Sore Throat
Sore Throat
Swallow without Pain
Sometimes you can pinpoint the exact moment when it starts. Awakening early for a frosty run or racing to a late-afternoon meeting, you swallow hard and whoa! What had been a natural reflex suddenly rings a dry and silent alarm. Your throat burns angrily, almost daring you to swallow again.
Dry heat, tobacco smoke, allergies, nasal infections, errant stomach acids and enthusiastic cheering can inflame and dry up the normally moist and smooth mucous membranes of your respiratory airway, setting the stage for a sore throat or other respiratory distress.
Infections can also trigger a sore throat. Sometimes even doctors have trouble determining which villain is most likely to blame for the parched tunnel of fire that used to be your healthy throat: a cold or flu virus, which just has to run its course, or a bacteria, like the well-known winter warrior, strep, or streptococcus.
What Women Doctors Do
Recipe for Sore-Throat Relief Penelope Shar, M.D. Bangor, Maine, is a popular winter destination for some least-loved members of the animal world: the viruses and bacteria that cause sore throats. When Penelope Shar, M.D., a Bangor internist in private practice, gets a sore-throat bug, she heads for her kitchen instead of reaching inside her medicine bag. "I make a hot drink by mixing equal parts tea and lemon juice, plus enough honey to make it palatable. If you don't add enough honey, it tastes terrible," she says. "Then I heat it in the microwave. (About 2½ minutes per cup should do it.) It's really soothing." Over-the-counter throat lozenges may be of use, but not for their medicinal properties, says Dr. Shar. If they're useful, it's because they stimulate saliva production and moisturize your throat while you suck on them. Dr. Shar prefers sugarless Ricola candies.
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SELF-CARE WORKS Antibiotic drugs haven't been conclusively proven to speed up the cure for common sore throats, and throat cultures aren't all that accurate. Neverthless, if your doctor has pretty much ruled out strep throat or some other serious condition behind your symptoms, some doctors believe that it's best to slow down, get warm and cozy and baby your aching throat, just like they do. Here's what women doctors suggest.
Fill up your favorite mug. Warm liquids will not only feel good to your raw throat, but they will also help rehydrate your parched mucous membranes. Try to drink at least two quarts of beverages--preferably, caffeine-free--a day until you feel better. Perhaps this would be a good time to try some new herbal teas, hot lemonade or flavored decaffeinated coffees, says Penelope Shar, M.D., an internist in private practice in Bangor, Maine.
In fact, one woman doctor steers women away from antiseptic lozenges, or lozenges that numb the throat. They may contain ingredients that actually irritate your throat, according to Karen Rhew, M.D., of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders in Bethesda, Maryland.
In a pinch, candy will help. If you don't have any throat lozenges on hand, and you don't want to brave the cold and damp to get to the store, you can just as well use sugarless candy, says Dr. Shar.
Think zinc. Some people find that letting zinc gluconate tablets and lozenges dissolve on their tongues relieves sore throat discomfort. And according to a study conducted at the Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute of the University of Texas at Austin, zinc gluconate is an effective reliever of sore throat. You can buy zinc gluconate tablets at health food stores. Follow package directions.
Swallow some crushed ice. Sometimes ice can cool the fire of your swallow, according to Dr. Rhew.
When To See A Doctor
A severe sore throat can signify more than a mild viral infection. "In younger women, I worry about mononucleosis," says Penelope Shar, M.D, an internist in private practice in Bangor, Maine. "In women of any age, I worry about strep throat." A serious streptococcus bacterial infection (strep throat) can lead, in rare cases, to rheumatic fever, kidney disease or pneumonia. Call your doctor for an appointment if your sore throat isn't significantly better in five to seven days, or if you have any of the following symptoms. * Severe, prolonged throat pain * Swollen glands in your neck * Trouble swallowing or opening your mouth * A persistent lump in your throat or neck * Hoarseness that lasts for more than two weeks * Earache * Blood in phlegm or saliva * High fever (above 101°F) * Joint pain * Skin rash If you can't swallow or have trouble breathing because of swelling of your airway, seek medical attention immediately, emphasizes Dr. Shar.
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Add a pinch of salt. If your mother or grandmother fixed you a saltwater gargle whenever you had a sore throat as a kid, she was on the right track. Dr. Shar says that gargling often with warm saltwater can ease the pain and restore moisture to irritated throat tissues. Mix a pinch of salt with a quarter-cup of warm water. Repeat four or fives times a day.
Warm your neck. Holding a hot-water bottle or warm (not hot) heating pad to your neck can further relieve the pain of a sore throat, according to Dr. Rhew.
Mist is a must. Just as your plants become revitalized with a good misting, your dry throat will thank you for using a cool-mist humidifier to moisten the hot, dry air of your home or office, says Dr. Shar.
Take acetaminophen. Tylenol or other painkillers containing acetaminophen are best for upper respiratory infections, Dr. Shar says.
(For practical ways to relieve coughing and laryngitis, see pages 147 and 339.)
