Sore throat refers to an inflammation of the pharynx and sometimes of the tonsils and this way it was named as pharyngitis or tonsillitis.

Sore throat can be cause by a virus or a bacterium. The viral infection can not be treated with antibiotics like the bacterial infection can as the viruses are immune to antibiotics. Sore throat can be encountered in affections like: flu, common cold and infectious mononucleosis.

The most frequent bacterium responsible for the installation of the sore throat is the Streptococcus bacteria. The affection caused by it is also known as strep throat. Other causes responsible for the sore throat are: coughing and yelling, smoking, low humidity and allergens.

In order to diagnose the sore throat the doctor will first perform a physical examination of the throat and then will swab the back of the throat and sent that sample to the laboratory to see what kid of infection is there: a bacterial or a viral infection.

If the analyze result shows that the patient has a viral infection, the doctor will prescribe a pain reliever and will recommend the patient to drink warm liquids like tea or soup and to rest for a few days. Antibiotic drugs are not efficient in this case so they will not be prescribed.

If the patient has a sore throat caused by a bacterium then the doctor will prescribe antibiotic drugs. They must be taken as prescribe and for the whole period of time otherwise antibiotic resistance can appear and the patient will not cure completely. Because ten to twenty years ago the patients have taken antibiotic drugs each time they had a minor affection, the bacteria developed resistance towards some antibiotic treatments. This way those antibiotic drugs could not be used any more in killing those bacteria and other antibiotic drugs had to be invented in order to replace the previous ones.

Some sore throats can give complications if left untreated. Those caused by viruses generally heal well by themselves and to not leave any marks. In those caused by bacterium treatment is necessary otherwise throat abscess, rheumatic fever, irremediable heart damage and glomerulonephritis can install. Nowadays in the developed countries these cases are rare as patients go to the doctor for a treatment as soon as they feel something is not right with their throat.