A sore throat, also called pharyngitis, is caused by a bacterial or by a viral infection. It was seen that about 90% of the cases due to viruses, and 10% to bacteria.

The most usual bacterial infection is caused by the bacteria group A streptococci. In this case, we say we are dealing with a strep throat. It is known that both sore throat and strep throat are contagious.

In rare cases, due to the strep throat, there can appear rheumatic fever, which can provoke the apparition of heart valve problems or inflammation of the kidney. Strep can also cause a red rash known as scarlet fever, but this happens in very rare cases too.

In order to diagnose the strep throat, the doctor needs to swab the back of the patient's throat, and then the swab is sent to the laboratory for testing.

In what concerns viruses, there is a large variety that can cause sore throats.

The Epstein-Barr virus causes glandular fever and glandular fever tonsillitis. There are a lot of people that suffer recurrent tonsillitis, the children and young adults being the most affected. There sometimes can appear chronic tonsillitis. This happens when the tonsils are too damaged, they remain infected and do not respond well at antibiotic treatment. There can also appear a bad breath.

In many cases of recurrent tonsillitis, there is needed surgery to remove the tonsils.

A severe attack of tonsillitis can appear because of the glandular fever. There can appear serious breathing problems, because very often the tonsils and the glands in the neck are very large. In many cases there can appear a rash on the skin or over the soft palate, or sometimes a gray coating over the tonsils.

It was seen that the infection can cause enlargement or inflammation of the liver and spleen, and in this situation, care must be taken because the spleen may potentially rupture, causing internal bleeding. Also, alcohol must be avoided.

In order to diagnose the glandular fever, it is necessary a blood test. It is important to know that this test may not be positive at the time of the sore throat, and it takes a few weeks till it becomes positive.

The peritonsillar abscess, also known as quinsy, may follow tonsillitis and forms on one side of the palate and throat around the tonsil. Persistent symptoms of severe tonsillitis may appear, and the antibiotics will not be effective unless the abscess is drained.

Very often, there can result dehydration, difficulty drinking and swallowing.

Some other causes of sore throats are laryngitis, diphtheria, measles and draining from the sinuses. There are some cases when a sore throat can be a sign of throat cancer or AIDS.

A sore throat can show symptoms like red throat, swollen tonsils, pain with swallowing, coughing, fever, swollen neck glands, and pus covering the throat.

There can also appear headache, stomach ache, and the voice can become hoarse.

It is known that the sore throats caused by a virus do not respond at antibiotic treatment, so, in order to reduce the discomfort, there are some methods that can be followed. You can use a pain reliever like paracetamol, suck throat lozenges or use throat sprays, eat soft foods such as ice cream, soups and mashed vegetables, gargle with a cup of warm water and half a teaspoon of salt and drink plenty of water, soft drinks or milkshakes. It is also important to avoid smoking, because that can cause further throat irritation.

Antibiotics are used to cure a sore throat caused by bacteria, but it is important to put in balance the benefits of their use and the side effects. It was seen that there can appear diarrhoea, skin rashes, candida and in rare cases anaphylaxis.

There also exists the risk of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, and the concern that the infection can recur when strep throat has been treated with antibiotics.

Of course, antibiotics are needed when a person is really sick and it is important to be taken for at least 10 days, in order to destroy the bacteria.

The most used antibiotics include amoxicillin, penicillin and erythromycin.

A lot of sore throats do not need medical attention, but if the patient can hardly swallow, is drooling, or having trouble breathing, visiting the doctor is a necessary thing. The doctor will know which treatment is best for the sore throat.