Tips: what to do if you have a sore throat and cough

Causes of sore throat

The list of possible provoking factors is extensive. It includes a range of viral infections - from influenza or rhinovirus to Epstein-Barr disease (a type of herpes virus) and chickenpox.

If your throat hurts, there is a cough, but there is no fever, allergic reactions can be assumed. Besides:

• chronic pathologies of the respiratory tract – pharyngitis, bronchitis;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, accompanied by the reflux of stomach contents into the larynx - stomach ulcers, GERD;
• mental changes;
• neoplasms (regardless of origin) that are localized in the esophagus, endocrine gland, mediastinum;
• bacterial lesions - from tuberculosis to streptococcus.

According to experts, the most common cause of sore throat and cough is bacterial or viral infections. Given their prevalence, it is necessary to determine the signs that should cause concern in a person.

Laryngeal cancer

Laryngeal cancer can manifest itself as hoarseness, a feeling of a foreign body in the throat and difficulty breathing (breathing “through a barrier”). Supraglottic cancer is characterized by difficulty swallowing (pain).

Treatment

Therapy is primarily surgical. Depending on the malignancy of the tumor, stage and size of the carcinoma, a route is selected (through the mouth or through the outer body of the neck) through which part of the larynx or the entire larynx is removed.

In medical terminology, the terms chordectomy (removal of the vocal cords), horizontal partial laryngectomy (removal of the laryngeal column), and total laryngectomy (removal of the entire larynx) are used.

The chosen approach is always the most favorable compromise between preserving laryngeal function and sufficient therapeutic effect. At later stages of tumor growth, cervical nodes to which metastatic tumor cells have spread are also removed.

Another treatment option is radiation, which is used either individually or as an adjunctive therapy for surgical treatment in advanced stages of the disease.

Chemotherapy is rarely used and has low effectiveness.

With a complete laryngectomy, the vital function of the larynx, voice formation, disappears. This condition can be corrected surgically when the connection between the trachea and the esophagus is established.

Alarming symptoms

The fact that the condition is taking a serious turn is indicated by painful sensations that persist for two or more days - even despite the measures taken for recovery. You should not ignore pain that interferes with natural processes: yawning, conversation.

The presence of fever, fever and chills are also no less critical symptoms.

If rashes appear on the skin and general malaise, it is very important to consult a specialist as soon as possible.

This is what will help you cope with a condition in which you have a sore throat and cough in the shortest possible time.

A sore throat that lasts for a long time and does not go away: how to treat the pathology

It has been scientifically proven that the speed of recovery of a patient from colds is directly dependent on the functioning of the immune system. At the first manifestations of the disease, the body begins to actively produce protein substances - interferon, which prevents further penetration of viral microorganisms and their reproduction.

With a normal cold, on day 2-3 the protein concentration peaks and the patient’s characteristic symptoms decrease. In situations where the body is not able to produce the necessary substances for antimicrobial protection, the illness can last 2 weeks or more.

When your throat hurts for a long time and does not go away, such a symptom is confirmation that the inflammation is progressing and emergency treatment is required.

Common factors that cause long-term sore throat

Anyone who has ever treated a cold has wondered why the throat hurts for a long time and what needs to be done to eliminate the characteristic symptoms. With a long course of a viral disease (more than 7 days), which is accompanied by a cough, sore throat, fever, and nasal congestion, the disease is assumed to be protracted.

The main factor that provokes the complication of a cold is the weakening of the protective functions of the patient’s immune system. The reasons for reducing the body’s immunity to the action of pathogenic microorganisms may be:

1. Vitamin deficiency (lack of useful organic substances), poor nutrition.
2. Low quality drinking water.
3. Lack of physical activity.
4. Harmful environmental conditions.
5. Frequently recurring emotional downturns, stress, depression.
6. Abuse of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
7. Lack of the required level of air humidity in the living room.

Taking into account these factors, which not only negatively affect the body’s stability and resistance, but also provoke prolonged, incessant sore throat, the patient should initially eliminate these causes. Doctors recommend taking vitamin complexes and performing hardening procedures at home.

Due to the weakening of the body during the course of the disease, the patient is most sensitive to the negative effects of bacteria. This is precisely the reason for collateral infection. If you have a sore throat for a long time, a stuffy nose, and a cold that doesn’t go away, you shouldn’t put off contacting a medical professional for a long time.

In most of these situations, antibiotic therapy may be required. To do this, the doctor needs to identify the factors that preceded the development of a protracted illness. The causes of this condition are infectious and inflammatory diseases and chronic organ pathologies.

