Excerpted from "A Year of Health Hints"
365 Practical Ways to Feel Better and Live Longer
Sore throats range from a mere scratch to pain so severe that
swallowing nothing more than saliva is uncomfortable. The cause
of all this misery can be either a virus or bacteria. Viral sore
throats are the more common of the two and don't respond to
antibiotics; bacterial ones do. So it's important to know what
kind of bug is roughing up your throat.
Bacterial sore throats are most often caused by streptococcus
(strep throat) and usually bring a high fever, headaches, or
swollen, enlarged neck glands with them. Viral sore throats
generally don't. But even doctors have trouble diagnosing a sore
throat based on symptoms alone. (A child with a bacterial sore
throat may have no other symptoms, for example.) And if left
untreated, serious complications, including abscesses, kidney
inflammation, or rheumatic heart disease, could arise from a
strep throat. So your doctor may take a throat culture. If strep,
or other bacteria are the culprits, he or she will prescribe a
ten-day course of antibiotics.
You can take some steps to relieve sore throat discomfort.
Gargle every
few hours with a solution of 1/2 teaspoon of salt dissolved in
half a glass
of warm water.
Drink plenty of
warm beverages, such as tea (with or without honey) and soup.
Use a vaporizer or
humidifier in the room where you spend most of your time.
Don't smoke.
Avoid eating spicy
foods.
Suck on a piece of
hard candy or medicated lozenge every so often. (Do not give to
children
under 5 years of age.)
Take aspirin or
acetaminophen for the pain or fever (or both). (Note:
Children age 19 or younger,
however, shouldn't
take aspirin for chicken pox or flulike symptoms because of its
association
with Reye's syndrome,
a potentially fatal condition that is discussed in chapter 2,
Major Medical
Conditions:
Prevention, Detection, and Treatment.)