Wednesday, November 21, 2018

The Basic Types of Sore Throats


Dr. Andrew Johnson is a Brampton, Ontario physician who provides families with personalized palliative and obstetrics care. Also serving hospital-inpatient needs in the Brampton community, Dr. Andrew Johnson has a wide knowledge of medicine that extends to common winter-season health concerns such as coughs and sore throats

In most cases, sore throats are viral in nature and associated with colds. While remedies such as throat lozenges and honey may alleviate symptoms, sore throats often begin to improve on their own within a day or two. Following a sore throat, issues such as congestion and runny nose may occur, which are the major signs of the cold. 

By contrast, strep throat is an infection involving the streptococcus bacteria and results in more persistent and severe soreness of the throat. Symptoms may advance to tonsillitis, characterized by the inflammation of the tonsils, the body of tissues at the back of the throat. 

Sore throats can also be caused by allergies and dry air, as well as pollution and smoking. With so many potential causes, any sore throat that persists or worsens over the course of a few days may benefit by treatment from a doctor. Treatments are highly dependent on the type of sore throat, with antibiotics effective only in cases involving bacterial infection.