Sore throat syndrome: What you need to know

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor Ear, Nose Throat Doctor - Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International Hospital

Sore throat is a symptom that makes it difficult for the patient to swallow, as if there is an object in the throat, especially when swallowing, it is impossible to inhale air into the lungs, causing the patient to spit continuously. The disease has many causes and is often misdiagnosed with other ENT diseases.

Sore throat (or pharyngeal paresthesia) is defined as a syndrome caused by many different diseases, easily misdiagnosed with bone disease or diseases such as tonsillitis, pharyngitis... It is difficult to diagnose accurately, so the treatment is also difficult, the disease lasts longer, making the patient even more worried.
Sore throat makes the patient have a subjective feeling like there is a foreign body stuck in the throat (feeling of choking bone) or there is a growth of papilloma that compresses the throat area (phobia of cancer). However, this subjective feeling only appears when swallowing saliva, on the contrary, when eating and drinking is completely normal, without getting stuck or choking in the throat.

The most common causes of this syndrome are dysfunction of the stomach (such as peptic ulcer disease), chronic sinusitis, endocrine disorders, menopause or psychological changes (stress).
Less common causes include anatomic abnormalities that elongate the styloid process, laryngeal abnormalities, cricopharyngeal spasm, hypothyroidism, temporomandibular jointitis, IXth neuralgia, and spondyloarthropathy. thought.
Therefore, a sore throat has many causes, but the main cause is still stomach diseases. When a patient has pain in the throat, the doctor will examine them closely to have an accurate diagnosis of the cause of the disease.

Sore throat is common in women aged 40-50, this is perimenopause or in men who smoke and drink alcohol. Patients with a history of gastric disease are also prone to dysphagia.

Symptoms of a sore throat make patients often feel stuck in the throat, sore throat, sometimes pain in the corner of the jaw, pain in the front of the neck, pain on both sides of the neck. This is just a subjective feeling when swallowing saliva, but when swallowing food (rice, cake, fruit...) or drinking water is normal, no pain. In addition, patients with a sore throat also have other symptoms such as itchy throat, neck pain, shoulder numbness, belching, bloating, poor appetite, depression or feeling chest tightness...

To make an accurate diagnosis, the doctor needs to examine and ask questions carefully, the purpose is to rule out diseases of the ENT region before diagnosing a sore throat.

Examination of the mouth and throat: The doctor observes the oropharynx, using conventional instruments or an endoscope to see the normal mouth and throat. This only aids in excluding other pathologies such as pyogenic tonsillitis, choking of small bones in the pharynx or tonsils, pharyngitis with granulomatous neoplasia in the posterior wall of the pharynx. Examination of the nose and sinuses: If the patient has a sore throat with a headache, snorts or coughs a lot to push mucus from the nose - throat into the mouth and then spit it out, the doctor will think a lot about the disease of the nose and sinuses. At that time, the doctor prescribed a nasal endoscope with a regular ball and a nasal endoscope to find mucus, pus, polyps in the nasal passages, in the openings of the sinuses. Gastroscopy - oesophagoscopy: Endoscopy with a rigid endoscope (40cm long) to see the normal esophagus, in most patients a small number of patients with congested gastric mucosa. Gastroscopy showed mucosal erosions or gastric ulcers. The HP test is sometimes positive.

Taking the history helps the doctor think of other causes of the disease outside of the ENT. Specifically:
Gastrointestinal dysfunction: Many patients have been diagnosed with gastric ulcer through endoscopy before. The cause of pharyngitis syndrome is due to the amount of gastric acid secreted more than usual or the reflux of gastric juice through the gastric orifice into the esophagus, causing the patient to have a feeling of entanglement, pain in the throat, indigestion. Besides, dysphagia is also considered a mild disease of gastroesophageal reflux syndrome - oesophagitis. Hormonal disorders in menopausal women: Women in menopause or perimenopause often have mood changes such as irritability, irritability accompanied by strange sensations such as hot flashes, chills in the spine and troubles. throat. If this subject is accompanied by a history of stomach disease, a sore throat syndrome is likely to occur, causing them to complain of a stuffy throat and difficulty breathing. Psychological stress (stress): Too strong psychological changes such as mourning, heartbreak, bankruptcy... can also cause muscle spasms in the pharynx in a short time, causing throat stiffness and inability to swallow. . If the depression persists, the patient may fall into a state of depression, do not want to eat and drink, and the patient has a feeling of difficulty in swallowing even though the throat and esophagus are normal.

Treating the underlying cause is critical to the success of the treatment of dysphagia. A thorough examination combined with a medical history helps to determine the cause clearly. If the cause of a sore throat is chronic tonsillitis, long styrofoam... then surgical treatment eliminates the cause and helps the patient recover from the disease.
If the cause has not been found, medical treatments include drugs to reduce inflammation and edema combined with analgesics, sedatives, and female hormone supplements in postmenopausal women.. . It will be considered.
In addition, psychological causes also play an important role in the formation of the disease. Therefore, psychotherapy is considered applied in subjects with dysphagia syndrome caused by excessive psychological trauma.
To ensure your health, when you experience symptoms of cold and throat syndrome, you should go to an ENT specialist at treatment facilities to be diagnosed by doctors, and at the same time perform a close examination. clinical practice, thereby providing the most effective treatment direction.
Vinmec International General Hospital is an international standard treatment center with modern facilities, a team of experienced and qualified medical doctors, performing many difficult surgeries, in including digestive diseases and ear, nose and throat diseases. Especially to improve service quality, Vinmec now also deploys many accompanying medical products and service packages, bringing convenience and optimal treatment results to patients.