Chronic pathologies of ENT organs

The disease, which lasts from 5 to 14 days, does not cause any particular concern. Protracted respiratory viral infections are often diagnosed.

However, in such situations, other symptoms appear that do not affect the oropharynx. When your throat hurts for a long time, the reasons are a variety of circumstances.

Before prescribing medications, the attending physician must conduct a diagnosis and identify the true causes of this condition.

When the throat hurts for a long time (3 weeks or more), a medical professional may suspect the presence of the following pathologies of the ENT organs:

Disease Cause of development Specific symptoms

Patients should know what to do if their throat hurts for a very long time and severely. First of all, it is strictly forbidden to self-medicate if you suspect severe chronic pathologies of the ENT organs.

Only a competent specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an adequate therapeutic course in accordance with the severity of the disease and the individual characteristics of the patient’s body.

Infectious-inflammatory diseases

In situations where the throat hurts severely when swallowing, and the duration of the cold is more than a month, the provocateur of this condition in the patient is various infectious agents. Doctors identify the following diseases of bacterial etiology, against the background of which painful symptoms of prolonged oropharyngeal damage may be observed.

Infectious mononucleosis

Most often it is diagnosed at a young age (14-18 years) and develops due to damage by the Epstein-Barr virus.

At the same time, at the initial stages of the disease, the patient has a sore throat for a long time without fever, and as it progresses, the following symptoms are added: enlargement of the liver and spleen, swelling of regional lymph nodes, joint pain due to lymph stagnation, constant migraines, sore throat. Laboratory analysis reveals atypical viral cells.

Simanovsky–Plaut-Vincent angina

It can last for 2 months in patients.

A distinctive feature of this infectious disease is that, despite purulent and inflamed wounds (ulcers) on the surface of the tonsil glands, the patient does not notice a deterioration in his health and complains only of slight discomfort when swallowing.

As a rule, with this rare disease, which mainly affects men aged 18-35 years, the throat hurts on one side. In case of severe infectious inflammation, doctors diagnose gangrenous lesions of the larynx with tissue necrosis and the development of sepsis (extensive infection of the body).

STD

In the presence of sexually transmitted viral microorganisms, the throat may also hurt for a long time.

For this reason, syphilis, damage to the mucous membranes of the oropharynx by chlamydia and gonococci are factors that must be taken into account when diagnosing the condition of a patient with a prolonged cold.

These infections can only be detected by laboratory tests to determine the strain of bacteria. Doctors also note that with HIV diseases, against the background of reduced immunity, there is active growth and reproduction of fungal microorganisms, which also affect the mucous membranes of the oropharynx.

Whooping cough

Protracted colds are often observed by doctors with infectious whooping cough. In the initial stages of this disease, this disease is accompanied by fever, slight congestion in the nasal passages, and a sore throat.

As whooping cough progresses, the patient suffers from a dry cough of a spasmodic nature, which does not allow him to take a breath. However, the sore throat does not go away. During coughing attacks, the face turns red and mucus begins to secrete from the oropharynx.

Children in this condition often experience vomiting.

It should be remembered that if you have a sore throat for a long time, you need to promptly consult a therapist or otolaryngologist in order to make an accurate diagnosis and begin therapy.

Lesions of other organs

If your throat hurts for a long time even after recovery from a cold, this may be due to inhalation of dust or an allergic reaction. Not all cases of coughing attacks and sore throat are caused by various pathologies.

However, for any condition that is accompanied by deterioration in well-being, it should be remembered that self-medication only increases the risks of disease complications. Long-term painful sensations in the oropharynx are also observed against the background of the development of pathologies of other internal organs.

In order to exclude a chronic infection, it is necessary to undergo certain medical tests and a visual examination by a competent specialist who will tell you how to treat the disease.

Long-term painful symptoms may indicate the presence of the following pathologies:

• with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, pain in the oropharynx increases when the head is tilted;
• disruption of hormone production due to thyroid hyperplasia;
• Against the background of diabetes mellitus, the patient complains of dry mouth and scratching sensations in the throat. In this case, there is a possibility of impaired swallowing function, which is also accompanied by painful symptoms;
• diseases of the hematopoietic organs - leukemia, anemia;
• chest pain (angina pectoris), myocardial infarction may not develop according to the standard pattern, but may be accompanied by a sore throat;
• prolonged pain in the oral cavity is accompanied by severe carious lesions of the teeth and inflammation of the gums;
• in the presence of tumor-like neoplasms in the larynx or thyroid gland, the patient may experience a sensation of a lump in the throat;
• tuberculosis, which is accompanied by swelling of the lymph nodes;
• ulcerative wounds in the gastrointestinal tract, along with a sore throat, are accompanied by stool problems, excessive gas formation, and heartburn.

