There are many diseases of the oral cavity. One of them is herpes sore throat. This ailment has several more names: aphthous pharyngitis, herpangina, herpetic tonsillitis. The disease is caused by pathogenic microorganisms, which under favorable conditions actively multiply on the mucous membrane of the pharynx and mouth.
Ways of transmission and reasons
The disease is transmitted in different ways. Mass infection is sometimes observed. Most often this happens in child care facilities, where there is no strict control over the contacts of healthy children with patients whose parents did not leave their homes. There are cases of transmission of the disease to a person from an animal. The following transmission routes are available:
- Airborne.
- Contact household.
- Fecal-oral.
- Through animals.
The virus is especially active in spring and summer. Promotes the appearance of the disease, weakened immunity. In addition to the factors causing the disease in adults, the following should be attributed:
- Stress and stress.
- Respiratory diseases, flu.
- Adenovirus infection.
- Chronic ailments.
First, the virus enters the lymph nodes of the intestine. There he begins to breed. If the virus enters the bloodstream, then experts are talking about viremia (the entry of bacteria into the bloodstream and their spread throughout the body). A person who has had herpes sore throat develops a stable immunity to the disease. If the next time the ailment appears due to other strains, then the existing immunity will not save.
Symptoms
The incubation period of the disease is from one to two weeks. Sometimes the disease is asymptomatic, but most often with the following symptoms:
- Sore throat.
- Inflammation of the oral cavity and gums.
The acute course of herpes sore throat is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Body temperature is 39-40 degrees.
- The fever lasts about six days.
- Swollen tonsils.
- Irritability and weakness.
- Loss of appetite.
- Drooling and runny nose.
Local signs of the disease include:
- Watery blisters in the mouth and nose, in the sky, tonsils.
- After some time, the blisters burst and a clear liquid appears.
- In place of blisters, sores appear, which sometimes merge with each other. This is another symptom of herpes sore throat. The photo below demonstrates it. Sores heal a week after they appear.
In children, the disease is more acute. The temperature lasts about three days. Antipyretics do not help. Let us consider in more detail how the disease proceeds in this category of patients.
Herpes sore throat in children
In children, this ailment is quite common. Usually it is caused by dangerous Coxsackie viruses, ECHO enteroviruses, herpes virus type 1 or 2.
The main risk group is preschoolers and primary schoolchildren. The disease can be observed in newborns and infants. The cause of herpes sore throat in children of this age is a virus infection in the womb. This occurs if the pregnant woman has experienced a herpes infection, which she has not treated diligently or has not consulted a doctor at all. Herpes sore throat in children under one year old is particularly acute. It can lead to serious consequences if treatment is not available.
The peak of the disease occurs in the summer-autumn, because it is at this time that the viruses that cause it are most active.
About a week after infection, the first symptoms appear:
- Body temperature rises.
- Sore throat appears.
- Sometimes a child suffers from headaches, diarrhea, and nausea.
- Chills, fever are observed.
- Runny nose.
- Weakness, weakness
Babies have cramps.
Inflammation and rash in the oral cavity is a characteristic sign of herpes sore throat in children. The photo below demonstrates this symptom.
Small bubbles appear on the surface of the mucosa. They are surrounded by a dense ring. These inflammations are very painful. It is difficult for a child not only to eat, but also to drink.
The acute period of the disease lasts about a week. After this, the baby's condition returns to normal, but he remains an active carrier of the virus for another seven days.
Diagnosis and treatment of the disease in children
Most often, the diagnosis is made on the basis of external symptoms. For more accurate results, complex and expensive virological or serological methods are used:
- Cultural.
- The complement binding reaction.
- Determination of increased leukocytosis.
What is the remedy for children? With herpes sore throat, symptoms and treatment depend on the severity of the disease. Special antiviral therapy is not performed.
Symptomatic treatment :
- The use of antipyretic drugs (Panadol, Efferalgan, Nurofen).
- The use of anti-inflammatory drugs ("Ibuprofen", "Nimesulide").
- Removing edema that interferes with breathing and swallowing (Suprastin, Diazolin).
- Removal of pain (Castellani liquid and sage broth).
- Antiseptic for the treatment of wounds.
You should talk a little about diet. Boiled cereals, mashed potatoes, broths and soups should be chilled.
During illness, the child should receive vitamins. For these purposes, a rosehip broth, lemon, tea with honey and jam are suitable.
It is forbidden to warm the throat, wrap it, put compresses, make inhalations with warm and hot solutions. When warm, the activity of the virus increases, so the disease drags on.
Drug treatment of the disease in adults
Herpes sore throat in adults is treated according to a similar scheme. Patients are assigned:
- Antiviral drugs.
- Immunostimulants.
- Vitamins
Antibiotics are usually not prescribed. They increase the risk of complications, as they kill beneficial bacteria.
During the disposal of the disease, special attention is paid to topical preparations:
- Antiseptic solutions are used to rinse and treat sore throats. Well cauterizes sores "Lugol". also this drug resists the attachment of a secondary bacterial infection.
- Sprays and aerosols containing antiseptics.
- Throat pills to dissolve. They reduce swelling and relieve pain.
Treatment of herpes sore throat in adults consists of several stages:
- Taking antihistamines ("Diazolin", "Suprastin"). They will help to cope with edema.
- Antiseptics - exclude re-infection.
- Anti-inflammatory - "Ibuprofen", "Nimesulide."
