Health: Sore throat-an irritating condition

Every mortal has sometime or the other always suffered from a sore throat. Everybody is familiar with the irritating itchy sensation in the throat, where you feel like scratching it. You feel sick but yet you cannot skip work on sick grounds for a mere, “sore throat”. One can suffer from it any age, irrespective of the gender. Sore throat is an inflammatory condition of the throat anywhere in the oropharynx, i.e. all part of the mouth visible till the tonsils. There can be mild to severe pain accompanied by sense of irritation or mild itching. Mild to severe pain may be associated. Some people describe the discomfort as something sticking in the throat which they wish to pull out. In some cases there is dry cough, whereas the person has an urge to bring out some sputum to clear the throat. Fever occurs rarely in a sore throat. Mouth breathers are susceptible to develop sore throat because of the dryness of the mouth. Similarly those having frequent grip cold and sinusitis are more prone to develop a sore throat because of the entry of nasal secretions in the throat. Children acquire this infection from other children in schools due to cross infections in class rooms. Most of the sore throats are caused due to viral infections. A few cases occur due to bacterial infections, notably by streptococci. But this is different from the sore throat caused due to Beta hemolytic streptococci which causes a rheumatic fever. In people with reduced immunity or those who have used antibiotics for a long time, sore throat can be caused due to fungal infections like candidiasis. Diagnosis is mainly made on basis of clinical features. In case of viral infections causing a pharyngitis and sore throat, there is associated ulceration of the mouth and or the tongue as these viruses cause ulceration as well. Apart from this, the oropharynx looks inflamed. Where facilities are available, a small scraping is taken from the throat and the material is submitted for culture and growth of germs. This helps one to know the nature of infecting germs and the antibiotic to which it will be susceptible. Majority of the cases with sore throat can be treated by means of simple measures and home remedies. Intake of lots of fluids orally is useful as it prevents dryness. Drinking hot water or tea, 2 or 3 times every day keeps the throat warm and humid and helps in healing of a sore throat. Some people benefit from hot saline gargles. Similarly inhalation of steam helps in humidification of airways and reducing the pain and irritation caused by sore throat. Putting lozenges in mouth is also useful when someone feels much pain in the throat. Lozenges increase the secretions in the mouth hence remove dryness and provide a soothing effect. Lozenges are a medicated or non medicated substance, sweet or drop which are used frequently for this purpose. Many of the lozenges contain peppermint and or menthol which function as astringents, i.e. they provide a sense of cooling and freshness in the mouth. Some lozenges contain xylocaine, a local anesthetic substance, to help reduce the pain. Honey has natural mucolytic (dissolving mucous) properties and is used in some lozenges. Cloves serve as a very good lozenge and help in treating sore throat. On experiencing the symptoms of sore throat, one can just put one or 2 cloves in the mouth and leave it till it dissolves and know the relief caused. Analgesics like paracetamol are used when somebody has severe pain or fever. Antibiotics are used only if there is high fever, severe pain or purulent expectoration along with cough. One can avoid spread of sore throat by simple measures like covering the mouth while coughing. Rooms which are well ventilated and have adequate sunlight, help in minimizing the risk of all kinds of droplet infection, including a sore throat. E-mail-rachna212002@yahoo.co.k