Throat inflammation

In life, throat inflammation is a very common physical condition. Inflammation of the throat can easily lead to chronic pharyngitis or acute pharyngitis, which have a great impact on the health of the body. Throat inflammation needs to be treated in time. You can take some medicine for treatment. You should pay more attention to the hygiene of the living environment and try to keep a clean environment.

What to do if your throat gets inflamed?

Throat inflammation

Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the pharynx and larynx caused by viral or bacterial infection.

Pharyngitis is mainly divided into acute pharyngitis, chronic pharyngitis and atrophic pharyngitis. Acute pharyngitis is an acute inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa, submucosal tissue and lymphoid tissue, and is often part of an upper respiratory tract infection. It can occur alone or secondary to acute rhinitis. It often occurs in autumn and winter and between winter and spring. Chronic pharyngitis is a chronic inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa, submucosal and lymphoid tissue, and is often a part of chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. It is more common in adults, with a long course of disease, stubborn symptoms and difficulty in curing. Atrophic pharyngitis often spreads from atrophic rhinitis. Its cause is unknown and it is rare in clinical practice.

Causes of chronic pharyngitis:

(1) Local factors

① Repeated attacks of acute pharyngitis turn into chronic disease.

② Chronic inflammatory irritation of the upper respiratory tract, such as chronic sinusitis, nasopharyngeal inflammation, etc., may cause its inflammatory secretions to flow through the posterior nasal cavity to the posterior pharyngeal wall and irritate the mucosa. It may also cause the patient to breathe with the mouth open for a long time, causing excessive dryness of the mucosa and leading to chronic pharyngitis. In addition, chronic tonsillitis, dental caries, etc. can also cause chronic pharyngitis.

③ Long-term excessive smoking and drinking, or stimulation by dust and harmful gases can cause this disease.

④ Occupational factors (teachers, singers, etc.) and physical factors may also be the causes of this disease.

(2) Systemic factors

Various chronic diseases, such as anemia, indigestion, reflux esophagitis, cardiovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory tract inflammation, liver and kidney diseases, etc. can cause this disease. In addition, endocrine disorders, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, vitamin deficiency and immune dysfunction are all related to this disease.

Causes of atrophic pharyngitis:

Atrophic pharyngitis often spreads from atrophic rhinitis, and the cause is unknown.

Clinical manifestations

Acute pharyngitis has an acute onset, with dryness and burning sensation in the throat at first, followed by sore throat. The sore throat is often more obvious when swallowing an empty stomach than when eating, and the pain may radiate to the ears. Systemic symptoms are generally mild, but the severity varies depending on age, immunity, and the virulence of viruses and bacteria. Severe cases may include fever, headache, loss of appetite, and sore limbs. The general course of the disease is about 1 week. Examination revealed acute diffuse congestion of the oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal mucosa, edema of the palatine arch and uvula, and redness and swelling of the posterior pharyngeal wall lymph follicles and lateral pharyngeal cords. In patients with bacterial infection, yellow-white punctate exudates may appear in the center of the lymph follicles on the posterior pharyngeal wall. The submandibular lymph nodes are swollen and tender.

Treatment

Treatment of acute pharyngitis

(1) Patients with severe infection and obvious systemic symptoms should rest in bed, drink plenty of water and eat liquid food, and use antiviral drugs, antibiotics or sulfonamides. Traditional Chinese medicine preparations with antiviral and antibacterial effects can also be used.

(2) For patients with mild or no systemic symptoms, local treatment can be used: gargle with compound borax solution, take damifen lozenges, iodine lozenges and silver yellow lozenges orally, 4 to 6 lozenges per day. In addition, you can also use 1%~3% iodine glycerin and 2% silver nitrate to apply the swollen lymph follicles on the posterior pharyngeal wall, which has an anti-inflammatory effect.

Treatment of chronic pharyngitis

(1) It is very important to eliminate the cause of the disease, quit smoking and drinking, improve the working and living environment (avoid dust and harmful gases), actively treat chronic inflammation of the nose and nasopharynx, correct constipation and indigestion, and treat systemic diseases to enhance resistance.

(2) Traditional Chinese Medicine: Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that chronic pharyngitis is caused by Yin deficiency and excessive fire, which disturbs the throat and causes malnutrition. The treatment should be to nourish yin and reduce fire, with Zengye Decoction added or subtracted. You can also use appropriate amounts of double flower and Ophiopogon japonicus, add two pieces of Sterculia lychnophora, and use boiling water to brew it instead of tea.