Sore Throat Health Article

Definition

Sore throat is a painful inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the pharynx.

Description

Sore throat is also called pharyngitis. It is a symptom of many conditions, but is most often associated with colds or influenza. Sore throat may be caused by either viral or bacterial infections or environmental conditions. Most sore throats heal without complications, but they should not be ignored, as some develop into serious illnesses.

Sore throats can be either acute or chronic. Acute sore throats are more common than chronic sore throats. They appear suddenly and last from three to about seven days. A chronic sore throat lasts much longer and is a symptom of an unresolved underlying condition or disease, such as a sinus infection.

Transmission

The way in which a sore throat is transmitted depends on the agent causing the sore throat. Viral and bacterial sore throats are usually passed in the same way as the common cold: sneezing, coughing, sharing drinking glasses or silverware, or in any other way germ particles can easily move from one person to another. Some sore throats are caused by environmental factors or allergies. These sore throats cannot be passed from one person to another.

Demographics

Almost everyone gets a sore throat at one time or another, although children in child care or grade school have them more often than adolescents and adults. Sore throats are most common during the winter months when upper respiratory infections (colds) are more frequent.

About 10 percent of children who go to the doctor each year have pharyngitis. Forty percent of the time that children are taken to the doctor with a sore throat, the sore throat is diagnosed as viral. An antibiotic cannot help to cure a virus; a virus has to be left to run its course.

In about 30 percent of the cases for which children are taken to the doctor, bacteria are found to be responsible for the sore throat. Many of these bacterial sore throats are cases of strep throat. Sore throats caused by bacteria can be successfully treated with antibiotics. In about 40 percent of these cases of pharyngitis, it is never clear what caused the sore throat. In these cases it is possible that the virus or bacteria was not identified, or that other factors such as environment or post-nasal drip may have been responsible.