Pain when swallowing is most often associated with a sore throat. They often occur during the cold winter months.
What is pain on swallowing?
Swallowing pain can have both an acute and a chronic course. It is not uncommon for patients to also suffer from a foreign body sensation in the throat. Physicians refer to swallowing difficulties such as pain when swallowing as dysphagia. They are usually associated with sore throat and occur as part of a flu-like infection. Affected individuals are unable to swallow food or drink without pain. Swallowing difficulties can take both an acute and a chronic course. It is not uncommon for patients to also suffer from a foreign body sensation in the throat. In most cases, the painful swallowing problems develop overnight and become noticeable the next morning.
Causes
Responsible for pain when swallowing is in most cases a throat infection. This is usually accompanied by a cold or flu (influenza). Other complaints such as a cold, hoarseness, chills, fever, and headaches and aching limbs may also occur. Other possible causes of difficulty swallowing include tonsillitis, acute inflammation of the throat (pharyngitis), laryngitis, oral thrush or cysts. In rare cases, constrictions of the esophagus, such as those caused by a tumor, are responsible for the symptoms. Sometimes the pain is also triggered by an insect sting, because a bee or wasp was accidentally swallowed. There may even be a danger of suffocation if the sting is in the pharyngeal mucosa and causes swelling. In children, pain on swallowing occasionally represents an early symptom of serious diseases. These primarily include scarlet fever and diphtheria. Swallowing difficulties are mostly caused by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Acute tonsillitis, for example, which is associated with severe sore throat, is caused by group A streptococci. Similarly, pharyngitis can be due to streptococci. In most cases, however, viruses are responsible. Viral infections cause a flu-like infection (cold), which includes sore throat and pain when swallowing. Common pathogens are rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and parainfluenza viruses. On the other hand, echoviruses, herpes viruses and coxsackieviruses cause pharyngitis. Another disease that can cause pain on swallowing is mumps.
Diseases with this symptom
- Common cold
- Laryngitis
- Scarlet fever
- Achalasia
- Pharyngitis
- Mouth rot
- Diphtheria
- Epiglottitis
- Tonsillitis
- Tumor
- Mumps
- Pfeiffer’s glandular fever
Diagnosis and course
If the painful swallowing persists for a long time or if other symptoms appear, it is advisable to consult a doctor. It is recommended to consult a specialist such as an ear, nose and throat doctor. He or she will get to the bottom of the cause of the pain. For this purpose, he thoroughly examines the neck to determine any visible redness, evidence or swelling. If necessary, examinations deeper in the neck or the taking of a swab are also carried out. The latter is then examined in a laboratory for possible pathogens. The examination also focuses on swellings in the throat area, from which the pain during swallowing could be aggravated. In the case of diphtheria, gray coatings appear on the tonsils. In the case of scarlet fever, itchy rash forms all over the body. Occasionally, further examinations may also be necessary, such as a blood test or a mirror examination of the larynx. If the pain when swallowing is a symptom of a cold, it disappears by itself after a few days. Most patients feel no more pain after five days. Sometimes, however, serious causes such as Pfeiffer’s glandular fever or even a tumor in the larynx can be hidden behind the difficulty swallowing.
Complications
Pain when swallowing is not always a harmless matter. Pain on swallowing becomes an acute problem when saliva is transported. If this can no longer be swallowed due to the discomfort, part of it reaches the lungs.This can lead to the threatening complication of pneumonia (aspiration pneumonia). An ENT specialist should therefore determine the cause as soon as possible. If there is also excessive saliva secretion (hypersalivation), there is a risk of acute choking. In this case, the emergency medical services should be alerted immediately. Stroke patients, dementia patients, Parkinson’s patients and residents in nursing homes are particularly frequently affected In many cases, these patients can no longer express themselves, but even despite medical care, these complaints lead to death in over 50 percent of those affected. Similarly, pain on swallowing due to side effects of chemotherapy can cause food intake to be refused or the sense of taste to be completely impaired. The resulting refusal to eat leads to an ominous loss of weight, which weakens the patient’s general condition and makes the entire body more susceptible to further illnesses. Furthermore, the signs in laryngitis are similar to a sore throat with pain when swallowing, which is often treated by trying home remedies. However, sometimes the dangerous bacterial variant of inflammation of the epiglottis develops high fever. Often children of preschool age are affected, only rarely adults. The emergency physician must be alerted urgently, as a life-threatening condition due to suffocation threatens.
When should you go to the doctor?
