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).