This list is far from complete, and this once again confirms the need to contact specialists.

Conclusion

The nature of the inflammation, which is accompanied by painful sensations in the throat for more than 2 months, must be clarified with the help of diagnostic studies.

This applies even to those situations where patients note a slight deterioration in their general health. If the otolaryngologist excludes pathologies of the ENT organs, it is necessary to undergo an examination by a therapist.

Only with the help of laboratory tests can the true cause of the protracted nature of painful symptoms in the oropharynx be identified and the necessary measures taken.

Source: https://stoporvi.ru/gorlo/dolgo-bolit-gorlo.html

Principles of treatment

There are some basics of a recovery course that are mandatory. So, if a person has a dry cough and a sore throat, it is necessary to take care of increasing the production of sputum. This will quickly lead to a reduction in the number of attacks. For this purpose, expectorants are used. They must contain marshmallow and licorice, for example, Codelac, Thermopsol - these are mixtures.

In the process of treating a cough that causes a sore throat, take into account the following:

• wet urges suggest the use of mucolytics - they break specific bonds in mucus molecules, provoking its excretion;
• names with acetylcysteine ​​(ACC) are used;
• Bromhexine, Ambroxol, and Lazolvan are effective.

Pain in the throat along with a dry, obsessive cough (without relief) suggests the use of formulations with codeine. They are necessary because they help block the cough reflex - these are Sinekod, Solpadeine. Cough lozenges, for example, Doctor Mom, are effective.

My throat has been hurting for a week now, what should I do?

Answers:

Olga Nikolaeva

Lemon juice in its pure form is disgusting, but effective, without washing it down... In general, the best thing is to rinse with furracilin every half hour.

Cake

Take some vitamins.

Masha Ivanova

There is free medicine, you can find time for health!!

NORD77

Rinse with either an aqueous solution with furacelin or an aqueous solution with salt!!!

List my smiles

Find time and money. Because health is priceless.

zhanna

you need to start taking antibiotics, you see your ear is already starting to hurt, if you don’t have allergies, then you can start with amoxiclav

Natalya Yemets

So my throat hurt, only the right side, then the ear, then the other, in the end I went to the ENT specialist, the ENT specialist said that if I hadn’t come now and started being treated with the right antibiotics, my hearing would not have been restored! pain in the ear is a complication from the throat 100% run to the doctor, do not take antibiotics on your own, I first took it myself on the recommendation of the pharmacist, as a result it got worse, now they are giving hot injections and antibiotics, physical therapy and it seems to have finally gotten better

Olga Petrova

rinsing with iodine or a decoction of sage leaves

Therapy in childhood

Cough and sore throat in children require a different approach to treatment. It is necessary to use expectorants developed on the basis of herbs. Besides:

• for dry coughs, antitussive compounds are used that help combat this reflex;

• for wet coughs, use mucolytics, which have an antitussive effect;
• for sore throat and cough with fever, use antipyretic compounds, for example, Ibuprofen, Paracetamol.

The treatment of very young children - up to one year old - deserves special attention. Indeed, in their case, therapy has a number of features: there is no opportunity to gargle, a significant number of restrictions are provided, and sprays cannot be used. It is in this regard that when treating infants and children from one to one and a half years old, it is impossible to do without consulting a doctor.

Causes and mechanisms

Pathology lasting less than three weeks is considered acute. Next comes a protracted and chronic course. As for pain, they are usually caused by an inflammatory process in the throat, where the initial sections of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts intersect. And although the symptoms of chronic pathology are not as pronounced as in acute forms, they are still unpleasant for the patient. People adapt to long-term disorders in their own way, but this is not the norm and requires clarification of the cause.

Sore throat is a common sign of damage to the mucous membrane with irritation of sensitive nerve receptors. They can be the result of various conditions, but most often we are talking about chronic ENT pathology:

The long-term existence of inflammation is caused by inadequate and delayed treatment, decreased activity of local or general immunity, constant exposure to harmful factors (dry and hot air, smoking, dust, chemical aerosols, consumption of spicy food, alcohol, foreign bodies). If they are not eliminated, the mucous membrane will be constantly damaged, thereby maintaining a chronic process.

Damage to the throat by specific infectious agents, for example, chlamydia, candida or mycobacteria, is another factor in the long-term course of the pathology. But a sore throat can also hurt for other reasons not related to inflammatory changes:

• Gastroesophageal reflux.
• Enlarged thyroid gland.
• Neuralgia.
• Hypovitaminosis.
• Blood diseases.
• Tumors.
• Burns and injuries.

