Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Sore Throat

Have you ever had a sore throat during the festive period? You wish you could wish it away. Anyway, sore throat, as harmless as it is, can be a pain in the neck.

A sore throat simply refers to pain, irritation, and itching of the throat. When you have this condition, you find it particularly difficult to swallow. Well, other symptoms may include dry throat, swollen glands in the neck or hoarseness. Furthermore, a sore throat is an example of an infectious disease. Infectious diseases are simply disorders that are caused by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.

Causes of Sore Throat

• Majority of sore throats are triggered by viral infections. These are infections caused by a virus.
• It can be caused by mononucleosis which is an infectious disease transmitted by saliva.
• Measles also could cause sore throat. Measles is a contagious illness that is characterised by fever and a distinct rash
• Croup, a viral infection that affects the vocal cords, also leads to a sore throat.

Did you know that sore throat can also be caused by a bacterial infection such as

• Strep Throat: Strep Throat is an infection caused by a bacteria known as Streptococcus pyogenes.
• Whooping Cough: This is a respiratory infection that causes often uncontrollable and violent coughing that makes it difficult to breathe.
• Diphtheria: Diphtheria is quite a serious infection and highly contagious. It affects the mucous membranes of the throat and the nose.

It can also be triggered by smoking cigarettes or through exposure to cigarette smoke. It’s actually interesting to know that even too much talking or yelling can trigger throat strain.

Treatment of Sore Throat

Given the above causes, sore throat is a condition that lasts normally for less than a week. Most times, it requires no medical attention. You can usually apply the following home treatments to get better:

• Gargle with warm salt water to help reduce the discomfort and swelling. In every hour, gargle a glass of water in which you have dissolved one teaspoonful of salt.
• Prevent dehydration. Drink lots of hot fluids: water, tea, soup.
• Lick a lot of lozenges such Baba blue, Tom Tom, Vicks Lemon Plus etc.
• Avoid triggers such as cigarettes or cigarette smoke.
• You can also take common OTC (Over-the-Counter) pain relievers.

If however you are still feeling the symptoms after a week or it gets worse, you should go see a doctor.