Sore throat when swallowing: causes, treatment

Everything was fine yesterday, and today there was a sore throat when swallowing. What to do, how to get rid of her? You should not hope that this ailment will quickly pass and leave no trace. Yes, it happens, but not always. This symptom cannot be ignored. He is the first bell of many serious diseases.

Types of pain

Pain when swallowing is different. Some feel as if a thousand needles stuck in the throat, others are haunted by a stuck lump, and so on.

Pain sensations are as follows:

• dryness;
• burning;
• edema;
• tickle;
• stitching sharp;
• cutting;
• bursting.

Discomfort most often occurs with tension of the ligaments, swallowing movements. If a sore throat when swallowing gives into the ear, the hearing aid may be inflamed. The infection that appeared in the nasopharynx spread further and affected the middle ear.

The presence of pain when swallowing, but the throat itself does not hurt, suggests that all somatic diseases accompanied by inflammatory processes should be excluded. In this case, the cause may be:

• problems of the cardiovascular system,
• obesity,
• thyroid enlargement,
• neurological ailments.

Causes of pathology

There were sore throats when swallowing. The causes of this ailment can be different. Let's talk about each of them individually:

• Viral diseases. Sore throat appears with angina, flu and SARS. This symptom also occurs with pharyngitis.
• Bacteria. Different bacteria enter the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx. They cause inflammation of the larynx. Such diseases include streptococcal angina.
• Allergy. If an allergic reaction occurs, the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and eyes become inflamed. An allergy attack provokes pharyngeal irritation. Painful sensations appear.
• Foreign body. Sore throat when swallowing appears when it gets into it: dust, a piece of food and other foreign bodies.
• Dry air in the room causes the throat to dry out. The load on the nasopharynx increases during swallowing and breathing, causing pain.
• There is irritation of the mucous membranes of the throat when inhaling air with smoke and dust.
• Tumors that are located on the tongue in the oral cavity, larynx and throat.
• HIV infection. Sometimes her symptom is a sore throat when swallowing.

Pain on one side

There are many reasons that cause pain in the throat on the one hand. The discomfort on the right most likely indicates acute pharyngitis and tonsillitis. The same symptom is accompanied by a cold.

In addition, pain when swallowing on one side of the throat provokes such diseases:

• otitis media
• aphthous stomatitis;
• scarlet fever;
• adenoiditis;
• rubella;
• chickenpox and others.

More dangerous pathologies that cause discomfort when swallowing on the right include:

• acute lymphadenitis,
• meningitis, oncology,
• meningoencephalitis.

Provoke pain on one side of the throat:

• enlarged lymph nodes;
• overstrain of the larynx muscles;
• work in hazardous production;
• inhalation of polluted air;
• weakened immunity;
• age;
• non-compliance with hygiene.

Pain on swallowing, on the one hand, is less likely to occur with gastroesophageal reflux, sexually transmitted diseases, and neurotic disorders.

Urgently to the doctor

Without losing a minute, go to the doctor if, in addition to severe sore throat when swallowing, you have the following symptoms:

• fever lasts for a long time;
• general weakness appeared;
• enlarged lymph nodes in the neck;
• hard to talk (it is very difficult to open your mouth);
• swelling has formed in the area of ​​the oral cavity and neck;
• started to yawn and sneeze often, besides this hoarseness and cough appeared;
• a runny nose and pain in the nasal cavity appeared:
• severe lacrimation;
• in the sputum secreted by coughing or runny nose, droplets of blood began to appear.

Be sure to visit a specialist if you suffer from pain in muscles or joints, the skin is covered with a rash or blisters.

Call an ambulance immediately for throat swelling and shortness of breath.

And yet, you can not do without a doctor if the sore throat when swallowing does not go away for more than seven days. Even medicines do not help.

There is pain - no temperature

Many believe that angina is always accompanied by high fever. This is not entirely true. The catarrhal form is accompanied by a sore throat when swallowing without fever. In this case, tonsils increase, but there is no plaque on them. This disease in itself is not dangerous, but it can provoke serious complications.

The body temperature does not increase when a foreign body enters the throat. In this case, in addition to pain, appears:

• tingling and pressure in the throat;
• coughing and shortness of breath.

