Suggest Treatment For Severe Sore Throat, Cough And Running Nose

Posted on Fri, 30 Dec 2016

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

Fri, 30 Dec 2016 Answered on

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I've had a sore throat for four days, cough, running nose, slight fever and chills. The very back of my tongue is white with red dots on it. Having trouble swallowing. Gargling with salt water, staying hydrated. Only sleeping 2-3 hrs then wake coughing up phlegm . My tonsils are not inflamed. Stomach somewhat upset at times.

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Gurgling is the mainstay of treatment

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

I have gone carefully through the details and understand your concern. You seem to have an infection which could be due to viral or bacterial cause. Irrespective of the cause antibiotics are not essential and gurgling with lukewarm water is the mainstay of treatment. Please continue it. It might take 5-7 days to normalise.

Take some antiallergic like cetirizine once daily for next few days. You need to take steam inhalation. Water vapor will reach deep inside and would help in diluting the cough and thus would provide relief.

Regards

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