Often, swallowing difficulties are a concomitant symptom in connection with trivial infections. However, if the symptoms do not subside after three to four days or if they increase in intensity, a visit to the doctor is recommended so that diseases requiring treatment, such as pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat), laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx) or cysts or mouth rot, can be ruled out. This also applies if other symptoms such as hoarseness, fever, chills, and headache and pain in the limbs are also present. Immediate medical diagnosis is required if food intake is already impaired to prevent (further) weight loss. Urgency is also required if swallowing is not only painful, but leads to swallowing or there is a feeling of having a foreign body in the throat. The latter symptomatology is usually due to massive swelling of the mucous membranes or tonsils, the cause of which must be clarified without fail. If there is a serious underlying disease, the swallowing difficulties require treatment from the outset, because they usually do not subside on their own. In this context, a tumorous disease of the lymph nodes (e.g. lymph node cancer) or of the esophagus should be mentioned. With regard to the esophagus, it may also be an inflammation. Symptomatic treatment can positively influence the healing of the underlying disease.
Treatment and therapy
Difficulty swallowing caused by a cold, dry mucous membranes or irritation of the throat can also be treated yourself with home remedies. In this case, the sick person should drink a lot despite the pain when swallowing. In this way, the mucous membranes receive more moisture, which relieves the inflammation. Hot soups, a hot lemon or warm milk with honey are considered suitable. Teas containing herbs such as sage or thyme also have a soothing effect. In case of sore throat, it is advisable to cover the throat with a scarf and apply warm compresses. Smokers must give up their cigarettes during the discomfort. If bacteria are responsible for the pain, you can gargle with lukewarm salt water. This helps to disinfect the throat and pharynx. Inhalations with medicinal herbs such as chamomile also have a soothing effect. To protect the throat, it is advisable to avoid eating very spicy foods. This unnecessarily irritates the affected mucous membranes. Homeopathy also has remedies to combat swallowing difficulties. However, both chamomile and coffee must be avoided during therapy. For severe sore throat in the initial stages, the homeopathics Echinacea (dosage D 1) and Mercurius solubilis (dosage D 12) are recommended. In the subsequent stages, Mercurius cyanatus (D 12), Aconitum (D 12) as well as Belladonna (D 30) are considered helpful. If the swallowing difficulties occur exclusively on the left side, the use of Lachesis (D 12) is recommended.If the symptoms persist after a few days despite the use of home remedies, a doctor should be consulted. If a tumor is the cause of the pain when swallowing, either surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy will be performed. Likewise, a combination of these therapeutic procedures may be useful.
Outlook and prognosis
Pain on swallowing can occur for many different reasons. However, pain on swallowing usually occurs during a cold or the flu and disappears on its own when the patient recovers. They may continue for a few days after the cold is over. Painkillers usually do not have to be taken, but tea and cough drops help against the pain when swallowing. Due to this pain, sometimes it is no longer possible to take ordinary food or liquids, which is not beneficial, especially during flu. If the pain when swallowing is relatively strong and does not disappear on its own, a doctor must be consulted. In this case, it may be tonsillitis or another inflammation, for example in the lungs. These inflammations must be treated by a doctor in any case, otherwise they can spread to other parts of the body. As a rule, treatment of pain on swallowing takes place through medication. In some cases, surgical treatment must take place, for example, to completely remove the tonsils. No complications occur.
Prevention
To avoid infections that result in difficulty swallowing, there are several preventive measures. For example, it helps to strengthen the immune system with fresh fruits and vegetables containing vitamins. Warming clothing should always be worn in winter. Exercise is also considered helpful. Regular hand washing with soap is recommended to protect against infection.
What you can do yourself
In most cases, pain when swallowing occurs in the course of a cold or flu. In these cases, they disappear again on their own, without complications. Teas and cough drops help against the pain of swallowing. Here, especially chamomile tea or nettle tea can be taken. A healthy lifestyle also has a positive effect on the pain when swallowing. Especially in case of flu or cold, the patient must take enough food and liquid to avoid deficiency symptoms. Here, especially fruits and vegetables are very helpful. To counteract the pain of swallowing, care should generally be taken to keep the throat and pharynx moist. This can also be achieved by inhalation with salt or essential oils. A visit to a steam sauna can also help, but care should be taken to keep temperatures low so as not to further stress a possibly weakened circulation. In order not to increase the pain when swallowing, the affected person should avoid foods that are too spicy or too salty. As a rule, home remedies such as onions, garlic or ginger also help to relieve sore throat and pain when swallowing. These home remedies have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. Onions can be used to make onion juice and garlic can be chewed to disinfect the mouth and throat. Ginger can be poured over with hot water and drunk as a tea. It is also recommended to chew ginger. If the difficulty in swallowing does not diminish, a visit to the doctor is advised.
