Pharyngitis - This is an inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa, which manifests itself with perspiration and sore throat, the patient feels a certain discomfort in the throat area. Pharyngitis manifests itself in acute or chronic form and is classified into such types (by the factor that causes the disease): bacterial, viral, allergic, fungal or traumatic.
Pharyngitis - causes
More often than others, viral pharyngitis occurs, provoked by the most common causative agents of respiratory infections such as rhinovirus, adenovirus, coronavirus, parainfluenza virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and many others. In most cases, acute viral pharyngitis develops against the background of acute respiratory viral infections (respiratory infection), and bacterial pharyngitis is much less common (streptococci provoke it, less often mycoplasmas, neyseries and chlamydia).
Chronic pharyngitis can form due to acute and chronic forms of upper respiratory tract infection. It is also possible with prolonged exposure to the mucous membrane of the pharynx with such irritants as dust, soot, alcohol and others.
Pharyngitis - Symptoms
Acute pharyngitis is characterized by symptoms: soreness and feeling of soreness in the throat, slight pain when swallowing, which is more manifested when swallowing saliva. Body temperature is usually low-grade. The general condition of the patient is almost unchanged. With pharyngoscopy, the doctor observes flushing with mucopurulent deposits on the mucous membrane of the pharynx and palatine tonsils.
Chronic pharyngitis is divided into atrophic, hypertrophic and catarrhal forms. They develop from acute pharyngitis in those cases when the active stimuli to the pharyngeal mucosa were not eliminated in time. They provoke the development of a chronic form of pharyngitis: tonsillitis, runny nose, purulent inflammation of the sinuses (paranasal), dental caries, lung disease, heart, kidney, metabolic disorders, etc.
Pharyngitis - diagnosis
It is not difficult for a qualified specialist to establish an accurate diagnosis, whether it be of any form or course. Pharyngitis is diagnosed on the basis of pharyngoscopy data, but in addition, the doctor may prescribe other examinations to draw the most accurate conclusions.
Often, patients with pharyngitis avoid contacting a specialist, self-medicating with folk methods or medicines from a home medicine cabinet. But this does not always help, since it is necessary to eliminate a viral or bacterial infection in addition to lowering the temperature, relieving sore throat and improving muscle tone. It is impossible to find out the reason without special examinations, therefore self-medication is useless and only leads to a temporary improvement in well-being. Such negligence can lead to a chronic form of the disease.
Pharyngitis - treatment and prevention
First of all, when there is an acute sore throat, you need to limit the voice mode, that is, talk only in a whisper. Eat only room temperature and exclude salty, sour and smoked foods from your diet.
To avoid the spread of infection, it is necessary to minimize contact with others and especially with children.
Acute pharyngitis is amenable to complex treatment, consisting of the use of disinfectant (antiseptic) drugs in the form of irrigation (sprinkling), rinsing or lozenges, lozenges. These drugs affect the causative factors of the disease, while not penetrating the general bloodstream, which makes them acceptable for the treatment of pregnant and lactating mothers.
For the prevention of pharyngitis, it is necessary to eliminate all the causes of possible hypothermia, to limit smoking and eating spicy foods. You also need to timely treat inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx and respiratory tract.
