Sore throat is a common problem during childhood and is usually the result of a bacterial or viral infection. However, the most likely cause of a child’s sore throat depends upon the child’s age, the season, and the geographic area.
While viruses are the most common cause of sore throat, bacteria are another common cause. It is difficult to determine the cause of sore throat based upon symptoms alone, an examination and laboratory test may be recommended.
Usually, bacteria and viruses are spread from one person to another through hand contact. Hands get contaminated when the sick children touch their nose or mouth and then touches another person directly (hand-to-hand contact) or indirectly (hand-to-object, such as doorknob, telephone, toys).
Dr Ayotunde Fasunla, an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, says that although sore throat usually resolves without complications, it sometimes requires treatment with antibiotic, pain medications or other drugs depending on its cause.
He added “often people resort to antibiotics, thinking that it would cure the sore throat. Most sore throats are caused by a virus. But antibiotics would not work for sore throats caused by a virus. Doctors would only prescribe antibiotics for sore throat if alongside the sore throat, the individual has other symptoms like swollen neck nodes, fever, swollen tonsils with signs of pus and cough.”
Now, the commonest cause of sore throat is, aside from a virus, is a strain of streptococcus bacteria. Other common causes of a sore throat include allergies, irritation caused by dry heat, cold air, pollutants, or chemicals and reflux, when stomach acids come up into the back of the throat. More severe but less common conditions that can involve a sore throat include HIV infection, tumors of the throat, tongue, or larynx and epiglottitis (a rare but potentially dangerous throat infection).
Mostly, people that are most at risk of frequent sore throats include children aged between five and 15 years and people with allergies, weakened immune systems, exposed to chemical irritants, or whose tonsils are large or irregularly shaped.
He declared that although the antibiotics may not take the soreness away faster, it could lower the risk of a bacterial infection spreading to other parts of the body, such as the ears and sinuses, thereby preventing serious but rare problems such as rheumatic fever or kidney inflammation in children.
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that can cause permanent heart damage and also affect the brain, joints and skin.
Howbeit, very rarely, a sore throat may be a symptom of a more serious condition if it comes with difficulty breathing or swallowing, severe pain, drooling, a muffled voice and a high-pitched sound as one breathes.
In 2013, Cochrane library review of studies on effective of antibiotics for treating sore throats said antibiotics confer relative benefits in the treatment of sore throat. However, the absolute benefits are modest.
The review, which included 27 trials with 12,835 cases of sore throat among both children and adults, found that antibiotics shorten the duration of pain symptoms by an average of about one day and can reduce the chance of rheumatic fever by more than two-thirds in communities where this complication is common. Other complications associated with sore throat are also reduced through antibiotic use.
Howbeit, Dr Fasunla said most sore throats have to run their course as home remedies such as salt water gargle will only offer temporary relieve of the sore throat symptoms. A salt water gargle entails mixing half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water. It is used to gargle for 20 seconds, three to four times a day.
He declared that the salt water gargle is not a cure for sore throat but it will help to wash away perhaps the organism, pus, secretions or contaminants on surface of the throat while also soothing the swelling and the pain in the throat.
According to him, “Saltwater is hypertonic; it means that saltwater has a higher osmotic pressure than the fluid in cells. So when you submerge the cells in the throat in saltwater, the liquid in the cells gets drawn to the surface and so does any virus or bacteria that are in the throat, meaning you might be able to spit some out along with the saltwater.
“Extra moisture on the surface also makes a sore throat feel better. Also, the salt could kill some of the bacteria or virus that’s causing the throat pain once it is close enough to the surface. But, again, saltwater is not a sore throat cure; it is not going to attack the root source of the pain. It’ll just calm it down.”
Moreover, swallowing a spoonful of honey, vitamin C supplements, drinking lots of water and other liquids, and staying away from cigarette smoke are also sure to soothe a sore throat. Vitamin C helps by promoting the healing of the surface of the throat as well as to boost the immune system to fight the organism.
However, it is essential that a person does not give honey to a child younger than one year old due to the risk of infant botulism. This is a rare but serious form of poisoning, which can occur by ingesting Clostridium botulinum spores in honey products.
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