Therefore, the problem of long-term sore throat is very multifaceted, and it is not always possible to immediately understand what you are dealing with. But a qualified specialist will always determine why the symptoms persist for a long time and do not go away.

If your throat hurts for several months or a year has passed since the first symptoms appeared, then the cause is most likely hidden in a chronic process. More details can only be said after the examination.

How to treat pregnant women

If a woman who is expecting a baby has a sore throat and cough without fever, rinsing will be the simplest and most effective method of treatment. The presented procedure must be carried out at least six times a day - only in this case can you count on recovery.

In order to obtain a medicinal solution, use soda, Furacilin (in tablet form), herbs (for example, calendula or chamomile). It is permissible to add potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide.

After rinsing is completed, you must abstain from eating any food or even liquid for some time. This is very important so that the beneficial components present in the solution have time to be absorbed and have a positive effect on the nasopharynx.

Folk remedies

Before using such compositions, it is very important to consult a specialist. Their use within the course without approval can lead to complications and serious consequences.

Treatment for sore throat and cough using folk remedies is:

• drinking heated milk with the addition of linden or acacia honey - this helps soften the throat and also has a positive effect on the removal of phlegm;
• gargling with onion peel;
• using carrot juice with lemon and honey - not only improves the condition of the nasopharynx, but also strengthens the immune system;
• transition to the stage of wet cough due to tea with raspberries, viburnum and other healthy berries.

Additionally, if there are no allergic reactions, you can use inhalations performed at home. For their implementation, eucalyptus essential oil, chamomile or sage are used. The composition with herbs or oils is heated, poured into a container, the patient covers his head with a towel and bends over the container. It is important to do this not too low to avoid burns to the nasal mucosa. The procedures are best performed before going to bed; you can do this daily until the alarming symptoms of cough and sore throat disappear.

Symptoms

Those who have had a sore throat for a month should first seek medical help. Diagnostics is the task of a competent specialist, and he can cope with it in a fairly short time. After interviewing the patient, analyzing the medical history and the results of the physical examination, the doctor will form a preliminary diagnosis.

Tonsillitis

Chronic inflammation in the tonsils is often accompanied by pain when swallowing. During the period of remission, the process does not produce a temperature reaction, and the history contains an indication of previous tonsillitis. The disease can be recognized by a number of local signs:

• Purulent plugs on the tonsils.
• Redness and swelling of the palatine arches.
• Adhesion of the tonsil to its bed.
• Enlargement of individual lymph nodes.

If we are not talking about a simple form of tonsillitis, but a toxic-allergic one, then patients periodically experience low-grade fever, malaise, fatigue and decreased ability to work. Further development of the pathology leads to pain in the joints, functional disorders of the heart and kidneys.

Pharyngitis

If your throat bothers you for more than a month, then you should think about chronic pharyngitis. It occurs without fever and is accompanied by the following symptoms:

Upon examination, it is clear that the mucous membrane of the pharynx is reddened, swollen and thickened, and in places covered with cloudy discharge. Granular pharyngitis is accompanied by an increase in follicles along the back wall of the throat, and during the atrophic process, the mucous membrane becomes thinner, turns white, and convoluted vessels are visible through it; the secretion dries on it, turning into crusts.

Laryngitis

Chronic laryngitis is another reason that people who have had a sore throat for a month that hasn’t gone away should think about. In this case, not only the walls of the larynx are affected - the vocal cords also become inflamed, creating a characteristic clinical picture:

• Hoarseness, fatigue, change in voice timbre.
• Soreness, dryness, feeling of a foreign body in the throat.
• Dry or unproductive cough.

The mucous membrane is hyperemic and edematous, more in the area of ​​the vocal folds. In the hypertrophic form, local or widespread growths are determined, and its thinning indicates atrophy.

If a sore throat persists for 2 months, accompanied by a cough and voice disorders, then the most likely diagnosis will be chronic laryngitis.

Preventing sore throat

To avoid discomfort and symptoms of a cold, it is strongly recommended to lead a healthy lifestyle - eat right (the predominance of vegetables and fruits in the diet, cereals, lean meat and dairy products), consume vitamins and mineral complexes. It is necessary to walk daily, do exercises and, in general, avoid physical inactivity.

It is important to dress appropriately for the season and avoid contact with anyone who is already infected with any virus. For preventive purposes, it is advisable to drink warm milk with honey every day, and at the first symptoms of a sore throat and cough, immediately consult a doctor.