused by bacteria are due to the streptococcal bac­teria. These sore throats are commonly referred to as "strep throat." A strep throat should be treated with an anti­biotic because of two types of complica­tions. First, an abscess may form in the throat. This is an extremely rare compli­cation but should be suspected if there is extreme difficulty in swallowing, diffi­culty opening the mouth, or excessive drooling in a child. The second and most significant complications occur from one to four weeks after the pain in the throat has disappeared. One of these complications, called acute glomerulo­nephritis, causes an inflammation of the kidney. It is not certain that antibiotics will prevent this complication, but they may prevent the strep from spreading to other family members or friends. Of greatest concern is the complication of rheumatic fever which is much less com­mon today than in the past but is still a significant problem in some parts of the country. Rheumatic fever is a compli­cated disease that causes painful swollen joints, unusual skin rashes, and results in heart damage in half of its victims. Rheumatic fever can be prevented by an­tibiotic treatment of a strep throat.

Strep throat is much less frequent in adults than in children, and rheumatic fever is very rare in adults. Strep throat is unlikely if the sore throat is a minor part of a typical cold (runny nose, stuffy ears, cough, and so on).

If you or someone in your family has had rheumatic fever or acute glomerulo­nephritis, preventive use of antibiotics ("prophylaxis") as prescribed by the phy­sician should be followed instead of the instructions given here.

The choice of when to use antibiotics for sore throats is controversial. Many physicians believe that throat cultures are the best way to determine the need for antibiotics; this is a reasonable ap­proach, especially if throat cultures are available without a full office visit. More recently, physicians have begun to rely on studies that indicate that many pa­tients do not need a culture, either be­cause the risk of rheumatic fever is al­most nil, or because this risk is high enough to justify the use of antibiotics without waiting two days for the culture results.

We feel strongly that throat cultures should be available without a full office visit. We are especially impressed with home throat-culture programs which demonstrate that you, the public, can perform this test with somewhat greater yield than the physician's office staff. If your physician believes that every sore throat should be cultured, express your belief that cultures should be easily available and inexpensive. Frequent and recurrent sore throats are common, especially in children between the ages of five and ten. There is no evidence that removing the tonsils decreases this frequency. Tonsillectomy is an operation that is very seldom indicated.

Home Treatment Or Home Remedies for Sore Throat

Cold liquids, aspirin, and acetaminophen are effective for the pain and fever. Because recent information indicates an association with a rare but serious problem known as Reye's Syndrome, aspirin should not be used for children who may have chicken pox or influenza.

Home remedies that may help include saltwater gargles and honey or lemon in tea. Time is the most important healer for pain; a vaporizer makes the waiting more comfortable for some.