The patient should observe bed rest throughout the entire treatment period. The patient should be isolated from healthy people. He needs to drink plenty of fluids. Tea with lemon and rosehip are suitable for this.
You should be careful with antibiotics. The disease is characterized as a viral infection. If treatment does not help for a long time, and the temperature does not decrease, only in this case you can resort to antibacterial drugs.
Physiotherapy
This type of treatment is prescribed during the recovery period, when wounds in the throat heal.
Ultraviolet treatment of these areas is an effective treatment for herpes sore throat. A photo helps to understand how this procedure is performed. Thanks to UFO, epithelialization of foci and drying of ulcers occurs.
Also apply such methods:
- Laser treatment. The beam affects the foci of pathology in the throat. This procedure eliminates the risk of secondary bacterial infection.
- Magnetotherapy. The mucous layers of the pharynx are affected by a magnetic field that has a certain tension. Thanks to the procedure, pain and inflammatory processes are reduced. If there are swelling, then they are reduced, and damaged areas heal faster.
Diet
With symptoms of herpes sore throat, the patient is prescribed not only medication, but also bed rest and diet. The first four days, peace is important. The room where the patient is located should be well ventilated. All doctor's recommendations should be followed. In order not to infect relatives, the patient should have separate dishes and household items.
The use of such products should be excluded:
- Alcohol and smoked meats.
- Coffee.
- Spices, vinegar and spices.
- Nuts.
- Caviar.
- Citrus.
So you need to eat in order not to irritate the sore throat. Herpes sore throat causes a painful condition during meals. Therefore, food should be warm and liquid. It should be eaten in small portions. If a person refuses food, then give him more drink - mineral water without gas, stewed fruit, teas, broth of wild rose.
Pregnant Disease
For women expecting a baby, herpes sore throat is a serious problem. Any medications can harm the baby, but not treat the disease even worse, since the multiplied viruses cause intoxication in the woman. In addition, as noted above, they are able to penetrate the placenta.
Herpes sore throat in pregnant women can cause:
- Detachment of the placenta.
- Damage to the muscles of the heart.
- Miscarriage.
- Intoxication.
- Serous meningitis.
Treatment of the disease should be under the supervision of a physician. Some experts prescribe light antibiotics. Additionally, the expectant mother can gargle, irrigate it with decoctions of herbs. Well suited - chamomile, calendula, oak bark. Sea buckthorn, fir, castor oil is used for ulcer healing.
The Lugol solution will help to cope with the disease.
From "Acyclovir", "Herpevir", "Zovirax" should be abandoned.
After treatment, the pregnant woman undergoes a course of immunoglobulin. Expectant mother takes vitamins, echinacea, ginseng, adheres to a special diet.
ethnoscience
Folk remedies will help get rid of herpes sore throat in children and adults.
- Honey. You can use this tasty medicine only if there is no allergy to bee products. This product has analgesic, expectorant, antibacterial effects. Using a small amount of this remedy every day can relieve sore throat, improve blood flow in the capillaries, and speed up metabolic processes. Honey is added to warm tea. From it you can prepare rinse solutions.
- Propolis. After eating, a piece of this substance is enough to chew. You can gargle with a solution of propolis tincture. It is prepared as follows: take 500 ml of medical alcohol (70%), add 100 g of crushed propolis to it and leave it in the room until the liquid becomes homogeneous. To propolis dissolves faster, alcohol can be slightly warmed up. To rinse take Art. spoon of tincture in a glass of water.
- Treatment of herpes sore throat with beets. Vegetable - will help relieve swelling of the throat mucosa, inflammation of the tonsils, avoid complications. The juice of this plant is prepared as follows: the root crop is peeled, crushed in a blender. In the resulting fresh, one tablespoon of six percent vinegar is added. The product must be diluted in water (1: 2) and gargle.
- Soda. Half a teaspoon of soda is dissolved in a glass of water. This rinse is used.
- Garlic. A clove of garlic is minced. To it is added wine or apple vinegar, honey. Several times a day, the mixture is taken orally. Try to keep the product in your mouth for several minutes.
Complications
If the disease is severe or there is no proper treatment, then complications may occur. Viruses begin to infect other organs, causing the following diseases:
- Pyelonephritis.
- Encephalitis.
- Serous meningitis.
- Eye inflammation with hemorrhage.
- Infectious heart disease (myocarditis).
If herpes sore throat is accompanied by meningitis, then new symptoms appear - a tonic spasm of the masticatory muscles and an increased tone of the muscles of the neck.
When diagnosing myocarditis, the prognosis is not very favorable. You can get a chronic form of heart disease. With proper and timely treatment, you can get rid of the problem in a few weeks.
The disease can cause liver complications. Koksaki viruses are well established in this body. If the herpangin is very severe, then liver failure may develop.
Preventive actions
In order not to get sick with herpes sore throat, a photo of the symptoms of which are presented in the article, preventive measures should be taken:
- You should not be in public places during an epidemic.
- Maintain your immunity.
- Throughout the illness (and this is about two weeks), the patient should be in a room that is often aired. he must also have separate dishes. This is done so as not to infect others.
- Since herpes sore throat can be transmitted by the fecal-oral route, hygiene is also a preventative measure. Be sure to wash your hands after using the toilet and before eating, wash all fruits and vegetables.
- Thoroughly wash the nipples, bottles and toys of the baby.
- If your baby has a snot or cough, do not take him to kindergarten or school. This will protect other children from infection.