Do not get the item yourself, immediately go to a specialist.

Sore throat when swallowing without temperature appears due to injuries suffered earlier: burns, damage to small objects, fish bones, and so on.

The following diseases create pain without temperature:

• osteochondrosis,
• neurosis,
• tumors
• panic attacks.

Laryngitis and pharyngitis can occur with and without temperature.

Pathology with temperature

Now let's talk about ailments that are accompanied by a sore throat when swallowing with fever:

• Influenza, SARS. In addition to sore throat, cough, headaches, runny nose, the temperature rises to thirty-eight degrees and above.
• As already mentioned, pharyngitis can also be accompanied by a small temperature. Especially if it is acute. Symptoms of the disease include: inflamed lymph nodes, moderate intoxication, swelling of the throat, the appearance of pus.
• Abscess after an injury. Pain on one side of the throat (with a pharyngeal abscess), the temperature rises to thirty-nine degrees. Difficulties arise not only when swallowing, but also when breathing.
• Infectious mononucleosis. Severe sore throat when swallowing, temperature accompany this disease. In addition, lymph nodes are enlarged, the spleen or liver is damaged. The temperature is high and lasts about ten days.
• Acute laryngitis also occurs with a slight temperature.
• Acute tonsillitis. The temperature rises to forty degrees.

Diagnostics

Before prescribing treatment, the doctor makes a diagnosis using the following methods:

• Medical history: when pain appeared, what is accompanied by, contacted with infectious patients, and so on.
• Inspection: cervical and submandibular lymph nodes, the presence of pain when feeling the neck are examined.
• Pharyngoscopy: a throat examination is performed.
• Laryngoscopy: the condition of the larynx is being studied. More correct results can be obtained using a hard laryngoscope and a flexible fibrolaryngoscope.
• If plaque is found on the tonsils, a smear is taken to determine the causative agent of diphtheria.
• In infections, a smear is taken on pathogenic fungi. Also, this procedure is prescribed to determine the sensitivity of microorganisms to various antibiotics.
• If there is a suspicion of an increase in the styloid process, radiography or CT is prescribed.

If it was not possible to find the cause of the sore throat, the patient is sent for consultation with a neurologist.

Pain Relief: Recommendations

Although the symptoms of all diseases that cause acute sore throat when swallowing are very similar, they need to be treated differently. That is why it is necessary to correctly diagnose.

But while you get to the doctor, you need to know how to relieve pain. A few recommendations:

• Use anesthetizing lozenges. They will help alleviate symptoms. Buy the product only at the pharmacy.
• Never wrap your neck with a scarf.
• Drink more warm, but not hot, fluids. You can add lemon, raspberry jam or honey to it. This drink helps boost immunity.
• It will help alleviate the condition of a decoction made from calendula or chamomile flowers. This remedy is recommended for gargling.
• Gargle, which includes salt and iodine, will reduce swelling and inflammation.
• Warm water, with dissolved tablets of furatsilin, will also help get rid of sore throats.
• Indoor air should be humidified.

These recommendations will help alleviate the condition, but be sure to consult a doctor. Only he will tell you how to do it right.

Traditional treatment

There was a sore throat when swallowing. What to treat? This question immediately arises. Only a specialist can answer it correctly. Treatment depends on the cause of the pathology. The following methods are used:

• Homeopathic remedies.
• Medications.
• Surgical intervention.
• Physiotherapy.

Now let's talk about alternative medicine:

• Inhalation. In the absence of temperature, you can inhale the boiled potato vapors. For these purposes, healing herbs are used. They have anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, analgesic effects. You can use hot water for inhalation with a few drops of essential oil (chamomile, coniferous, tea tree).
• Rinsing. A saline solution is best suited for this procedure; sea salt is used. A good remedy for gargling are decoctions of medicinal herbs: coltsfoot, calendula, sage and others.
• Warming up. A warming compress is placed on the neck area (a bag of heated salt or an alcohol-based compress).
• Teas and decoctions. For their preparation, medicinal plants are used: raspberries, thyme, currant leaves, linden, mint, St. John's wort and others. It is recommended to add honey to these decoctions and teas.
  

Before using all these funds, you should consult your doctor.

