Many do not know whether it is possible to get a sore throat from a person. The latter refers to infectious diseases. It is equally common in both adults and children. Therefore, it is necessary with all responsibility to approach such a disease and to be preoccupied with preventive measures in advance.
Features
Not everyone understands how they become infected with angina. In medical terminology, this pathology is usually called tonsillitis. The peak incidence of tonsillitis is usually observed in transitional periods, especially the number of cases in autumn and spring.
This tendency is explained by the fact that in the offseason the activity of infectious agents sharply increases. Therefore, people with weakened immune systems have high risks of contracting a sore throat, which very often gives serious complications.
To exclude the likelihood of a disease, you should know everything about this insidious disease: through what sources it is transmitted, what causes can provoke its development, effective preventive measures to prevent it, and how they get infected with angina.
How is angina transmitted
Being inherently an infectious disease, tonsillitis can be caused by any representatives of pathogenic microflora: viruses, bacteria, fungi. But most often, streptococcal or staphylococcal infection becomes the cause of tonsillitis. Under favorable conditions, the pathogen actively multiplies, which contributes to its spread.
There are several transmission routes. So, how do they get sore throat:
- Airborne. Regardless of the nature of the pathogen, this transmission route is considered the most common. A healthy person with weakened immunity, even a short close contact with a sick sore throat is enough to catch the infection.
- Alimentary way. In this case, the infection occurs as a result of eating foodstuffs infected with the causative agent of tonsillitis. Poor processing, as well as cooking food from spoiled products provoke intense food contamination.
- Contact-household transmission method is also quite common with angina. Contamination is facilitated by the use of household items alone with a sick person: towels, cups, spoons. An infectious agent is also transmitted through a kiss. That is, when asked whether it is possible to contract sore throat from a patient, the answer is yes.
- Autoinfection. By this transmission route is meant carriage of bacteria. That is, a person may not even suspect that pathogenic agents “chose” comfortable housing in his body, and in particular on the tonsils. When the protective functions of the immune system are reduced, pathogens move to the active phase, causing damage to the human body.
- Sexual intercourse is also not excluded, as a way of transmitting angina. But it can be considered by oral contact with a partner with a patient with gonorrhea. In such situations, an atypical tonsillitis of gonococcal origin is recorded. A similar disease is extremely rare.
Given all of these factors, you need to be careful with all types of contact with people with tonsillitis. And it is best to constantly adhere to preventive measures, which will protect you not only from sore throats, but also from other dangerous infections.
The degree of infectiousness (contagiousness) of a sore throat
Infectious tonsillitis is at the top of the list of the most infectious pathologies. The disease is very quickly transmitted from a sick person to a healthy contingent, and after a while it manifests itself in an acute form with signs characteristic of the inflammatory process.
Since the etiology (causes of the onset of the disease) can be different, the following forms of tonsillitis are distinguished in medicine:
- The viral type of the disease can be caused by the causative agent of measles, influenza. Tonsillitis of this option occurs in the form of inflammation of the tonsils, but a characteristic plaque does not form. The infection can be transmitted throughout the acute period.
- The bacterial form of angina is usually the result of an attack of streptococcal agents. This type is characterized by rapid development, with high fever, sharp soreness in the throat. Many do not understand whether and how to become infected with purulent tonsillitis. In this case, there is the formation of purulent plugs. The disease is transmitted even with short-term contact with a sick person.
- Tonsillitis caused by a fungal infection is very easy to determine by the white curd coating that covers the surface of the tonsils. Most often, infection occurs through a contact-domestic way. But the contagiousness of this form of tonsillitis is much lower than viral and bacterial infections. This feature is explained by the fact that representatives of the conditionally pathogenic group live in the oral cavity of a healthy person. These are mainly representatives of the species Candida.
Features of angina in children
Not everyone knows if a child can contract a sore throat. The disease is dangerous especially for babies in their first year of life. But the disease is no less threatened by preschool children. The fact is that the child’s immune system only completes its formation by the teenage period.
Weak protective mechanisms of the child’s body cannot cope with massive attacks of pathogenic pathogens, which explains the frequency of childhood infections.
Since angina is a highly contagious disease, and children in educational institutions are in close contact with each other, the likelihood of spread of infection increases.
Related factors in children
Not everyone knows how children become infected with angina. The following factors accompany the transmission of the disease:
- hypothermia;
- previous colds;
- incorrect tactics in the treatment of cardiac pathologies and allergies in a child;
- exacerbation of chronic processes;
- external factors such as contact with unauthorized adults who can simply be carriers of the infection without even knowing it.
Determining sore throat in children is very difficult, especially if a child falls ill before three years of age. Older kids can already describe their complaints, so the diagnosis in this case is carried out with the best result. But there is one exact sign that will help parents determine that not everything is in order with the child. This is a rejection of food.
Children suffer from the same forms of tonsillitis as adults. But, as a rule, the disease is much more difficult, and all the symptoms are brighter. The most dangerous variants of angina for children are the herpetic and lacunar forms.
What additional factors affect the likelihood of infection?
It is worth knowing that not always close contact with a sick person in combination with concomitant factors leads to a sore throat disease. Some people are not susceptible to certain types of pathogenic diseases, which serves as a reliable barrier to the spread of infection.
At the same time, scientists have proved that tonsillitis is more common among the population in large megacities. This is explained by the high population density, which contributes to the maximum distribution of the pathogen.
The risk of tonsillitis is too high among the following contingents:
- educational workers;
- medical personnel of treatment and prophylactic structures;
- social workers;
- students of schools, universities, secondary vocational educational institutions;
- children attending kindergartens.
People belonging to one of the groups listed are in the zone of increased risk for tonsillitis. They can be potential carriers of infection, and therefore become a source of its spread.
Causes of the disease
Since tonsils are one of the components of the immune system, they perform certain functions: they protect the respiratory tract from penetration of pathogenic agents from outside. When this well-functioning mechanism fails, pathogens easily overcome the protective barrier and enter the nasopharynx.
But for the development of the disease, a number of favorable factors are still needed, including:
- stress
- vitamin deficiencies;
- not completely cured infections;
- tonsil injuries;
- lack of sleep;
- constant drafts and hypothermia.
All these additional reasons create favorable soil for the development of the pathogen. Therefore, in order to exclude any possibility of contracting tonsillitis, it is necessary to adhere to simple preventive recommendations.
Prevention
Doctors are always encouraged to adhere to certain rules that will help protect against any infection.
There is a list of preventative measures to reduce the risk of tonsillitis. It includes the following requirements:
- It is necessary to regularly monitor the health of the oral cavity and timely treat caries.
- Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating them.
- Establish a diet. Be sure to include foods high in vitamins on the menu.
- Systematically ventilate the room, carry out wet cleaning there.
- To treat colds and chronic pathologies in full the therapy proposed by the doctor.
- Engage in hardening and outdoor activities.
- Avoid hypothermia.
- To choose the right clothes for the cold season.
- Be sure to wear a hat in autumn and winter.
- At the first signs of the disease, you should definitely visit a doctor.
Additional recommendations
In addition to these measures, it is necessary to constantly strengthen the body's immune resource: take vitamin complexes, use folk remedies based on ginger, lemon and other useful herbal preparations.
These simple preventative measures are good for adults and children. Their implementation will not require much time, but it will help to maintain health and withstand the onset of infection.
As you know, when asked, you can get sore throat from another, the answer is yes. Therefore, do not ignore the basic rules of prevention.