Your Sore Throat: When to Visit the Doctor

A sore throat or pharyngitis is among the most common complaints among children and adults during the wintertime. It can be caused by viral, bacterial, or environmental factors. Most of the time, a sore throat will be relieved within five to ten days but in some cases, it worsens.

If you or someone close to you has ever complained of a sore throat, you may wonder at what point you should see a doctor. In January 2011, our youngest daughter Tirzah developed a sore throat which required medical attention. These are the reasons we chose to take her to the doctor.

Loss of Appetite
Our daughter's sore throat came on suddenly. Within 24 hours of the first tickling in her throat, her throat had become so sore, she could not swallow solid food or liquids. She was not vomiting anything back up. It was just too painful for her to swallow anything.

Lethargy
Tirzah not only refused food but she also wanted to sleep more than anything else. She dozed off and on for over 24 hours and seemed not interested in much of anything when she was awake.

Fever
We did not have a thermometer available but we suspected she was feverish from her complaints of having chills. She had blankets over her and was dressed in warm clothes. The room temperature was in the upper 60s. On the morning I took her to the doctor, her temperature was back to normal after being dosed with acetaminophen two hours earlier.

Swelling in the Mouth and Throat
When the sore throat first began to be painful, Tirzah said it felt as if her throat had something stuck in it. Within twelve hours, she reported a strange feeling of swelling on the right side of her mouth near the back bottom molars. The swelling became noticeable externally. Any attempt to touch the area to feel if the glands were swollen caused pain.

Affected Speech
As the sore throat worsened and the swelling became more pronounced, Tirzah's speech sounded muffled as if she were trying to speak around something in her mouth. When we saw the doctor, Tirzah could not open her mouth wide enough for an examination without the doctor having to have her tilt her head back.

The lethargy, chills, and sore throat were not the determining factor in prompting me to have Tirzah seen by a doctor. The flu or a cold can cause those symptoms. Those symptoms combined with the swelling in her jaw area and her reluctance to eat or drink anything led me to bring her to the clinic.

The doctor obtained a throat swab with much difficulty and sent it to the lab to be tested for streptococcal bacteria which causes strep throat. The test came back negative. An examination of the swollen area and a phone consultation with an ENT (Ears, Nose,Throat) specialist led to the diagnosis of peritonsillar abscess. Tirzah began a regimen of soft foods and a ten-day cycle of amoxicillin and showed marked improvement within twelve hours.

The Ohio State University Medical Center lists a number of things to look for when deciding whether to have your sore throat examined by a doctor. Tirzah's symptoms of inner mouth swelling along with a decrease in the ability to open her mouth were two of those things. In addition, you should see a doctor if you notice a red rash, if your fever of 101 degrees or greater does not respond to acetaminophen, if fluids will not stay down, if the swelling is decreasing your ability to breathe properly, if there are white patches in the back of the throat (indicating possible strep infection) and if your condition does not show improvement after five days.

Homehealth-uk.com suggests some additional symptoms which might require a visit to the doctor: blood or yellowish or greenish colored phlegm coughed up, oral sores which do not heal within two weeks, earache, and stiffness in the neck combined with a severe headache.

Sources:
http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/PatientEd/Materials/PDFDocs/emergency/sore.pdf
http://www.health24.com/medical/Head2Toe/777-778-781,11891.asp#art_7
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/sorethroat.htm