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Pharyngitis is an infection caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi. A patient with pharyngitis has a sore throat and difficulty swallowing. Additionally, there is usually a dry cough. What are the other symptoms of pharyngitis? What is the treatment? What are the proven home remedies for pharyngitis?

Pharyngitisis one of the most common reasons for visiting your GP. The disease occurs most often in the fall and winter months, and the risk of falling ill is greater in people who have contact with children, becausepharyngitis in a childoccurs quite often.

Pharyngitis - causes

Pharyngitisis usually caused by viruses or bacteria. The bacteria responsible forpharyngitisare streptococci. The most common cause of pharyngitis is viruses. Bacterialpharyngitismay occur in approx. 15% of school-age children and about 4-10 percent. adults.The symptoms of pharyngitis in childrenare the same as in adults.

The infection usually occurs through droplets (when in contact with a sick person who spreads germs by coughing or sneezing) or through direct contact with the sick person (e.g. kissing, drinking from one vessel, etc.).

Very rarepharyngitismay have non-infectious causes, e.g. irritation caused by smoking, alcohol or acidic food (gastroesophageal reflux disease), allergy (e.g. in the course of a runny nose) may result from side effects of medications (e.g. Stevens-Johnson syndrome) or be a side effect of radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

There are many infectious diseases that may be accompanied bypharyngitis symptoms , e.g. infectious mononucleosis, gonorrhea, influenza, primary HIV infection, herpes or diphtheria, as well as aplastic leukemia or anemia .

Pharyngitis symptoms

The symptoms of pharyngitisdepend on what the causes are. With viral pharyngitis, symptoms such as:

  • qatar
  • itching, conjunctivitis or conjunctivitis
  • cough
  • hoarseness
  • muscle aches
  • low fever or low fever

Streptococcal pharyngitisusually occurs without coughing, nasal discharge (runny nose) and eye involvement, but usuallyit is accompanied by symptoms such as:

  • severe sore throat
  • high fever (38 degrees Celsius and higher)
  • swollen, enlarged and tender lymph nodes in the neck
  • white coating or pus on the palatine tonsils

The firstsymptoms of pharyngitisusually appear 1-2 days after contact with the patient.

According to an expertbow. Katarzyna Bukol-Krawczyk, internist of the Lux Med group

Pharyngitis is characterized by pain of varying intensity […] The most common are viral pharyngitis - then it is a stinging, burning, scratching pain that makes it difficult to swallow, but not as severe as the pain caused by a bacterial infection. With her, we feel a lump in our throat, we can't swallow anything.

Pharyngitis - diagnosis

An initial diagnosis can be made on the basis of symptoms. A quick streptococcal test or pharyngeal culture can be used to distinguish viral from bacterial infections.

Pharyngitis - treatment

Viral pharyngitis resolves on its own in 5-7 days. During this time, you can use medications to alleviate unpleasant symptoms, e.g. use lozenges or sprays with anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

Bacterial pharyngitis is not strep throat!

After a week, 85 percent patients have no symptoms. Bacterial pharyngitis may require medical advice and the use of an antibiotic. Improvement can be seen after a few days of using the antibiotic, but still, do not stop the treatment and take the drug for the entire recommended period to completely eliminate the bacteria.

How to fight a sore throat?

See which home remedies work!

Important

If your pharyngitis is caused by viruses, you should not take antibiotics as these drugs are designed to fight bacteria.

In order to limit the spread of infection, patients with streptococcal pharyngitis or tonsillitis should not contact other people in kindergarten, school or at work for 24 hours. from the use of an effective antibiotic .²

Home remedies for pharyngitis

If you feel the first signs of pharyngitis, it is worth using home remedies to alleviate its symptoms, for example rinsing the throat with a solution of table s alt, an infusion of dried blackberry leaves, oak bark or herbs such as sage or chamomile. Remember to drink a lot. You can also buy over-the-counter throat medications at the pharmacy.

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Important

Untreated bacterial pharyngitis can have complications

Pharyngitis is usually a mild, self-limiting condition, but can rarely lead to serious complications. In some cases, untreated bacterial pharyngitis causes complications such as an abscess behind the palatine or the back of the throat, purulent inflammation of the surrounding lymph nodes, rheumatic fever, or glomerulonephritis. Purulent complications of bacterial infection occur in less than 1% of patients.² Late complications, mainly rheumatic fever, occur in 0.1-0.3% of patients. untreated patients .²

What is pharyngitis, explains the drug. Katarzyna Bukol-Krawczyk, internist of the Lux Med group

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