Sore throat: The disease is thought to be mild, but do not ignore it

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Dr. CCII Nguyen Van Thai - Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Vinmec Danang International General Hospital. Thai doctor has more than 17 years of treatment experience, especially in the field of Head and Neck Surgery.
Pharyngitis is a fairly common disease, all ages can be infected, but the rate of acute pharyngitis is common in children and adolescents, chronic pharyngitis is seen in older ages. Sore throat: The disease is thought to be mild, but do not ignore it.

1. What is pharyngitis?

The pharynx is the gateway to the upper respiratory organs, the lower respiratory tract, the sinus system, the nose, and the digestive system. When the throat is inflamed, it is easy to affect the relevant organs because they are connected with each other or by the body's immune mechanism.
Pharyngitis is a sore, scratchy, or irritated throat that usually gets worse when you swallow. The most common cause of a sore throat (pharyngitis) is a viral infection, such as a cold or the flu. Viral pharyngitis may go away on its own. Strep throat (streptococcal infection), a less common type of sore throat caused by bacteria, requires antibiotic treatment to prevent complications.
Other less common causes of a sore throat that may require more complex treatment include chemical vapors, cigarette smoke, dust (in dust there are many different microorganisms), air pollution in the throat.
Usually there are two types of pharyngitis: acute pharyngitis and chronic pharyngitis.
Acute pharyngitis : It can be spontaneous, it can also occur after a sudden change of weather or due to some other related diseases such as sinusitis, acute or chronic rhinitis... Symptoms include high fever, chills, sore throat, especially when swallowing. After a few days, a dry cough may appear, followed by a sputum discharge. Chronic pharyngitis is often referred to as granulomatous pharyngitis. Mild or no fever, sore throat, itching, feeling of difficulty in swallowing and always feeling that there is mucus running down the throat. In subjects with developing tonsils, pharyngitis is often accompanied by tonsillitis (pharyngitis and acute tonsillitis). Chronic pharyngitis is common in elderly patients or tonsils have atrophied, or have been surgically removed, only the throat is red, there are many lumpy granular organizations in the anterior, posterior and posterior pharyngeal walls. There are also rare cases of sore throat accompanied by bleeding that may be due to nasopharyngeal cancer.

2. Progression and complications of pharyngitis

Chronic pharyngitis, when the causative factors are excluded, can also be cured. Often, chronic pharyngitis will turn through the exudative, hypertrophic and atrophic stages if left untreated for a long time. Especially in cases of nose hemorrhoids (ozen). Weakening of the airway mucosa due to chemical dust also becomes atrophic pharyngitis. If pharyngitis is not treated, it will cause complications such as: inflammation or abscess of the pharynx and around the tonsils, rhinitis, sinusitis, otitis media, spreading down to cause inflammation of the larynx, trachea and most dangerous is oropharyngeal cancer. Chronic pharyngitis also often leads to chronic laryngitis, gastritis, chronic bronchiolitis... or acute inflammatory episodes such as: acute tonsillitis, tonsil abscess... Nervousness due to having to spit a lot, especially at night. Pharyngitis can lead to rheumatic fever due to group B hemolytic streptococcus.

3. Risk factors

Although anyone can get a sore throat, certain factors make you more susceptible, including:
Age. Children and teenagers are most likely to get a sore throat. Children ages 3 to 15 are also more likely to get strep throat, the bacterial infection most commonly associated with sore throats. Exposure to tobacco smoke. Smoking and secondhand smoke can irritate the throat. The use of tobacco products also increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, and voice box. Allergy. Seasonal allergies or ongoing allergic reactions to dust, mold, or pet dander make sore throats more likely. Exposure to chemical irritants. Airborne particles from burning fossil fuels and common household chemicals can irritate the throat. Chronic or frequent sinus infections. Drainage from your nose can irritate your throat or infect it. Viral and bacterial infections spread easily wherever people congregate, whether in childcare centers, classrooms, offices, or airplanes. Weakened immunity. You are more susceptible to infections in general if your resistance is low. Common causes of reduced immunity include HIV, diabetes, steroid treatment or chemotherapy drugs, stress, fatigue, and a poor diet.

4. Prevention

Wear a protective mask when exposed to dust and chemicals. Gargle daily with warm lye or salt water. Improve physical condition: give vitamins A, D2, drink spring water, mineral water. Need to clean teeth, mouth and throat daily such as brushing teeth, gargling with dilute salt water. When there are diseases of the teeth, mouth, sinuses, nose, etc., it should be treated definitively to avoid the existence and spread of pathogens into the oropharynx and oral and oropharyngeal hygiene, also to open the airways, for easier, smoother breathing. When the doctor examines the patient and determines that he has a sore throat, he needs to be treated seriously and according to the right regimen. The antibiotics prescribed by the doctor, the patient needs to take the right dose and at the right time. Do not self-medicate to treat even symptoms, especially antibiotics, to avoid drug-resistant (drug-resistant) bacteria that make future episodes of sore throat very difficult to treat.

It is recommended to wear a mask when going out to avoid dust because there are countless disease-causing microorganisms in the dust, in addition, wearing a mask also has many other effects such as limiting the inhalation of polluted air when passing through an unsafe air area. clean. People who often have sore throats should not drink too cold water or ice, especially in the summer or in refreshments such as cold beer, chilled soft drinks... For the prevention of rheumatic heart disease, the propaganda and education It is very necessary for everyone to understand the harmful effects of pharyngitis and the consequences of rheumatic heart disease caused by strep throat. Rheumatic heart disease prevention is also given with slow penicillin antibiotic every month or every 3 weeks for a few years after that, depending on the patient's health condition (if allergic, it can be replaced with another antibiotic). . Some complications of pharyngitis can be dangerous for patients such as: local complications, neighboring complications and distant complications. In fact, sore throat is inherently a foci of infection. In situations where antibiotic control is not effective, where antibiotic-resistant or highly virulent strains of bacteria are acquired, the massive release of bacteria and their toxins into the bloodstream causes streptococcal toxic shock. or individually, it can be sepsis, low blood pressure, respiratory failure, impaired consciousness, sometimes life-threatening if there are not enough means of timely treatment.
In short, if it is a viral sore throat, it usually lasts 3-5 days and then goes away on its own. If it is due to bacterial superinfection, especially streptococci, the illness usually lasts longer and requires a systematic antibiotic treatment to avoid complications. To do so, it is necessary to have a positive attitude to early examination and early intervention, to keep the health of yourself and your loved ones safe.
Vinmec International General Hospital is a general hospital that has the function of examining and treating ENT diseases such as sinusitis, rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis, tonsillitis, and pain. throat, tinnitus, sore throat and many other diseases. At Vinmec, we have also performed endoscopic diagnosis and treatment with modern medical methods for ear, nose and throat diseases, which not only brings high efficiency but also minimizes complications of recurrent disease. The great success is because Vinmec is always fully equipped with modern facilities, examination and treatment procedures are carried out by a team of experienced and qualified doctors that will bring about treatment results. optimal for customers.

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