Duration until all symptoms are gone | Duration of pharyngitis

Duration until all symptoms are gone

In the case of pharyngitis, the time until the symptoms disappear completely varies greatly. In mild cases, the sore throat can disappear after one to three days. In more severe cases, such as those associated with a cold, it can take several days for all symptoms to disappear.

In particular, tiredness and exhaustion associated with pharyngitis can last for several days. In principle, the symptoms should improve over the course of the disease. The normal duration of symptoms is about 7 days. In total, 9 out of 10 affected persons are completely regenerated after one week.

Duration of a sick leave

The duration of the sick leave depends mainly on two factors:

• First, the severity of the disease is important – a mild pharyngitis may require only 1-3 days of sick leave, while a severe, e.g. bacterial, inflammation may require up to a week’s absence from work.
• In addition, the nature of the professional activity must be taken into account: Anyone who works physically should definitely wait until all symptoms have disappeared and also take sick leave until then. Physical work or sports during a pharyngitis always carries the risk of spreading the disease. On the other hand, if you work in an office, for example, you are more likely to return to work earlier.

Duration until I am no longer contagious

Nobody can say exactly how long one is contagious in a pharyngitis. When all symptoms have disappeared, one can usually assume that one is no longer contagious. In the case of a viral disease of the upper respiratory tract, the risk of infection is usually highest before the first symptoms appear.

When symptoms then occur – for example, sore throat – the so-called viral load has already decreased. Nevertheless, close contact with other people should be avoided for a few more days. Other measures such as regular hand washing and generally avoiding shaking hands also help to keep the risk of infection for others low. These measures also help with bacterial infections – here they are particularly important, as the risk of infection is sometimes even higher here than with viral infections.