Is discomfort, pain or itching in the throat which often makes swallowing painful.
General considerations
Sore throats are common, especially in children. Most of the time, the pain is worse in the morning and improves as the day progresses. Like colds, the vast majority of sore throats are caused by viral infections, which means that NOT respond to antibiotics. Many people have mild sore throat at the beginning of every cold.
When the nose or sinuses become infected, drainage can run down the back of the throat and irritate it, especially at night, or the throat itself can be infected. Some viruses can cause specific types of sore throat. For example, Coxsackievirus sometimes causes blisters in the throat, especially in late summer or early fall. Mononucleosis and the flu can also cause specific viral throat infections.
Strep throat is the most common bacterial cause of sore throat. Because this type of strep throat can occasionally lead to rheumatic fever, antibiotics are given. Strep throat often includes a fever (over 38.3 ° C or 101 ° F), white, draining patches on the throat, like swollen or tender lymph nodes in the neck. Children may have headache and stomach pain.
It is less likely that a sore throat is strep throat if it is a minor part of a common cold (with runny nose, stuffy ears, cough, and similar symptoms). Strep throat can not be accurately diagnosed by looking at the throat alone is necessary to perform a lab test.
Sometimes breathing through the mouth will cause a sore throat in absence of any infection. During the months of dry winter air, some people wake up with a sore throat most mornings, which usually goes away after a drink.
In addition, allergies (allergic rhinitis) can cause sore throat.
With a sore throat, sometimes swollen tonsils or surrounding parts of the throat. In any case, for most children is not recommended the removal of the tonsils to try to prevent future sore throats.