Drug therapy

If the causative agent of the disease is harmful microorganisms, then antibiotics are prescribed. This is done by the doctor. He decides which drugs are best in a given case. To get rid of the disease, drugs are used: penicillin, tetracycline, macrolide group.

With sore throat when swallowing, treatment is prescribed, depending on the cause of the pathology, on the severity of the course of the disease. If the etiology of the disease is viral, antiviral agents are attributed.

What are the most commonly used medications?

• Amoxiclav. It is accepted only from twelve years. The mass of the child should be at least forty kilograms. This drug is suitable for complex therapy.
• Erythromycin. The drug is used to treat many bacterial disorders. The duration of therapy is ten days, in severe cases - up to two weeks.
• Sumamed. Suppresses the most complex infectious diseases, including tonsillitis. Side effects - a minimum.

Remember! Without prior consultation with a doctor, antibiotics are prohibited.

Now let's talk about such remedies for sore throat when swallowing, such as lozenges, sprays and anti-allergic drugs.

• Septolete. It is an antiseptic for the oral cavity. It is applied since four years. The course is no more than seven days.
• "Bioparox". This is an aerosol. It contains a strong antibiotic. While taking the drug, you should use means to protect the stomach. Duration of use - no more than a week.
• Strepsils. Very popular drug. Can be given to children after twelve years. After its use it is forbidden to drink and eat for an hour.
• Tavegil. Relieves swelling, pain, if the cause of the symptoms is allergen. It is a good antihistamine.
• Rivtagil. Quickly relieves allergy symptoms. Duration of use from five to fourteen days.
• "Citrine". Also helps to get rid of sore throats caused by an allergen.

Lozenges, aerosols should not be taken for a long time. They relieve pain, but do not kill germs.

Continue the conversation

Let's talk a little more about the drugs used when there is a sore throat when swallowing. Their treatment will help alleviate the condition. These include a variety of syrups, sprays, medicines, tablets, plates for resorption.

Do not ignore a sore throat as soon as it appears (at an early stage).

• The pain is caused by a virus or microbes - antiviral and antibacterial drugs are prescribed ("Cephalosporin", "Penicillin").
• For local exposure, sprays and aerosols are used. Most often, this is a ten percent Lidocaine, Pharmaseptic.
• "Tantum Verde" perfectly helps in getting rid of acute and viral pharyngitis.
• Ingalipt. It includes essential oils of peppermint, eucalyptus.
• Pills and lozenges for resorption have a longer lasting effect. They evenly envelop the oral cavity and work for several hours.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine will help get rid of sore throats. A few recipes that will improve your condition:

• A spoonful of honey with warm milk. Drink the drug and go to bed.
• Warm tea with honey, lemon, ginger. The last ingredient can be changed to raspberries.
• You can make sweets for resorption with your own hands. Drop aniseed oil onto a sugar slice and put in your mouth.
• Mix in equal proportions: honey, apple, onion (preferably mild). Chop the apple and onion. The resulting mass is consumed four times a day.
• You can gargle with saline (five times a day).
• Chopped garlic and onions are added to the milk. The composition boils, cools. It is taken every two hours in several sips.
• Eat more citrus fruits. Vitamin C will enhance immunity several times.

To rinse, you can use beet juice. Linden, mint, sage, St. John's wort have a positive effect on the throat.

Preventive actions

In order for the pain not to create discomfort, you should adhere to some rules:

• Treatment of diseases of the throat, nose, ear should be done in a timely manner.
• Try to avoid contact with patients in order to prevent infection. In contact with them, use masks, respirators, gauze dressings.
• Do not overcool.
• Avoid rooms with a lot of smoke, use personal protective equipment of the upper respiratory tract.
• Take care of your vocal cords.
• Be careful while eating, avoid getting a foreign body in the throat.
• Get rid of problems with the gastrointestinal tract in time.
• Lead a healthy lifestyle, give up bad habits.
• Do not forget about sports, moderate physical activity is useful.
• Eat right. Eat foods that are high in fiber.
• At the first sign of illness, consult a doctor.
  

Finally

As you can see, even a slight sore throat when swallowing can be a symptom of a difficult illness. Do not self-medicate, consult a doctor. Only he will correctly diagnose and prescribe treatment. And you just have to strictly follow his assignments.