How Is Infection And Pharyngitis Treated ?

Posted on Wed, 15 Jun 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 Answered on

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Question : Hi. I have had a VERY sore throat for the past few days along with a non-productive cough and flu like aches and chills but low or no fever. Its been difficult to swallow and my voice has recently become raspy. It feels like I inhaled hot ash (which I did not...don't smoke and haven't been near a fire in ages). I just noticed a few small pea sized white bumps/bubbles on the very back (not sides) of my throat. Should I be concerned? FYI, this is painful enough to have waken me from sleep at 2 am. Thanks.

Answered by Dr. Rajkumar Chemudugunta (-4 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for the query.

It appears that you have infection of the pharynx along with its inflammation(pharyngitis). And since you have difficulty swallowing it appears that your tonsils are also inflammed and hence enlarged which makes swallowing difficult.

It would be better to get your throat examined by a ENT Specialist, along with a throat swab culture which will isolate the causative organism, followed by an antibiotic therapy.

For the time being, for symptomatic relief you can try the following measures:
- Drinking only warm water (avoid all cold items)
- Salt water gargling
- Throat lozenges can also be helpful.

Hope I answered your queries. In case of any doubts, I am available for the follow ups.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar