Angina is an infectious disease in which the tonsils enlarge (yellow-white spots form on them), the throat becomes loose, bright red, we can say scarlet. On palpation of enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, the patient experiences pain. Lymph nodes are tight to the touch.
Many people ask: is tonsillitis contagious or not? Of course! It is necessary to isolate a patient with such an ailment (if possible), to allocate him separate dishes (a mug, a spoon, a fork, a plate, etc.) and a towel. It is advisable to boil the dishes every day for 10-20 minutes.
In order for this disease to proceed without complications, it is necessary to begin treatment prescribed by a specialist (infectious disease specialist) and observe bed rest as soon as possible .
Types of sore throat
- follicular. It is so named because pus is formed inside the follicles of the tonsils, therefore it is also called purulent tonsillitis. Symptoms: high (39 degrees and above) body temperature , sharp pain when swallowing, chills;
- catarrhal. With this type of tonsillitis, only the outer layer of the tonsils is affected. As a rule, the disease is accompanied by dry mouth, malaise, severe headache. It usually proceeds without a rise in temperature;
- ulcerative membranous. On tonsils (palatine) a grayish plaque with ulcers is formed. Basically, the disease does not manifest itself;
- lacunar. It looks like a follicular one: pain in muscles, joints and throat, fever (from 39 degrees), plaque on tonsils. Only absent pus.
Symptoms of the disease
Angina is caused by a bacterial or viral infection. Often the symptoms of the disease are a headache, severe, scratching pain when swallowing saliva, high temperature (39 degrees and above). Usually, the disease manifests itself 2-3 days after contact with a sick person. The incubation period of the disease lasts from several hours to three days, and during this period of time the patient is not considered contagious.
Children may have additional symptoms: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting.
How is angina transmitted
Tonsillitis (a type of sore throat) can be transmitted by airborne droplets, that is, through sneezing and coughing, as well as through bodily contact (kiss, handshake) and through the dishes.
Incorrectly processed products infected with staphylococcus (milk, meat, processed foods and others) should not be ruled out. Mostly infected products can be consumed in catering establishments.
Very quickly, the infection spreads in enclosed spaces with a large team, where there is no way to ventilate or simply do not ventilate workers.
Chronic inflammation in the oral cavity, nose, pharynx, as well as teeth affected by caries, can be a source of the disease.
The most contagious is the patient in the first 3 days after the onset of a sore throat with high body temperature. After this time, the risk of contracting a sore throat is minimal, but there is still. Only 3 weeks after the onset of the disease, the possibility of contracting a sore throat disappears completely.
Treatment
With timely and proper prescription of medicines, a sore throat passes very quickly and the temperature drops. On average, tonsillitis is cured in a week. In no case should you self-medicate, since improperly selected antibiotics can complicate the course of the disease and ultimately lead to problems with the heart, kidneys and joints.
To eliminate toxins during illness, you need a warm, plentiful drink: milk with honey (if there is no allergy to honey), fruit juices, tea with lemon and honey or raspberry jam, alkaline mineral water. The “shock” dose of vitamin C is an integral part of treatment.
In case of a sore throat, experts advise to gargle every 2 hours, since when rinsing germs are washed out of the throat. The rinse can be any: with furatsillinom (1 part furatsillina: 5000 parts boiled water), salt with soda, a decoction of herbs (chamomile, sage, calendula, eucalyptus). Propolis alcohol solution also contributes to a speedy recovery (a few drops per half a glass of water).
During an illness, coarse, spicy, hot food should be excluded from food. It is necessary to prepare gentle dishes: milk-vegetable, which will not irritate the stomach and sore throat.
If the patient feels relief on the 3rd day of treatment, then in no case should you interrupt the treatment and go to work or study. Decreased immunity, weakening of the body and an incomplete inflammatory process can cause complications. Therefore, treatment should be completed completely.
If a person has tonsillitis several times a year (2-3 times), then he is recommended to remove the tonsils.
For treatment, you can also use folk recipes based on herbs:
- 4 parts of sage (leaves) to combine with 5 parts of the rhizome of calamus swamp, oak bark and dioica nettle. The resulting mixture should be poured with a liter of water, boil for half an hour, strain, cool. With angina, this decoction needs to be gargled as often as possible (at least 5 times during the day);
- Mix 1 part of linden flowers, 3 parts of chamomile flowers and 2 parts of oak bark. Take 1 tbsp. l mixture, pour a glass of hot water, boil over low heat for 5 minutes, insist for about an hour, strain, cool. This broth is used to gargle.
Is angina contagious, we found out. And purulent tonsillitis is contagious or not?
Without exception, all types contagious, and purulent - especially! Most often, people with reduced immunity get sick with it. According to statistics, purulent tonsillitis affects up to 10% of the population per year. After 30 years, people are less likely to become infected with this disease, since it is believed that upon reaching this age, immunity is rebuilt (it seems to develop protection against this infection).
Most often, you can encounter streptococcal purulent tonsillitis.
Purulent sore throat is manifested by its suddenness (a day after contact with the patient).
This infection is not contagious after two days from the start of taking antibiotics and other medicines prescribed by your doctor.
Avoid infection
- In the cold season, we try not to visit crowded places and unventilated rooms.
- We try not to overcool.
- Wash my hands more often.
- We limit contact with the patient (we put on a medical mask).
- Less often we visit places of public catering.
- We temper the body: we walk in the fresh air, take a contrast shower.
- We eat right, do not smoke, do not drink alcohol.
- We observe the correct mode of rest and work.
- We regularly play sports.
- We do wet cleaning regularly.
- We often ventilate the room (at any time of the year).
- We try to avoid stress.
- We temper the throat.
We temper the throat
- take in equal parts eucalyptus leaves , chamomile and calendula flowers , mix. 1 tbsp pour the mixture with 1.5 cups of hot water, boil for 2 minutes, insist for half an hour, filter. Gargle with the resulting broth you need in the morning and evening. The temperature of the broth should first be 26 degrees, but gradually lower (by 1 degree per day) the temperature to 16 degrees. With this rinse, you can harden your throat in 1 month and not get sick.
Observing the above rules, you can not only prevent the complications caused by tonsillitis, but also not to get this infection!