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A bad sore throat can make you miserable. Fortunately, however, most sore throats (and the mild illnesses that cause them) are harmless and self-limited.
Raw, scratchy sensations in the back of the throat may cause difficulty swallowing. In severe cases, sore throats can interfere with speaking and breathing.
The most common cause of throat soreness is prolonged shouting, screaming, or some other type of vocal abuse. Almost as common are sore throats due to colds and allergies such as hay fever. In a few cases, a sore throat can also be a symptom of a more serious problem.
Causes of sore throat
Allergies
Many respiratory allergies, particularly hay fever, cause persistent nasal drainage that leads to a scratchy sensation in the throat and on the roof of the mouth.
Colds
If your sore throat occurs in conjunction with a stuffy or runny nose, it's probably the result of a common cold. Since colds are caused by viruses, they cannot be cured. Instead, you have to let a cold run its course, which usually takes no more than a week.
Flu
A sore throat that occurs in conjunction with a fever, headache, cough, and general body aches is probably due to the flu. Since viruses are responsible for flu, treatment is limited to aspirin or acetaminophen to ease discomfort and reduce fever.
Laryngitis
If your sore throat occurs in conjunction with hoarseness or voice loss, you may have laryngitis — an inflammation of the vocal cords and throat. Laryngitis is often caused by nasal drainage in the aftermath of a cold. Sometimes, prolonged and violent coughing caused by bronchitis or smoking provokes laryngitis. Overuse of the voice is another common cause.
Larynx cancer
A sore throat and hoarseness persisting more than a week, or recurrent attacks of these symptoms, sometimes signify the presence of cancer of the larynx. Even if an environmental factor such as cigarette smoke is causing the problem, you should consult your doctor right away.
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Strep throat
Streptococcal bacteria have a special affinity for the throat and can easily be passed from one person to another. Strep throats are usually quite red and painful, and infected tonsils often exude yellowish-white pus. Since untreated strep throat can lead to rheumatic fever (a serious condition that can damage the heart permanently), antibiotic therapy is essential.
Throat irritation or inflammation
If you have no symptoms other than a sore throat, consider what activities preceded it. If you have been smoking or drinking heavily, or have been in a place where the atmosphere was thick with cigarette smoke, your problem could be simple irritation or inflammation, also known as pharyngitis. If the cause is not environmental, it may be triggered by bacteria or viruses.
Thrush
Thrush is an oral infection with the fungus Candida albicans, which causes yellow, raised sores in the mouth, sometimes extending to the throat. Your doctor can prescribe special medication to treat the condition. Since thrush rarely occurs in healthy adults, you should probably have a complete physical to see if an underlying illness is present.
Upper-respiratory infections
Many upper-respiratory infections other than colds can cause a sore throat. If you also have swollen glands in your throat, you may have mumps, a condition caused by a virus and, until immunization became available in the 1970's, one that most children routinely caught.
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More serious infections can also cause sore throats. In teens and young adults, mononucleosis (an illness caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, which is related to the viruses that cause chickenpox and herpes) often produces a severe sore throat, along with fever, body aches, and headaches.
The bacteria that cause gonorrhea can be transmitted through oral sex, resulting in a sore throat before other symptoms develop. The virus that causes genital herpes can also be transmitted to the throat during oral sex.
In children, scarlet fever can cause a sore throat, rash, and high fever. Diphtheria, another childhood disease, has become rare thanks to widespread immunization, but it does sometimes develop, causing sore throat, fever, and swollen glands in the neck.
Advice about sore throat
- Gargling with warm salt water or dissolving anesthetic throat lozenges in your mouth often helps ease a sore throat, as does sucking ice chips.
- Avoid alcohol, coffee, spicy food, smoking, and other irritants that can worsen a sore throat.
- If you can identify a behavioral source of your sore throat, such as smoking, shouting, or excessive talking, try to modify your life style to avoid it.
- See a doctor for a sore throat that persists for more than 2 or 3 days.
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