Pus in the neck

Introduction

Pus in the throat is usually a symptom of a solid bacterial infection of the neck. The pus is nothing more than dead cells of the immune system that were killed in the fight against the pathogens. It is therefore more interesting for the doctor to know what exactly caused the pus to form in the throat and how it can best be treated.

Causes

The occurrence of pus is usually an indication of a bacterially caused inflammation. Basically, pus consists mainly of destroyed cells of the body’s immune system, which have been destroyed in the defence against the bacterial pathogens. In rare cases, viruses and in even rarer cases fungal infections can also be responsible for pus formation.

The pathogens, no matter which genus they may belong to, find a way to settle in the throat. The body’s own immune system cannot provide enough functional cells to eliminate the pathogens right from the start or the amount of pathogens is too large for the capacities of the immune system. In addition, people who have had their tonsils removed are more susceptible to a purulent sore throat. The almonds usually have the task of presenting foreign cells for the immune system. The removal of this “protective device” has enabled pathogens to multiply significantly before they come into contact with the immune system.

Therapy

The treatment of the disease depends primarily on the type of pathogen. As is probably already well known, an antibiotic should really only be used if bacteria are the causative pathogens. If, on the other hand, viruses are responsible, the therapy differs considerably.

However also not each bacterially caused purulent inflammation needs antibiotics. For people with a weakened immune system, they are necessary, for young healthy people they usually only shorten the duration of the disease. The medical standard, however, is an antibiotic treatment as soon as the formation of pus is detected. Since there is no antiviral therapy available against viruses that can cause this clinical picture, in this case it is necessary to support the body as much as possible in fighting the pathogens by sparing the body and allowing it to rest.