Sore throat in adults | Mate korokoro

Māori tamariki and Pasifika children are most at risk of developing rheumatic fever and should see a doctor or nurse if they show ANY sign of sore throat. 

Video: Rheumatic fever

(Stop Sore Throats Hurting Hearts, NZ, 2016)

When to get help if you're at higher risk of rheumatic fever

You are at higher risk of rheumatic fever if:

• you have had rheumatic fever before
• someone in your family or household has had rheumatic fever.

You are also at higher risk if you have 2 or more of the following:

• Māori or Pasifika ethnicity
• You're 3 to 35 years of age
• You live in poorer or crowded living conditions.

When to get help if you're not at higher risk of rheumatic fever

If you're not high risk for rheumatic fever, you should see your healthcare provider if your symptoms aren't improving after 48 hours, or if you:

• have neck stiffness or ear pain
• have swollen glands (feel for tender lumps in your neck) that are getting bigger
• have any other symptoms you're concerned about.
  
  

The main symptoms of a sore throat are:

• a painful or scratchy throat, especially when you swallow
• difficulty swallowing
• redness at the back of your mouth
• bad breath
• cold and flu symptoms, eg, a cough, hoarseness, red eyes and runny nose (usually not seen with strep throat).
• swollen glands in your neck
• your tonsils are large and covered in white stuff.

The image below shows a normal throat and a red throat with white spots on a swollen tonsil.

Image credit: Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014 via Wikimedia Commons(external link)

It's not possible to be sure from symptoms whether a sore throat is caused by a virus or bacteria. This is why people at higher risk of rheumatic fever should always get a throat swab done. See diagnosis and treatment of strep throat.

Your healthcare provider will ask questions about your symptoms and look in your mouth. They may take a throat swab to test for Streptococcus if you are at high risk of rheumatic fever or are at risk of spreading a strep throat infection. For example, if you are a:

• healthcare worker
• residential care worker
• food handler
• teacher
• childcare worker
• student.

If glandular fever is suspected you may need to have a blood test.

Self-care 

The treatment of a sore throat depends on the cause. A sore throat that's caused by a viral infection is usually treated by self-care measures such as:

• pain relief medicines
• drinking more fluids
• eating soft foods
• trying ice blocks 
• honey and lemon juice.

Medicines for sore throat

A sore throat is often caused by a viral infection, and the pain and discomfort usually eases after a few days. It often doesn't need treatment with medicine. But if the pain is very uncomfortable you can use the following medicines to ease the symptoms.

When are antibiotics used for sore throat?

Most people don't need antibiotics for a sore throat because most sore throats are caused by viruses and antibiotics are not effective at killing viruses. Antibiotics don't make much difference to symptoms – you have a 50% chance of being better in 3 days without antibiotics, and within 3 days with them. In either case, with or without antibiotics, you have a 90% chance of being better in 7 days.  

Antibiotics are needed in some cases – although it's not considered worthwhile to routinely prescribe antibiotics for most children, Māori or Pasifika children or those coming from crowded homes may benefit from taking antibiotics. This is because the chances of them developing other health problems such as ear infections, rheumatic fever or glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) are higher than for most children. 

 Antibiotics may also be given if you are at risk of spreading a strep throat infection, eg, if you are a:

• healthcare worker
• residential care worker
• food handler
• teacher
• childcare worker
• student.

The course of the antibiotics is usually for 10 days, and it is important that you or your child complete the full 10 days of antibiotics, even if you or your child start to feel better. This helps to stop strep throat from turning into rheumatic fever. Antibiotics can be given in a form of a capsule, liquid or as an injection. 

To help soothe a sore throat you can do these things:

• Drink plenty of cool or warm water or diluted juice.
• Eat cool, soft food or warm soups.
• Older children and adults may be able to gargle with warm salt water.
• Suck on ice cubes.
• Avoid smoking or smoky places.
• Rest as much as you can.
• Suck medicated throat lozenges (not for children).
• Take pain relief medicine, eg, paracetamol or ibuprofen.

Apps reviewed by Healthify

You may find it useful to look at some Self-management and healthy living apps.