The science of sore throats
Common cold statistics reveal that we are most likely to experience the dreaded sore throat symptom in December, with incidences reaching their peak in the very last week of the month as we recover from the excess of Christmas and prepare for more of the same over the New Year.
With over 700,000 people forced to seek medical attention in December for common cold symptoms, it is important that suffers do as much as they can to effectively react to an infection.
The sore throat is a common symptom affecting every one of us at least once a year and as well as being painful, can signal a more serious condition if persistent.
Dr Mike Smith, a GP and author with a specialist interest in coughs, colds and flu is here to explain the science behind sore throats.
What exactly is a sore throat?
A sore throat is the body’s answer to infection. All sore throats are caused by inflammation which manifests itself as swelling, redness, pain and heat. It is this inflammation which shows that your body is fighting off an infection by producing its army of antibodies.
Often, sore throat remedies contain ingredients to treat the infection, which in doing so are negatively interfering with your body’s own natural defences. Ideally, sufferers should go for something that addresses the pain associated with the inflammation, so it does not dampen your body’s reaction but eases the sore throat instead.
If an infection strikes any part of the respiratory tract, from the lungs at the bottom to the nasal passage at the top, it has the potential to spread. With the throat constituting such a large region, infection in one specific area will spread and ultimately result in a sore throat.
Viral or bacterial – that is the question
There are two types of infection which can cause a sore throat – viral and bacterial. In the first instance, consulting your pharmacist will confirm the type of infection which is usually identified by the presence of pus or yellow mucus in the throat area – signalling a bacterial infection.
A bacterial infection is often the cause of more serious sore throats and in the majority of cases treatment will be in the form of antibiotics prescribed by your GP.
A viral infection is the most common of the two, being the source of 90-95% of cases, and does not respond to antibiotics. Therefore the best response is to let it go away on its own and to treat the associated pain. The most common method for this is with an anaesthetic spray or lozenge, with the spray being very effective in delivering the anaesthetic straight to where it hurts. This is also useful for relieving pain with bacterial infections while antibiotics are working.
A viral infection can sometimes lead to a bacterial infection due to a weakened immune system. These are often called opportunistic or secondary infections.
Coughs, colds and flu
Although a sore throat is often synonymous with colds, coughs or flu, it is possible to get one without the other. Many colds, caused by viral infections, begin in the nose and can lead to a sore throat when infected mucus runs down the throat to the trachea and larynx – these are called post-nasal drips.
Many people use the word ‘flu’ without really knowing what it is. A self-diagnosis of flu when you’ve spent a few days in bed with a sore head, throat and runny nose, is inaccurate. Real flu is much more serious and can keep a sufferer in bed for around a week with a very high temperature. Generally those that self-diagnose flu will have been struck down by the respiratory syncytial virus instead, which is a flu-like illness which lasts a few days but rarely sees temperature increase above 99 or 100.
What not to do when you have a sore throat
Whatever you do, stop smoking cigarettes. Smoke is a major irritant of the airways and will thicken mucus and prevent infected mucus from leaving the body.
Keep away from other people. Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with passing on the infection to someone else. In fact, by the time you have the symptoms of a sore throat your body is already fighting the infection meaning you would have been at your most infectious 36-48 hours before your symptoms appeared. Keeping away from other people when you have a sore throat is about looking after yourself. It limits the chance of other ‘secondary’ infections latching on to your weakened immune system.
A persistent sore throat sufferer
It’s hard to say why some individuals are more susceptible to sore throats than others, although it may be worth taking a look at your lifestyle for clues.
Smoking: not only will it hinder your recovery once you have a sore throat but it also makes the chance of viral or bacterial infection more likely. Regular smokers are often more prone to coughing, and if they develop a persistent cough this can cause a sore throat.
Excessive alcohol consumption: Drinking heavily, in particular binge drinking, plays havoc on the respiratory process. Snoring, often brought about by a deep drink-induced sleep can dry out the throat, but more importantly interrupts the safe passage of oxygen to all the muscles in your body, including those in your throat which help to move particles through the body efficiently and reduce the chance of an infection settling in.
Obesity: If the body is carrying around too much weight there is often an associated shortness of breath or a difficulty in breathing. This is because there is more tissue to keep oxygenated and the body has to take in more air to compensate. Naturally, we breathe through our noses, where the oxygen is warmed in the various cavities in our nasal passage. When we breathe through our mouths - often the case with people who are overweight - there is no space for the oxygen to warm up and as a result there is less moisture in it, which can dry out the respiratory tract and result in a sore throat.
Why do we suffer more with sore throats during the winter months?
Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with the weather. The reason infection spreads faster in the winter months is because we spend more time indoors trying to keep warm. The risk of virus infection is increased by crowded centrally-heated spaces with closed windows.
There is also another reason. Little hairs in our lungs and nasal passage, called cilia, slow down in movement in the colder months. This means that an infection, or a build up of infected mucus and particles, is not wafted up and out of the body as efficiently as it would be in the warmer weather.
The old adage of ‘catching a chill’ is a myth as you can never a catch a cold from the cold weather. You will only get a cold if the infection is already in your system.
Other causes
Other causes of inflammation of the throat are from allergic reactions, where your body is stimulating more antibodies than it needs, which results in your body trying to fight them off. Common causes are allergies to pollen or animal fur, a reaction to pollution or smoke.
If a sore throat persists...
Sometimes a sore throat can indicate a more serious condition. If you experience any of the following then you should visit a GP.
- If your sore throat does not improve after two weeks
- If you have frequent sore throats and they do not respond to painkillers or treatment
- If you have a persistent fever (above 38C/100.4F) which medication does not reduce
Expert’s advice
When a sore throat strikes, Dr Mike Smith believes the best treatment is one that lets the body still do its defensive work, “Get your hands on something that will get straight to the site of the pain, such as an anaesthetic throat spray, but don’t worry about fighting off the overall infection – that’s what your sore throat is doing already.”
Ultra Chloraseptic is a fast acting anaesthetic throat spray that gets straight to the site of pain. Just three sprays can numb sore throats in seconds. Plus each pocket friendly bottle contains over 30 adult doses (over 100 sprays)! Available in two great tasting flavours (original menthol and cherry). Real relief, real fast. Find them in the healthcare aisles of larger supermarkets, Boots, Superdrug and your local pharmacy. RRP £5.10.