What Are the Most Common Causes of Throat Pain?

Your pharynx, commonly known as your throat, has unique functions vital to your breathing, speech, and digestion. This area connecting your head to your body contains muscles, part of your spine, your vocal cords (larynx), your windpipe (trachea), and your food tube (esophagus), making it possible to swallow, speak, and breathe.

Divided into three sections (nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx), it’s lined with mucus and needs to stay hydrated to perform all of its crucial tasks. Sore throat, or pharyngitis, happens to everyone at some point for many reasons, and it can be more frustrating when it becomes chronic.  

Let’s look at why it happens and how you can avoid it. Lake Oswego, Oregon, residents struggling with sore throats and other upper respiratory symptoms this season can find help with the medical team at Lake Grove ENT. 

Causes of pharyngitis

The soreness, redness, scratchy sensation, and other unpleasant symptoms associated with pharyngitis develop from several factors:

Digestive conditions

Problems with gastrointestinal issues, like acid reflux, cause stomach acid to travel back up the esophagus and cause throat issues.

Upper respiratory illnesses

Viruses, bacteria, and fungi can all cause throat problems, including the common cold, influenza (the flu), strep throat, bronchitis, COVID-19, and mononucleosis.

Sinus infection

Upper respiratory illnesses frequently cause sinus problems as well, but you can deal with sinusitis along with symptoms like headaches, nasal congestion, and facial tenderness.

Allergies

Your immune system’s overreaction to allergens like dust, pet dander, mold, and pollen can cause many symptoms, with upper respiratory problems like sore throats being common.

Vocal strain

Using your voice a lot, including yelling, public speaking, and singing, can put a strain on your vocal cords and throat muscles, leading to laryngitis.

Environmental conditions

Air pollution, tobacco smoke, dust, and other irritants can make your throat feel scratchy, sore, and unpleasant.

Reasons it can become chronic

Chronic pharyngitis develops when symptoms last longer than 12 weeks or recur frequently. This can happen because of lingering effects of infections, recur during an allergic reaction, or be caused by consistent exposure to pollutants. Other possible factors include dehydration, laryngitis, tonsillitis, or throat tumors (benign or malignant).

If these problems also include swollen lymph nodes, swelling of the neck or tongue, skin rashes, breathing problems, fever, or spitting blood, seek medical attention.

Prevention and management

Effective ways to prevent or manage a sore throat include avoiding environmental pollutants and secondhand smoke, not smoking, and keeping hands clean to reduce the risk of infection. Hydration also helps to keep the throat lubricated, so drink plenty of water to ease irritation and avoid other problems.

Whether your sore throat is acute or chronic and doesn’t go away or comes with other symptoms, make an appointment with the Lake Grove ENT team today to ease your throat pain.