Pharyngitis: Symptoms, Complaints, Signs

The following symptoms and complaints may indicate pharyngitis (pharyngitis):

Acute pharyngitis

  • Cough or irritation of the cough
  • Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
  • Pain when swallowing
  • Scratching and burning in the throat
  • Feeling of dryness in the throat
  • Possibly mild fever (about 90% of cases; usually subsides within 10-14 days).

In addition, with angina lateralis (lateral gangrene) cough irritation and pain radiating into the ears may occur.

Chronic pharyngitis

The following complaints may be prominent in pharyngitis chronica simplex or hyperplastica:

  • Foreign body sensation
  • Irritation to cough
  • Dysphagia
  • Strangles
  • Compulsive throat clearing

Pharyngitis chronica sicca often occurs in combination with laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx) or rhinitis (rhinitis).

Warning signs (red flags)

  • Anamnestic information:
    • HIV, gonorrhea, diphtheria (grayish pseudomembranous vouchers whose removal provokes bleeding).
    • Immunosuppression
  • Stridor (whistling breathing sound that occurs on inspiration and/or expiration (inspiratory/expiratory stridor)) or respiratory impairment: Epiglottitis (inflammation of the epiglottis), acute; leading symptoms are inspiratory stridor and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).
  • Agranulocytic angina (rare, e.g., with thyrostatic drugs).