Sore throat why does it hurt

It usually hurts worse when you swallow. Depending on the cause of your sore throat, symptoms include:. Most sore throats are caused by viruses, such as the cold or flu virus. Some of the more serious causes of sore throat include tonsillitis , strep throat , and mononucleosis mono. Other causes include smoking, mouth breathing at night while you sleep, pollution, and allergies to pets, pollens and molds. General anesthesia during surgery can cause a sore throat.

Your doctor will do a physical exam. They will look at the back of your throat. Your doctor may swab the back of your throat. This is called a throat culture. It is done to collect a sample of bacteria. This also is used in a rapid strep test.

This is a quick test to diagnose strep throat. The results of a throat culture takes between 24 and 48 hours. If your doctor thinks you may have mono, they will probably do a blood test. The best way to avoid a sore throat is to avoid getting sick. Avoid catching or spreading the viruses and bacteria that cause a sore throat. Wash your hands regularly. Avoid touching your eyes or mouth. Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing.

If your sore throat is cause by the flu, your doctor may prescribe antiviral medicine. Most sore throats caused by a cold or flu-type virus go away in a week to 10 days. If your sore throat is caused by bacteria, your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic.

You will feel better in a few days. It is important to take all of your antibiotics. This reduces the risk that your sore throat will return. Symptoms caused by mono can last for 4 weeks or more. The treatment for mono is rest and reduced exercise.

If a sore throat is caused by allergies, your doctor may talk to you about allergy triggers. He or she may recommend medicine for the allergy. Most canker sores are small and round with a red border and a white or yellow center.

While small, they can be quite painful. When a canker sore forms in a back corner of your throat, you may feel pain on one side. Most canker sores heal on their own within two weeks. In the meantime, you can find relief with home remedies or OTC topical medications, such as benzocaine Orabase. Your lymph nodes help your body fight off infections. You may notice swollen lymph nodes in your neck, under your chin, in your armpits, or in your groin. There are many lymph nodes in your head and neck regions.

Lymph nodes usually swell in the area near an infection. If you have strep throat , for example, the lymph nodes in your neck may swell. Sometimes only one lymph node will swell, causing a sore throat on one side. In rare cases, swollen lymph nodes may be a sign of a more severe problem, such cancer or HIV. Talk to your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms with swollen lymph nodes:. Glossopharyngeal neuralgia and trigeminal neuralgia , the latter sometimes called tic douloureux, are relatively rare nerve conditions that cause recurrent, sudden, excruciating pain around your ear canal, tongue, tonsils, jaw, or side of your face.

Due to the location of nerves in your head and neck, the pain is usually on one side of the face only. The pain of glossopharyngeal neuralgia is usually in the back of the throat or tongue. You might feel an ache in the affected area after the acute pain episode.

The pain of trigeminal neuralgia is usually facial, but sometimes can occur in the mouth. Pain can be sudden and episodic or prolonged and progressive. Touching the face, eating, or even wind blowing on the face may set off an episode. Both conditions are usually treated with medications used for neuropathic pain, such as carbamazepine Tegretol , gabapentin Neurontin , or pregabalin Lyrica. A tooth periapical abscess is a contained collection of pus caused by a bacterial infection.

This pocket of pus grows at the tip of the root of your tooth. It can cause severe pain that radiates to your jawbone and your ear on one side of your face. The lymph nodes around your neck and throat may also be swollen and tender.

Infected wisdom teeth can cause jaw pain and swelling, making it difficult to open your mouth. If your wisdom teeth are causing problems, your dentist will likely recommend removing them. If you have a tooth abscess, your dentist may make an incision to drain the pus. You might also need an antibiotic.

Laryngitis refers to inflammation in your voice box, also called your larynx. You have two vocal cords in your larynx that normally open and close smoothly to make sound.

When the cords become swollen or irritated, you might feel pain and notice that your voice sounds different. If one cord is more irritated than the other, you may feel throat pain on only one side. When bacteria or viruses get into your throat, they can cause an infection that makes your pharynx swollen, tender, and red. This is called pharyngitis. Often, Group A strep bacteria cause pharyngitis, known as strep throat.

The main symptom of pharyngitis is a sore throat, but you may also have other signs of an infection, such as a fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, and swollen glands in your neck. Your doctor will notice that your pharynx is swollen and red when looking at your throat. You may also need a swab called a throat culture to make sure you don't have strep throat. If you do test positive for strep throat, your doctor can prescribe an antibiotic to kill off the bacteria.

There's another common type of bacteria that can cause throat infections: Fusobacterium necrophorum. I call it F-throat. Antibiotics are important for F-throat. But pharyngitis that's caused by a virus won't get better with antibiotics. You'll just need to take care of yourself and wait for your body to fight off the infection.

To soothe a sore throat, drink warm liquids such as tea with honey or lemon. Gargle a few times a day with warm water mixed with about a half-teaspoon of salt. Sleep with a cool-mist vaporizer to keep your throat moist.

Popsicles may be soothing. And suck on cough drops or lozenges. If your throat is really raw, you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Sore throats are more common during the winter months, so wash your hands often and try to not be too close to people who are sick. If you do get a sore throat, stay home and rest until you feel better, or at least until there's been no fever for 24 hours.

Keep washing your hands often so you don't pass the infection to other people in your family. Pharyngitis should go away in a few days, but if it doesn't, call your doctor. Also call if you have a very high fever, a rash, or swollen glands. Get emergency help right away if you have trouble breathing. Pharyngitis is caused by swelling in the back of the throat pharynx between the tonsils and the voice box larynx. Most cases of pharyngitis occur during the colder months.